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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump Asks Judge Chutkan to Recuse Herself From Federal 202 Election Subversion Case; One-On-One With Georgia Secretary Of State Brad Raffensperger; Authorities On Day 12 Of Manhunt For Escaped PA Inmate, Reward Now $25K; Authorities Are Confident Escaped Convict Remains In PA; Authorities Arrest Sister Of Escaped PA Inmate After She "Failed To Cooperate" With Investigation, Faces Deportation; Death Toll Approaches 3,000 In Morocco Quake; Hurricane Lee Starting To Send Hazardous Beach Conditions To Southeast U.S.; North Korea: Kim Jong-Un Currently En Route To Russia Via Private Train; American Man Rescued From Cave In Turkey After Being Trapped For Days; 22 Years Since 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 11, 2023 - 20:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: There was a time in October of 2001 when 60 percent of Americans said they could trust the government. George W. Bush had approval ratings north of 85 percent, numbers that now would be simply impossible for any leader.

President Biden tonight in Alaska addressing the divide in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must not succumb to the poisonous politics of difference and division, we must never allow ourselves to be pulled apart by petty manufactured grievances. We must continue to stand united.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Thanks so much for joining us. AC 360 starts now.

[20:00:39]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360: Breaking News: New push by the former president to get the judge in his January 6 trial off the case and his warning that the public won't accept the outcome otherwise.

Also a search for survivors on the heels of one natural disaster the earthquake in Morocco, and tracking and potential another, Hurricane Lee heading toward the East Coast.

Plus more than a week since he broke out of prison, how has an escaped killer manage to elude capture for so long?

Good evening.

We begin tonight with breaking news, the former president calling on federal judge, Tanya Chutkan, to recuse herself from his case, that and a veiled warning from his attorneys who say in their request: "Only if this trial is administered by a judge who appears entirely impartial could the public ever accept the outcome as justice." That's one of the federal cases against him.

There's also breaking news in the Georgia case where Trump and his attorneys have just filed a motion to have the entire indictment thrown.

CNN's Paula Reid joins us with more on that.

So let's talk about Trump's requests for the judge in the federal case first to recuse herself.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, Judge Tanya Chutkan was randomly assigned to oversee the Trump election subversion case. She was appointed by former President Obama. She has been on the bench for about a decade and she has made her opinions and her views on the Capitol attack pretty clear, as she's overseen a multiple trials of rioters and she has also really earned a reputation for being pretty harsh when it comes to sentencing.

But in this filing, now Trump's lawyers argue that certain comments that she made during some of those sentencings mean that she needs to step aside.

The first one they point to is from October 2022, where she said: "The people who mobbed that Capitol where they are in fealty, in loyalty to one man, not to the Constitution. It's a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day." Now Trump lawyers argue that there, she is saying that Trump should not be free.

They point to another quote where she says: "The issue of who has or has not been charged is not before me. I don't have any influence on that. I have my opinions, but they are not relevant." Trump's lawyers argue that comments like this leave little doubt that she is prejudice against the former president and should recuse herself.

Now, they have a high bar here, Anderson. They filed this before Judge Chutkan, and she has already said today that she'd like the Justice Department to weigh in by Thursday.

COOPER: The former president is also making a request in the Georgia case.

REID: Yes. It's really interesting. Instead of filing his own sort of original objections, he is piggybacking and joining objections and challenges that have been filed by Rudy Giuliani and attorney Kenneth Chesebro.

This is really the first time that he and his attorneys have tried to attack the legal case in Georgia. They're asking the state court to dismiss many of the charges. But what's a little unusual about that, Anderson, is the former president has signaled that he's going to try to move the whole case to federal court. So this could be a sign that he may not actually follow through with that, especially because we saw late Friday where his former White House chief-of-staff, Mark Meadows, who everyone thought had the best chance of getting his case removed to federal court, that was rejected by a federal judge, though he is appealing.

COOPER: Paula Reid, thanks very much.

Joining us now, former federal judge, Nancy Gertner, also CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI deputy director, Andrew McCabe.

Judge Gertner, what's your reaction to the recusal request for Judge Chutkan?

NANCY GERTNER, FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE: Well, it's not surprising, but as Paula said, it's not likely to succeed. The judge will make her own decision and then certainly Trump could appeal.

But every judge who has sentenced any of the January 6 demonstrators had to make a relative determination. Where is this person relative to higher ups who may or may not be before me? Where is this person relative to the nature of the crime? Was this just, you know, a demonstration? Or was this essentially an attempted coup?

I'm not certain that her remarks are any different than the remarks of any other district court -- District of Columbia court judge, Republican or Democrat who's had to deal with these cases.

COOPER: Andrew, as we noted earlier, I mean, the former president says in his filing, only in this trial is administered -- only if the trial is administered by a judge who appears entirely impartial can the public ever accept the outcome as justice. I wonder what you make that statement? Is it an implicit threat of unrest given his track record?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Anderson, I think at minimum, it is a bit rich for the defendant who has made a career out of attacking the justice system and trying to undermine the institutions that we rely on.

[20:05:10]

Criminal justice -- to claim that the public won't accept something. I mean, he has basically been the biggest mover behind the public's non- acceptance of the criminal justice system.

But nevertheless, of course, is it an implicit threat? Is it a signal? It's all of those things to his supporters and to his base, and it is clearly kind of raising the stakes to the judge in an effort to kind of put more pressure on her decision. I don't think it's going to have any positive effect whatsoever. I agree with Judge Gertner that this motion is likely to go nowhere.

COOPER: Judge Gertner, I mean, how often do judges actually grant motions to recuse themselves?

GERTNER: It's not often, and particularly not when it is saying that a comment that you made in a court proceeding, somehow cast doubt on whether or not you can be fair in this case.

Let me say that to some degree, Trump's comments about, you know, whether or not the public will accept this verdict, if it stays before Judge Chutkan is to some degree, there is an innocuous spin on that, which is the standard here is the appearance of impartiality.

And to some degree, it's saying will the public accept something from a judge that we think is biased? But as I as I said before, I don't think that Judge Chutkan said anything different than any other judge in any of the other cases.

COOPER: Yes, Andrew. I mean, as Paula Reid reported, the former president also asked a Georgia court to dismiss several state level charges against him. How common is that? I mean, is there any reason to think he would be successful?

MCCABE: Very little reason to think he would be successful. It is pretty common for criminal defendants to make motions to dismiss the cases against them, either at the beginning of the proceeding, the beginning of a trial, or maybe at the end of the prosecution's case. Those motions rarely are successful, but they have the effect of essentially putting the claim on the record.

And then, you know, you have the opportunity to use it later as a grounds for an appeal. I think in this case, it's -- you know, it's highly unlikely that they will be able to attack the sufficiency of the indictment in such a way that would compel any judge to dismiss it against these defendants.

COOPER: Andrew, do you think -- I mean, the former president's legal team has indicated, you know, in court filings previously that they might ask to move the case to federal court given Meadows' attempt failed. Do you think -- obviously, the issue is very different -- do you think the former president would fare better? Do you think he could get it moved to federal court?

MCCABE: I don't think so, Anderson. I think -- it had always been my opinion that Meadows had the best chance of trying to remove the case to federal court. He's the one who was clearly an employee of the federal government working, at least to some extent within the scope of his position.

There are all sorts of other issues with the former president. There is a constitutional question as to whether the president actually qualifies as an officer of government of the executive branch for the purpose of this law. So I think he's got a tougher argument to make and we've already seen Meadows fail in that effort.

COOPER: Judge, do you agree with it?

GERTNER: I agree. I don't think that -- I think that the decision that the judge made in the Meadows case would pretty much cover Trump as well, which is that whatever was done here, was done as part of a campaign not as part of the executive branch, and was arguably, you know, done for the purposes of preventing the peaceful transfer of power. Let me just say one other thing about recusal. Put this also in the context of the discussions we've had about Justice Thomas, who didn't recuse himself when his wife participated in the January 6 insurrection. So it seems to me the recusal standard has to be equally applied across the board.

COOPER: Judge Gertner, thank you; Andrew McCabe as well.

More now on Georgia, the former president's effort to get his indictment there quashed and to Andrew McCabe's point, about attacking the justice system, he has certainly done that in this case concerning prosecutor, Fani Willis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They say there's a young woman, a young racist in Atlanta, a racist.

Right here in Georgia, you have a lunatic, Marxist district attorney --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Also today on his social network, he quoted from a magazine article titled "Are the Criminal Cases Against Trump Unconstitutional?" This follows by several days' efforts in Colorado to find a constitutional way under the 14th Amendment to keep the former president off the ballot.

Joining us someone with views on that in connection to the Georgia case as well, the state's top election official, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who testified before the Trump grand jury.

Mr. Secretary, appreciate you being with us.

What is your reaction with the former president trying to get some of his Georgia state charges thrown out? Do you think you'll have success with that?

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, good evening, Anderson. I'm not an attorney. In fact, I'm right now I'm focused on securing elections and empowering job creators and preparing our team for next year's elections.

We are not focused on grievances of the past that some might bear.

[20:10:09]

COOPER: When you got the call from the former president, Mark Meadows actually set up that call. Did it seem weird to you at the time that the chief-of-staff of the president was doing this, what was a political act?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, that was the third time he had reached out and he mentioned that he wanted to have a call, the president wanted to have a call with myself, and so we had that call and I explained the facts of the election of 2020, and just really refuted all the allegations that were made. And, you know, that was two-and-a-half years ago. We're focused on the future. Obviously, some people are still living in the past.

COOPER: Well, you did testify, so you are living in the present as well in in that. I mean, there's not that much in the future -- in the past, you did testify about this in the Meadows case, no?

RAFFENSPERGER: Yes. I've testified and I will continue to follow the law and follow the Constitution. And when compelled, I will provide, you know, the testimony and the facts of what happened in 2020.

COOPER: You know -- you've spoken about the effort to use the 14th Amendment subsection of it to prevent the president from getting on the ballot. Do you think that's something that you would support in Georgia?

RAFFENSPERGER: No. I've been very clear about that. I think that's misguided. These bad actors have been trying to sue their way with their failing candidates and lawyers have been trying to sue their way to success for the courts.

Go back to Stacey Abrams after 2018. She lost, claimed election mismanagement, and then look at 2020, Mr. Trump also filed lawsuits. None of it ever succeeded. But what it really did is it really then just created polarization and dissension, but eventually we won all of those cases.

And so we'll continue to make sure that voters in Georgia understand that this is really critical that they will be the ones making the decisions. The voters need to make the decision on who wins the election in Georgia.

COOPER: Secretary Raffensperger, I have to take a quick break. We'll talk to you more after the break.

Also tonight, the latest on the search for an escaped killer who has now been spotted several times, just not by police when it counts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:16:07]

COOPER: The former president's court challenges in both Georgia and federal election are the latest in a running series of legal skirmishes, the kind you see in any number of cases. The constitutional challenge he's facing, though, in Colorado and potentially elsewhere is something else entirely could be historic.

Back now, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

You said earlier you don't support the use of the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from the ballot and you've been very clear on that. Some high profile legal scholars, conservative retired federal judge, for instance, Michael Luttig arguing that there's this section, for our viewers who may not be up on this, the section of the 14th Amendment actually bars the -- could bar, the former president from holding future office.

There is a piece in "The Atlantic" that Judge Luttig co-authored and he said that it automatically excludes from future office and position of power of the United States government, any person who has taken an oath to support and defend our Constitution, and thereafter rebels against that sacred charter, either through overt insurrection, or by giving aid or comfort to the Constitution's enemies.

What do you -- I know you've said you don't agree with that. Is it that you don't agree he was a secessionist or that he gave aid and comfort to enemies? Or that you just don't think the judicial process on this a constitutional challenge is appropriate, given that he's running for president?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, in Georgia, there is a process that people want to push and try and keep him off the ballots. In fact, they tried to do that with Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and they were unsuccessful.

But what I've said is that people need to decide these issues. When you start removing people off the ballots, and the people don't get a chance to vote, it looks like you're tilting the field against them. And I think that's why we have an awful lot of angst and anger on both sides of the aisle right now. People feel like they're not being heard and feel like the system is rigged against them.

So let the people decide. It's the way it should happen.

I think not to let people have that vote taken away is really un- American. You think about 1776, think about today 9/11. Remembering the sacrifice that people had, over 3,000 people were killed, and then you know what that led to.

But the people that we were fighting against, they didn't believe in the rule of law. They didn't believe in the power of people voting. In America, the Americans make -- American citizens make the decisions. They get to choose who their next leaders.

And I have faith in the American electorate. I have faith in my Georgia voters.

COOPER: I talked to Professor Laurence Tribe who is one of the other -- he is liberal, but he and Judge Luttig are working together on this. His argument to that is well, yes, the rule of law does matter and the Constitution matters a lot. And even if it's inconvenient, even if it is uncomfortable, given that there is a presidential race going on, that the Constitution is more important than the discomfort of people to not have to be able to vote for the person they may want if that person has violated the Constitution.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, I understand those legal arguments and you get two lawyers together and you'll get two different, maybe even three different opinions.

But at the end of the day, you know, we have a process in Georgia and at the end of the day, I am standing up for Georgia voters so Georgia voters have the opportunity to decide who they want to be their choice, who wins the presidential primary and then who actually wins in November 2024. Let the people decide.

I have great faith in the American voter. I have great faith in Georgia voters. Look at Governor Kemp and I, we won with landslide victories. We went and talked to voters.

I think people are looking for someone that's aspirational, positive, you know, a vision. They're not looking for someone that lives in the past that is, you know, running around with a retribution tour.

So I think at the end of the day, have faith in the American people.

COOPER: If the American people in the Republican Party vote for the former president as the Republican nominee, would you support him?

[20:20:01]

RAFFENSPERGER: Well as Secretary of State I've been very clear, I don't endorse candidates, but I have been also very clear that what I'm looking for just like that young singer, that kind of, you know, set the world on fire. He was born in -- he wrote "Rich Men North of Richmond." He said he's born in 1983. He's never really had a great aspirational president since he'd been born. That's 1993.

I think he is a conservative. I'm looking for the next Reagan, and probably the other side, they're looking for something different. But I hope that we find that aspirational leader and hope it's, you know, conservative leadership and I think that's how we win races, someone that can cast a positive vision that is really talking about pocketbook issues. How do you improve the life of the average working day American every day so they have a better job and a better future?

COOPER: And given -- you were talking about what you're doing about the next election and I think that's -- I want to talk about that, because given what happened in 2020, I'm wondering, are there safeguards you can put into place in Georgia?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, we're really fortunate that no matter how you vote in Georgia now, we've secured the vote that we have photo ID for all forms of voting, secure the vote -- we have secure absentee voting with photo ID.

Just like early person voting, we have 17 days of early voting, and we probably say about 60 to 65 percent of all voters vote early, 30 percent on election day, about five, six percent vote absentee. No matter how you vote, it's photo ID based, and we think that's good.

Georgia right now has the cleanest voter rolls in the entire nation and we clean up our voter rolls objectively. When people move away, we follow them, and we track that so we can remove them objectively.

And then we make sure that we have plenty of opportunities to vote. So it's never been easier to vote in Georgia and we recognize, it is as one of the top states in the country for election security, accessibility, and fair and honest voting, and I'm really proud of that. I'm proud of my fellow Georgians.

COOPER: Secretary Raffensperger, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

RAFFENSPERGER: Thank you.

COOPER: Still ahead, $25,000.00, that is how much authorities are now offering for information leading to the arrest of this man, an escaped Pennsylvania inmate. It comes as police are on day 12 of their manhunt, details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:25:56]

COOPER: We're following several developments night in the hunt for the escaped Pennsylvania inmate. Police are now in their day 12 of the search for the convicted killer. They say they've been forced to change directions after he was able to get past their search perimeters.

We will have more on the difficulties that authorities are clearly having, but first, CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on the hunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A turn of events in the massive manhunt for convicted killer, Danelo Cavalcante, none of them positive for law enforcement or the community.

ROBERT CLARK, SUPERVISORY DEPUTY, US MARSHALS SERVICES: Now, we're going to prepare for the long game. This is a manhunt and all that means to us is that it's a longer fugitive investigation with more resources.

TODD (voice over): Law enforcement officials believe Cavalcante remains in Pennsylvania. He managed to steal a dairy truck and changed his appearance over the weekend leading police to say there is no longer a defined search area.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF OPERATIONS: I have not formed a similar border, a physical presence to contain an area.

TODD (voice over): The search for Cavalcante is now further north. He was spotted more than 20 miles from the Chester County Prison. Police say he somehow slipped through a tightly guarded perimeter due to possible weaknesses.

BIVENS: I am aware of some of the weaknesses. Longwood Gardens presented some very unique challenges.

CLARK: There's a massive tunnel system. There is a lot of ravines. It's very, very thick vegetation there.

TODD (voice over): Cavalcante stole a white Ford van from a dairy farm Saturday evening, which he later ditched behind a barn after it ran out of gas.

BILL BEDRICK, LIVES NEAR BARN WHERE FUGITIVE DITCHED VAN: We just have to be aware of it and we know the authorities are in the area. And you know, we just have to be on our toes.

He has to know that for his actions, there is always a consequence and he needs to you know, face his consequences.

TODD (voice over): Cavalcante also managed to steal a bright green hoodie from the dairy farm, which he was seen wearing in this doorbell camera along with a clean shaven face.

A former work associate provided these images of the 34-year-old to police. He hadn't spoken to Cavalcante in years.

BIVENS: The fact that he has reached out to people with a very distant past connection tells me he doesn't have a great network of support.

TODD (voice over): Police say Cavalcante attempted to meet with two former work associates on Saturday night, one in the East Pikeland area of Chester County at around 9:52 PM, and another in the area of Phoenixville at 10:07 PM.

Cavalcante's former roommate spoke to CNN affiliate WPVI saying he has been trying to assist authorities since Cavalcante's crab walking escape from prison on August 31st.

FRANCO, FORMER ROOMMATE: I'm here to see if they need my help to speak Portuguese if he's found and I can talk to him in Portuguese with him, just so he can surrender.

TODD (voice over): Franco did not give his last name to WPVI, but did release this security camera footage saying it shows the day Cavalcante moved out of their apartment in the area in 2021.

Franco saying it was the day before Cavalcante killed his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao.

FRANCO: I just want to him to be caught so I can sleep, I can go live my normal life. Everybody can feel safe again. And yes, he has to pay for what he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Police now say they have detained Danelo Cavalcante's sister, Eleni Cavalcante and are getting ready to deport her. Police say she has chosen not to cooperate with them in their investigation, and because she has overstayed her visa, there was no longer any value in law enforcement keeping her in the country any longer -- Anderson.

COOPER: Brian Todd, thanks very much.

With me now, CNN chief law enforcement intelligence analyst John Miller, former NYPD deputy commissioner.

So the police are saying that this is actually kind of a good thing. He's in an urban area. Why would that be?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I mean, they've been chasing him in the woods for 12 days. He's managed to hide there by day and then move around with the cover of darkness by night. But by stealing that truck, that gave him mobility, it also put them around Phoenixville where he has friends, family, maybe access to some assistance.

But it also takes the US Marshals and the Pennsylvania State Police and the county authorities into a much more urban-suburban like environment. People walking on the streets.

COOPER: More cameras around.

MILLER: More cameras around, more people who are able to see something and say something, and for police to get there more quickly.

[20:30:14]

Remember the alternative, Anderson, is you know, they're using thermal imaging and drones and helicopters at night, and seeing heat signals move through a wooded area and, you know, to penetrate that far and then find out it's a deer or something else. This is going to be within their comfort zone more than where they were before.

COOPER: Interesting that he's reaching out to, you know, former co- workers who he hadn't seen in a long time, and now police have detained his sister and are going to deport her.

MILLER: So he has to calculate that the police and the marshals are probably all over my family in terms of surveillance or up on their phones or otherwise. So he's trying to think of, who do I know that they -- that's far enough in my path that they don't know I know? Reaching out to acquaintances from years ago and kind of having to reintroduce himself shows a sign that either his network has rejected him or he's afraid to go near it.

COOPER: And the longer he's out there, whose -- to whose advantage is that?

MILLER: He's under the gun every day. You know, the marshals, the state police, the county, they can throw more personnel at this. They can change --

COOPER: I mean everyone ultimately gets caught, don't they, pretty much?

MILLER: Everyone gets caught. And we know that because, you know, Mike Burnham went on the run in July in Pennsylvania, ran into the woods. Survivalist training, former military. 10 days he lasted. Eric Frein lasted 48 days in a massive manhunt a couple of years ago in Pennsylvania in a rural area, ended in a big shootout.

Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber, went into the Nantahala National Forest and hid out five years, but they still caught him. Every -- you can run, but you can't hide. COOPER: The fact that he was able to kind of clean up and figure out how to steal a vehicle, what does it say about his skill set?

MILLER: He is exceeding expectations. Most people who escape from prison are recovered within 24 hours and within 2 miles of where they escaped from. 10 days into this, being able to commit probably multiple burglaries, steal a car, change outfits, cut his hair, shave his beard, he's giving authorities a run for the money. I think he's exceeded their expectations, too.

COOPER: John Miller, appreciate it. Thank you very much.

MILLER: Thanks.

COOPER: Next, destruction in Morocco after one of the worst earthquakes they have seen there in generations. A live report from the scene on the effort to find survivors. Also, the latest on where Hurricane Lee could go. Now a Category 3 storm heading north.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:36:40]

COOPER: Now, an update on the earthquake in Morocco, which struck at the foot of the Atlas Mountain just south of Marrakech, late Friday night. This is what it looked like in Marrakech. The video caught on a security camera is no sound. It shows, however, in a developed area, distance from the epicenter. What that shows speaks loudly enough about how much worse it was just a short distance away.

So does this, but it cuts both ways. Rescuers in one of those hard hit area pulling a survivor from inside a flattened building. Yet there are so few scenes like this. Already, it's set against the kind of damage suggesting that joyous moments like that rescue could be hard to come by. Already, nearly 3,000 people have lost their lives.

CNN's Sam Kylie's in the hardest hit area joins us now. Sam, what was it like today?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, I mean, today, I think was an extraordinary day for us in that we started the day here in Asni, where there is now a military camp to treat people who have been injured in this earthquake. It's a very efficient military camp, but not very far up into those Atlas Mountains that you mentioned.

There are villages that have been completely obliterated and are getting no help. This is what one looked like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every houses here destroyed. There is 21 died here.

KILEY (on-camera): 21?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. KILEY (voice-over): Mohammed is a law student and he grew up in Tiznit (ph)

(on-camera): So you know the people who died?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you know, everyone here is farming, you know, because it's small -- it's not the big village, but everyone know each other here.

KILEY (on-camera): It must break your heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's so bad. You see these people here dead in this house. Two person here is dead. And this house -- in the second house, three, we have other one house here, one house there. All the family is dead.

So it's -- I don't know. I don't know what I will say. It's a bad night.

KILEY (on-camera): A very bad night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a bad night. Yes.

KILEY (voice-over): Staggering.

(voice-over): This is what remains of 120 homes. Mohammad knows every house that was and who died in them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This house destroyed on one family. All the family dead.

KILEY (on-camera): In this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

KILEY (on-camera): This one in front?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Next one.

KILEY (on-camera): How many people in that family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four.

KILEY (on-camera): Four.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And left behind, one person alive, one child.

KILEY (voice-over): Last Friday's quake took more than 2,800 lives. And the numbers climb. Isolated villages like this, giving up their grim tolls slowly.

Mohammed explained that his neighbors fought for every penny that they earned as farmers in a harsh landscape. They fought for food. They fought to educate young people like him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people not ready for this, you know, just normal people here.

KILEY (voice-over): Aid and rescue is getting to places like this. But many others have yet to be discovered. Mohammed fears that many more dead and injured are lying under villages like this, cut off from help. But the community is staying on.

Village life reduced to a shared tent for 24 families. This is the community kitchen.

[20:40:04]

(on-camera): Mothers of this village, what do you want from your government?

(Speaking Foreign Language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for houses.

KILEY (on-camera): Houses?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

KILEY (voice-over): We need homes, that's a cry that's only going to get louder here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So where do rescue and recovery efforts stand right now?

KILEY: Well, the main effort for the government perspective and they have just reached the epicenter today at a village called Iril (ph), which they had been only able to reach by air, is focused by using helicopters predominantly to try to establish in these far flung villages what the needs are and how to get aid in.

So in Iril (ph), they've been delivering food aid and other help just only by helicopter. They've been able to get in overland that's down south of here. Up in these mountains, though, the situation is extremely dire. And you heard Mohammed there telling us that he knew of villages further into the hills that have been worse hit if that's imaginable, than his own village.

And that the local people there were still trying to dig through the rubble to try and find anybody still alive. It's very unlikely, of course, and more troubling to bring out the dead of their friends and relatives. And it could be some time, really, before the authorities are able to get there just because of the sheer scale of the logistical challenge there, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, it's just awful. Sam Kiley, I'm glad you're there. Thank you.

Now, Hurricane Lee in the central question about it, where will its northward track end up? Tens of millions of people living in the most densely populated part of the Eastern seaboard need to know. Some have already begun seeing the kind of surf and rip currents that precede a major storm. And anyone who remembers Sandy knows how bad what might come next could be.

CNN Jennifer Gray is in the weather center tracking the storm. What's the latest, Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Hurricane Lee still has winds of 115 miles per hour. This is still a major hurricane. It is a Category 3 gusts of 140 moving to the west northwest very slowly at 7 miles per hour. So this very slow track is going to continue over the next two days or so.

So by Wednesday, that's when we're expected to really start to see where that turn to the north is going to take place. Is it going to be a little bit farther to the east or the west? The storm should weaken as it travels to the north. However, the storm should grow in size, Anderson, so that means the wind field from this storm, albeit might not be quite as strong as a Category 3. It's going to be much more far reaching.

COOPER: So I'm a little unclear, when do you think there will be more confidence about where exactly this thing is headed?

GRAY: So that's a million dollar question, right? When are we going to know when this turn is going to take place and where will it go from here? So, by Wednesday, I think we'll have a much clearer picture of where exactly it's going to head. The models are agreeing a little bit more as of right now over the next couple of days.

But once we get into Wednesday, then you're about three or four days out from it getting very close to shore, so then you'll have a better idea of where it's going to go. Right now, most of the models are still taking it up to, say, Nova Scotia. A couple are hinting maybe at the Gulf of Maine and making a landfall around Maine, but it's still Anderson, too early to tell. I think we need to give it another 48 hours or so before we have a clear picture.

COOPER: So what should residents in the Northeast be prepared for?

GRAY: You need to be prepared because the storm is going to be far reaching. It's going to have a very wide wind field. So that means even if it is offshore, you're still going to feel some strong winds onshore. So the wake of Hurricane Franklin, if you remember that, left some cooler water across the Atlantic. So that's why we think there's going to be some more weakening with this storm.

But still the winds are going to be really strong as we move forward in time. You can see the stronger winds are going to stay, obviously around the center, but we still could see some strong winds well over portions of the Northeast and New England. So we need to prepare for, I would say, a high end Nor'easter, the same way you would prepare for that and maybe even more significant impacts.

I think we'll know better in a couple of days, and of course, we'll stay on top of it for you.

COOPER: All right. Jennifer Gray, thanks very much. In Libya, officials say that thousands of people are dead and many thousands more are fear dead in flooding. One official described as catastrophic. The worst began with rain water levels. A lot of local reservoirs went over their banks. Coastal towns were washed away and went entire neighborhoods into the sea. We'll, of course, continue to follow that story.

A busy night, much more ahead. North Korean state run media confirmed tonight that Kim Jong-un is headed for Russia right now. The video just in is of a train said to resemble the one used by Kim, spotted near the North Korea-Russia border. Beyond that is largely a mystery, including whether Kim and Vladimir Putin will meet. We'll have the latest next.

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[20:48:42]

COOPER: Tonight, we could be seeing the start of a high level visit shrouded in secrecy. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un heading to Russia, the invitation of Vladimir Putin. That's according to North Korean state run media. There are no details from Pyongyang or the Kremlin on why Kim is going to Russia or when he and Putin may meet.

We did just get this video, however, from RT, Russian-backed TV. A train was spotted near North Korea-Russia border and is said to resemble the one that Kim uses. We can't confirm its location or when the video was actually recorded.

As we said, the focus of a meeting is unknown, but the Pentagon is warning that the two leaders could discuss an arms deal that would have major implications on the war in Ukraine and possibly North Korea's efforts to boost its nuclear arsenal.

Melissa Bell has more now from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. So, what, if anything, do we know about the meeting?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially, this train very fancy, Anderson, green train with yellow trim that we understand has about 20 bulletproof carriages on it. So paranoid Korean leader about his security had been making its way northwards towards the Russian city of Vladivostok.

What we understand is the Russian leader is himself on his way there. That train, very slow going as a result of that setup I just mentioned is expected to get there, has left, we now understand, Pyongyang as early as Sunday, and so could be there soonish. That meeting could get underway as early as Tuesday.

[20:50:01]

Now, what we understand from the Russian side in the shape of Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman who's been speaking to a Russian journalist, is that the two will have bilateral meetings, but there will be also some kind of state meal for him. Now, the reason we're watching this so closely is how desperately each needs things from the other. On one hand, the Russian leader, we know, in desperate need of ammunition, artillery shells to help fuel the war here in Ukraine. But it is what the North Korean leader might get which is of particular concern to the Asian region.

And that is not just food aid, some of the very basics that his economy desperately needs, but, of course, help with some of that more sophisticated weaponry. Spy satellites, for instance, Anderson. Nuclear powered submarines, and any help he might get for his nuclear program from one of the world's leading nuclear nations. Anderson?

COOPER: And has there been any reaction from Ukrainian authorities?

BELL: Not so far, but we have had a very stiff reaction from Washington, American officials pursuing that strategy that we've seen over the course of the last few months of really holding up the possibility either of meetings or of weapons transfers as they did with Beijing, warning Beijing just a few months ago what would happen should there be any weapons transfers towards Moscow.

Really flagging those as publicly as they can in the hope of preventing them from happening. That doesn't appear to have worked. But we have been hearing, Anderson, from a State Department spokesman about warnings of what will happen if those goes ahead, the very serious sanctions that both of these countries already very heavily sanctions sanctioned would face.

But also pointing out and reflecting Sunny (ph), the Secretary of State said on a visit here just last week to Kyiv that it does give you a fair idea of just how spectacularly Vladimir Putin has failed in his strategic aims here in Ukraine. That he should be heading across his own country, hat in hand, looking for some of the weapons that he needs to help fuel it, Anderson.

COOPER: So you talk about things they may be prepared to do. Sanctions is essentially all that's in the arsenal.

BELL: That's pretty much what's in the arsenal. It is of extreme concern to the international community because what you're looking at is 15 years of sanctions on North Korea, a whole system of sanctions that have been set up by the international community, that one of the leading members of the Security Council, with a veto right on it, could be about to help fall apart.

And that, of course, is of extreme concern, both countries extremely heavily sanctioned. The question is what further pressure could be applied on these two countries, one of which, again, sits on a Security Council.

And when you look at the role that China has played really over the course of the last year, it has been largely responsible for helping North Korea with a lot of its food aid, helping it to get around of some of those sanctions, refusing to further sanction it on the Security Council when it has been in violation of the sanctions that are already there. Now, Pyongyang is extremely reluctant to be too reliant on Beijing as it has been these last few years for it. This is an extremely welcome move that Moscow should be in need of precisely the kind of ammunition that it has. Bear in mind, Anderson, that Pyongyang hasn't been at war since 1953, the Korean War that saw the Korean peninsula separated into two. It has a lot of ammunition.

And about a year ago, the United States had accused Pyongyang of secretly bringing some of those shipments to Russia. The fact that it should be overtly doing so --

COOPER: Yes.

BELL: -- a huge win for Pyongyang on the world stage and in terms of evading sanctions and of course, right here in Ukraine, a huge worry for Ukrainians about some of those ammunitions, some of those shells arriving here openly. Anderson?

COOPER: Melissa Bell, thanks very much.

Some truly welcome news now, the American trapped in a cave for days in Turkey is out. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us. So what do we know about how rescuers got this caver out?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, this has been a very complex rescue mission that has been going on for days right now that has involved nearly 200 rescuers from different countries, a real multinational effort to get Mark Dickey out of that cave.

Now, just a bit of background about how this all unfolded, about 10 days ago, Mark Dickey, who was part of this expedition, he's a researcher, he fell ill at about 3,000 feet from the surface. We understand that he had gastrointestinal bleeding, but he was stabilized.

He received several units of blood while he was in there. But it was such a logistical challenge to try and get him on a stretcher and get him out of what is Turkey's third deepest cave with very narrow and winding passages.

So they really had to work on this plan that went into effect on Saturday. And you had these different rescuers setting up these different camps. It's been a seven phase rescue operation since Saturday. They'd move a bit, stop a bit, rest, and then move again.

[20:55:07]

And just in the past few hours, we've heard the news, we've seen the images coming out of Mark Dickey coming out of that cave after what has been a very difficult time for him, his family, his friends, and of course, all these rescuers who have been involved in this delicate operation, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, it's incredible they got him out. Jomana Karadsheh, thanks.

Next, we remember the nearly 3,000 people killed 22 years ago today in the 9/11 terror attacks.

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COOPER: Tonight, we remember what it felt like here and across the country and the world 22 years ago today. Take a look at the one -- at one World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, where the twin towers of the original World Trade Center were brought down by two hijacked airliners on this day 22 years ago.

The fallen north and south towers now represented by those two shafts of light, you can see there on the right of your screen. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 2001, where those beams of light now rise. 184 people died in the attack at the Pentagon. 40 were killed when the plane they were in crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

This morning, mourners gathered at ground zero in New York for several moments of silence, including one for each plane and the reading of the names of those killed.

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COOPER: The bell rang at the exact moments when the planes hit. Tonight, we remember what must never be forgotten.

That's it for us. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.