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U.S. Changes Strategy in Syria; Russia Slamming ISIS Positions in Syria; Protests Lead to Violence in Gaza Friday; North Korea Celebrates Ruling Party Anniversary; Candidates Prepare for Democratic Debate; Afghan Defense Minister Reacts to Hospital Attack; U.S. College Students Mourn after Deadly Shooting; Fight to Free American Journalist Jailed in Iran; Tunisian Mediators Win Nobel Peace Prize; Solo Ascent on World's Highest Peak; U.S. Baseball Heats Up. Aired 4- 5a ET
Aired October 10, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Today at least seven people are killed in Gaza. We will have a live report ahead next.
And an impressive spectacle: North Korea celebrating the 70th anniversary of its ruling party in grand style.
From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm George Howell, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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HOWELL: Good day to you and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We begin with this news just in to CNN.
Turkish media reports that at least one bomb exploded near Ankara's main train station just moments ago. A witness says the blast was so powerful that it rocked nearby high-rises. We're working to get more information, new details and will bring them to you as soon as we learn more.
And now to the shift in U.S. policy in Syria. The government now suspending its program to train rebels in the fight against ISIS. The plan initially was set up to train some 5,000 Syrian rebels a year. But the half-billion dollar program fell far short of its goals. CNN's Barbara Starr with more on how the U.S. plans to move forward.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Syrian forces backed up by Russia continuing to escalate attacks in Western Syria as the U.S. announces a massive overhaul of its effort to train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.
ASH CARTER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard.
STARR (voice-over): Few were. Now instead of recruiting fighters from the battlefield for training, the U.S. will provide airstrikes and airdrop ammunition and communications gear in Northern Syria to members of the so-called Syrian Arab Coalition, some 5,000 fighters from various tribes and militias that have been fighting ISIS for months.
The original effort to train thousands in Turkey and Jordan and send them back into Syria fell apart. An update on the number of those trained included this shocking admission by the U.S. general running the war against ISIS.
GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It's a small number and the ones that are in the fight is -- we're talking four or five.
STARR (voice-over): About 100 fighters of those remain in training but the program is over. One problem: many of the rebels oppose the U.S. rule that they must promise to fight ISIS, not Assad.
SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: The challenge in Syria is that the entire train and equip program has been pretty hamstrung. It's like the U.S. was trying to train Syrian rebels with one hand tied behind its back.
STARR (voice-over): And they've had little support.
JONES: Not allowing U.S. special operations forces to accompany rebels in Syria undermined the entire program.
STARR (voice-over): In the new program, rebels will still have to promise to focus on ISIS but this time the U.S. thinks it will work because fighters are already in place doing just that. And the more they fight, the more air support and weapons the U.S. will give them.
STARR: All of this as the Russians continue to build their presence inside Syria -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: A top Iranian military commander who is helping to train the Syrian army was killed by ISIS. Iranian state media report ISIS killed Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani outside Aleppo, where he was advising the Syrian army.
U.S. officials say that his death dealt a, quote, "psychological blow" to the pro-regime forces.
And in Russia, Russian now in the mix in Syria. From the air, land and sea, its military is in full swing taking on targets in Syria.
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HOWELL (voice-over): And from these images, you can see the massive amount of firepower that Moscow is using in the fight against ISIS and what it calls other terrorist groups. Russia says that its air force killed 200 ISIS militants in the past 24 hours alone.
The U.S. and its allies accuse Moscow of targeting Western-backed moderate rebels in that region. As you can see on this map, many missiles appear to have struck areas outside of ISIS' control.
Following it all is our Ian Lee, who joins us now live from Cairo, Egypt.
Ian, good day to you.
[04:05:00]
HOWELL: It's a very complicated situation and a lot to cover here. Let's start with the death of this Iranian general.
How significant an impact has that had?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, it just shows that direct involvement of the Iranians in this fight on the side of the regime -- of the regime and Bashar al-Assad.
What it also shows is that they have a very high-level presence in that country, that advising the U.S. has said that they have troops on the ground as well.
But when we look at Iranian state media, we look at what they're quoting the president as saying, is that this is a big loss that has caused deep grief. So it is a big blow for the Iranians and their operations inside of Syria.
But it also highlights just how high-level this goes and how important it is for them that the regime of Bashar al-Assad survives.
HOWELL: And, Ian, the other developing story this day is the U.S. shift in strategy when it comes to training Syrian rebels.
So how that being viewed in the region?
LEE: When you do look at it, as we heard from Barbara Starr, you have a $500 million program that was supposed to train thousands of fighters, to put them into the field to fight against ISIS.
Then you have the U.S. general admit that they only have four to five and one U.S. senator called that whole program a joke. It does not inspire confidence in the region, for those who are backing rebels against Bashar al-Assad, that the U.S. has a real strategy going forward.
Now they have shifted to support other rebel fighters in the North hoping they can push against ISIS. A combination, as we also heard, of airstrikes and ammunition. One of the goals is to cut off border access for ISIS. They have control along the Turkish border. That is a way that they've received the troops, supporters and supplies.
There is a strategy now of trying to cut that off to prevent those supplies from going in and really trying to squeeze ISIS that way -- George.
HOWELL: Then, Ian, put it into context, comparing that shift with what we're seeing with Russia, Russia showing its muscle at this point.
How is that escalation being viewed?
LEE: Russia has really ramped up its military presence, its military action in the country. Dozens and dozens of strikes against various targets. Now the United States says that they aren't targeting ISIS as Russia claims, but they're going after other rebel groups that are threatening the regime.
There have been a handful of strikes against ISIS. But on a daily basis we see about two planes delivering troops and supplies to the Russians in Syria. So it just shows that they are ramping up, that they had cruise missile strikes from the Caspian Sea strike in Syria as well.
So the Russians very much ramping up their presence, their actions. This also comes as we saw Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian general visit Russia to talk about strategy there. Now we're seeing an increased Russian-Iranian presence in action in Syria.
HOWELL: Ian Lee live for us in Cairo, Egypt.
Ian, thank you so much for your reporting.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says at least seven Palestinians were killed and 90 wounded from fighting in Gaza on Friday. Israeli forces say more than 1,000 Palestinians approached the security fence and threw rocks and burning tires at IDF soldiers. For more of what's happening, let's go live to Jerusalem. Erin McLaughlin standing by live for us this hour.
Erin, good to see you this day.
What is the very latest on this case?
ERIC MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, we're hearing of another stabbing incident, this time near the Damascus gates of the Old City in Jerusalem. Israeli police that say a 16-year-old Palestinian boy stabbed two Israelis. They say the police responded, opening fire and killing the 16-year-old boy.
Clashes erupted near the gate after the incident. Meanwhile, overnight, clashes in Arab cities throughout Israel as well as Eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, the situation escalating at the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
Israeli police saying that live rounds exchanged on both sides and they say a Palestinian man during clashes opened fire on them. They returned fire. He later died of his wounds in the hospital; they say on his body they found bullet shells as well as --
[04:10:00]
MCLAUGHLIN: -- a knife. Palestinian eyewitnesses say that live fire was exchanged from the Palestinian side but they say that the man that was shot and killed was throwing stones. His funeral is happening this morning.
Meanwhile in Gaza, clashes there for a second day, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. At least eight Palestinians killed there since yesterday in those clashes. In total, Palestinian Red Crescent saying in clashes across East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, at least 800 Palestinians injured -- George.
HOWELL: Erin, what are Palestinian and Israeli leaders saying about all of this?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, Israeli leaders are blaming Palestinians, Hamas, as well as the Palestinian Authority, for inciting violence. Yesterday we heard from the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Friday prayers, praising the attacks, these kind of lone wolf attacks, saying that the battle for Jerusalem is their battle.
We've also heard from other Palestinian leaders, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas saying he's trying to de-escalate the situation. We heard from a chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, saying that despite calls for escalation, people on the streets want to know what happens next if things de-escalate.
He says that people want a two-state solution and only that will finally end the bloodshed -- George.
HOWELL: And Erin, just for context for our viewers, Palestinians who have been banned from being allowed into a mosque, can you explain to viewers just some of the background?
MCLAUGHLIN: That's right. Yesterday, Palestinian leaders calling for a day of rage in protest of Israel's policy towards the holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Yesterday, restrictions were in place at the sites, preventing Muslim men under the age of 50 -- sorry, 45, from praying. There's the kind of restriction that has inflamed tensions of late as well as visits from the Israeli far right to the site.
Palestinian leaders questioning whether -- questioning Israel's commitment to the so-called status quo of the site. Israeli leaders for their part saying that the status quo will persist. We heard from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling upon government ministers as well as members of the Knesset not to visit the site in a bid to de-escalate things.
HOWELL: Erin McLaughlin live for us in Jerusalem this hour, Erin, thank you so much for your reporting.
Now we move on to North Korea. The country's leader, Kim Jong-un, says that his country is ready to fight any war with the United States. That is according to a Reuters translation of his speech just a short time ago. He spoke to the country at the anniversary parade of the ruling Workers Party.
This comes as the U.S. has concerns that North Korea will launch weapons as part of the anniversary. The massive military parade that you see here got underway just hours ago after a lengthy delay blamed on weather, though you do see sunny skies now. Will Ripley has more from Pyongyang.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to patriotic displays of state muscle, few countries can rival North Korea in the kinds of massive spectacles we're seeing unfold in the streets of Pyongyang today.
Not only are we seeing thousands of troops representing the country's infantry, air force, navy and paramilitary reserve forces but we'll also be seeing a lot of the North Korean hardware rolling through the streets, hardware that has been assembled at a military base outside of town and then lining up on the streets of the capital ready to roll through the Kim il-Sung Square.
Some of these pieces of military equipment are considered vintage. They go back to the Soviet era. But there are some new pieces of military technology that the world will be watching for.
This includes intercontinental ballistic missiles on missile launchers rolling through the streets. People want to know what new weaponry North Korea has on display in addition to North Korean-produced drones, some of which have been on reconnaissance flights and have reportedly crashed in South Korea.
This is also an important moment politically for the supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, who gave a speech to his people and earlier in the day met with a high-level delegation from China, a high-ranking member of China's Communist Party hand-delivered a president -- hand-delivered a letter from President Xi Jinping to the supreme leader of North Korea, the first public statement of these two countries' relationship after months of speculation and a visit by the South Korean president to China's own military parade last month.
The spectacle continuing here in Pyongyang as North Korea sends a very clear message to its own people, fierce patriotism and, to the world, defiance -- Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.
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HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come, President Barack Obama pays a condolence visit to survivors and families of those killed in Oregon's mass shooting.
Plus, candidates in the United States are gearing up for the first Democratic presidential debate. Coming up, we'll focus on Senator Bernie Sanders, who is no stranger to verbal combat.
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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
There has been another school shooting in the United States. Students at Northern Arizona University are grieving after a fight turned deadly on campus early Friday. Police say four people were shot multiple times.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two separate student groups got into a confrontation. The confrontation turned physical and one of our students, Steven Jones, 18 years old, produced a handgun and he shot four of our other students.
One of our students is deceased. The other three are being treated at the Flagstaff Medical Center.
HOWELL (voice-over): The suspect is charged with first degree murder. Police say he is cooperating with their investigation.
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In the United States, the president, Barack Obama, made a stop on Friday in Roseburg, Oregon, where nine people --
[04:20:00]
HOWELL: -- died in a mass shooting at a community college earlier in the week. Obama met for an hour with grieving families, as well as survivors of the attack by a lone gunman. After the meeting, he spoke briefly, saying the U.S. needs to figure out ways to stop such shootings from happening.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got some very strong feelings about this because, when you talk to these families, you're reminded that this could be happening to your child or your mom or your dad or your relative or your friend.
And so we're going to have to come together as a country to see how we can prevent these issues from taking place.
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HOWELL: The president did meet with some opposition. Gun rights advocates in Roseburg, though, protested his push for tighter gun reforms.
Gun sales in the United States are on record-setting pace. In the first nine months of the year, there were 15.6 million background checks on guns sold from federally licensed sellers, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Compare that to 15.5 million checks for the same period in 2013, when gun sales surged after the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Record sales mean increasing profits for gunmakers. Smith & Wesson, for instance, the stock has skyrocketed to more than 80 percent this year alone. The company reported a first quarter profit of $17.7 million on $148 million in revenue. And it's on track for over $600 million in sales this year, according to one group.
Take a look at a rival gunmaker, though. It isn't far behind. Its stock is up nearly 70 percent with quarterly earnings of $17.6 million on sales of $141 million. The company reports over half a billion in gun sales a year, almost double what it did in 2010.
All right. Here we go. Prep time is dwindling for the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates before their first major primary debate. There are just four days left until the event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday night right here on CNN.
The two White House hopefuls leading the pack are former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and far left-leaning Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sanders might be new to the presidential debate spotlight but the Vermont senator is no -- by no means a stranger to debating. CNN's Randi Kaye has this story.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not his first rodeo.
I've been active in political life in the state of Vermont for the last 16 years.
KAYE (voice-over): Senator Bernie Sanders has taken part in at least 19 political debates, Hillary Clinton at least 25.
Vermont journalist Greg Guma saw some of Sanders' first debates back in the 1970s.
GREG GUMA, JOURNALIST: He's very practiced as a debater and able to really boil it down to a clear, unequivocal message. He's ready-made for this closeup he's going to get next week.
SANDERS: There's nothing wrong with it.
KAYE (voice-over): It's a style Guma describes as assertive, disciplined and confident.
SANDERS: I mean, that's a man who talks about partisan hatred. You want to do something about partisan hatred. And yet, you have run the most negative, dishonest campaign in the history of the state of Vermont.
GUMA: He uses his hands. He has distinctive hand gestures, pointing gestures like this or like this, using both hands. I look at it as a kind of prophetic style also, like a John the Baptist, who was sort of bringing this moral gospel to people in an inspiring way.
SANDERS: Tax breaks to billionaires, not this, Senator.
KAYE (voice-over): When he trades barbs, it can be subtle. Other times, not so much.
SANDERS: You have made it clear that you would vote for Mr. Gingrich for Speaker, which means that that type of ideology would be the prevalent ideology in the United States Congress.
Why would you support such a right-wing extremist as Mr. Gingrich?
KAYE (voice-over): Sanders likes to stand. He also likes to point fingers.
SANDERS: It's people like you --
KAYE: The fact that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, praised the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade deal 44 times, calling it the gold standard and now opposes it, Sanders may see an opening.
Over the years on the debate stage, he's had little tolerance for those he sees as flip-floppers.
KAYE (voice-over): Guma says Sanders is relentlessly on message and good at spinning questions without answering them.
SANDERS: And call a spade a spade. Talk about what really goes on in this country.
KAYE (voice-over): He will defend himself if attacked but is not one to get flustered.
SANDERS: Well, Mr. Candless (ph) says that the economy is really booming, doing well. It's wrong.
KAYE (voice-over): Sanders seems to have learned over the years to --
[04:25:00]
KAYE (voice-over): -- cool it with the eye rolls, bristle less and watch his body language. So Guma says don't expect him to come out acting grumpy.
And keep an eye out for his conversational style, which he hopes will stand out on the national stage, in stark contrast to those laying it on thick with policy -- Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
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HOWELL: And as we mentioned, CNN is hosting the first debate among the Democratic U.S. presidential candidates. Our Anderson Cooper will moderate and Don Lemon will pose questions that are submitted via Facebook. Our live coverage from Las Vegas, Nevada, starts at 8:30 pm this Tuesday on the East Coast and if that's a bit late for you, you can catch the replay at 8:00 pm Wednesday in London, 9:00 pm Central European Time, only here on CNN.
We'll also replay the debate in its entirety Wednesday at 7:00 pm in Hong Kong, 8:00 pm in Tokyo. Again, here on CNN.
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is one of the most powerful positions in American politics. But the process of choosing one is in total chaos now. That is after the congressman widely assumed to succeed John Boehner dropped out.
Kevin McCarthy was considered the front-runner for the job until he changed his mind this week. Now most eyes are on Paul Ryan. He told fellow Republicans he's thinking and praying about seeking the position. You might remember that Ryan was Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate back in the 2012 election.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come this hour, details about the deadly bombing of a Doctors without Borders hospital in Afghanistan.
Where were the alleged Taliban fighters being targeted?
An exclusive interview with the Afghan defense minister is ahead.
Plus, an Iranian American journalist reaching a grim milestone while in Iranian detention. That story as this broadcast continues around the world this hour on CNN International and CNN USA.
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HOWELL: Welcome back. To our viewers here in the United States and around the world, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.
The headlines we're following this hour:
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HOWELL (voice-over): Turkish media report dozens of casualties in a bomb blast in Ankara just a short time ago. It happened near the Turkish capital's main train station. A witness tells CNN the explosion was so powerful it rocked nearby high-rise buildings. No word yet, though, on who might be responsible for that blast.
The escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has now spread to Gaza. Israel's military says troops fired at protesters, who were attempting to storm Gaza's fortified border with Israel. Palestinian medics say seven people were killed.
The United States is making a major change to one of its central efforts in the fight against ISIS in Syria. It's putting an end to its program to train Syrian rebels, putting it on hold. The U.S. military will now focus on airdropping ammunition and
communications gear to rebel leaders and their units that are on the battlefield and the airstrikes will continue.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says he is, quote, "ready to fight any kind of war waged by the United States." That is according to a Reuters News Agency translation of his speech that was given a short time ago at the country's 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party -- a big celebration there, as you see.
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HOWELL: Afghanistan's defense minister insists that Taliban fighters were shooting from the, quote, "walls of the hospital" that was struck last week by U.S. bombs. Twelve medical staff members and at least 10 patients were killed when the Doctors without Borders hospital in Kunduz was hit.
The U.S. has apologized for what it calls a mistake. CNN's Nic Robertson spoke exclusively with the Afghan cabinet member.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What happened to the Doctors without Borders hospital?
General Campbell in charge of U.S. forces said that it was Afghan special forces that requested the airstrike.
MASOOM STANEKZAI, AFGHAN DEFENSE MINISTER: The problem that appears there was a large concentration of the fighters near the hospital and even inside the hospital. And the special forces, they asked for some support because they were getting under a lot of pressure there.
ROBERTSON: Even Doctors without Borders, though, say there were no Taliban fighters using it as a base inside the hospital.
STANEKZAI: One is the base, one is, for instance, if somebody is shooting and firing from the wall of the hospital, this is something that you can see on the battlefield.
ROBERTSON: But I just want to be very clear and understand this very clearly because, honestly, the details are important here.
The Taliban were firing from inside the compound, on the wall of the compound, outside of the compound?
STANEKZAI: Right from the walls, not from the inside but from the walls where they were -- took their position.
ROBERTSON: This is where the airstrikes were called in by the special forces, Afghan special forces, to target the Taliban, who were by the walls on the outside?
STANEKZAI: Yes.
ROBERTSON: But a building on the inside was hit.
STANEKZAI: Actually, the building outside was hurt so that that damage was extended to the inside.
ROBERTSON: Doctors without Borders say that it was very precise. The plane came back around several times and kept hitting the same building inside the compound.
STANEKZAI: As I said, this issue has to be fully investigated in more detail.
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HOWELL: Joining us now live is our own Nic Robertson from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Nic, we just saw your interview just a moment ago with the defense minister. Tell us more about that meeting.
ROBERTSON: Well, he laid out the situation for the Taliban and the strength of opponents for the government at the moment. One of the things I talked to him about was why Kunduz fell so quickly. We'd been told by local residents they felt like the army had run and deserted them.
He said no, that that wasn't the case; the Taliban had snuck into the city, that the army were based outside the city. Once the Taliban were inside, it was difficult to fight them because they were worried about collateral damage, worried about hitting civilians.
He did also say that, like U.S. forces, he was ordering Afghan forces to reassess their rules of engagement. But he said, this year for the Afghan army was a tough year because the Taliban are --
[04:35:00]
ROBERTSON: -- fighting on many fronts and because Pakistan has now pushed out Al Qaeda elements, ISIS elements inside Pakistan. They've come to Afghanistan. So he described a situation where the Afghan forces are under a lot of pressure on a lot of fronts and also because they no longer have large-scale international support.
The NATO troops have drawn down and this is part of the reason, of course, why U.S. special forces who are on the ground were able to call in those airstrikes that so fatefully hit the hospital.
But as far as the investigation goes, we still do not have -- any of the three investigations underway do not have new details precisely laying out a sequence of events and an explanation for -- a clear explanation for those events -- George.
HOWELL: Nic, also, Medecins sans Frontieres also demanding an independent investigation into this to find out how and why this happened.
ROBERTSON: Yes. At the moment, it still requires a nation, one of the 76 nations that supports the international humanitarian fact- finding commission, to step up and propose it.
Doctors without Borders have said that they have got support from the leadership of NATO. NATO, of course, are doing their own investigation on the ground here, part of Resolute Support Mission here. That is happening.
But the real step that Doctors without Borders need to get that -- to get that international investigation going hasn't so far happened. They're still hoping that it will, they're still demanding that it will. And they say that's what's required, they believe, that this has to be conducted, the investigations have to be conducted by parties who weren't involved.
And so far, U.S. forces, NATO, Afghan government, who are doing investigations, they were all involved. It would be a team of experienced professionals in the -- in humanitarian law and military diplomats, these sorts of people, that would be part of that investigative team just to find the facts.
But they say they recognize how difficult that would be, given how hard it is to get into the -- get into the conflict zone in Kunduz and they say that what they want to do could take time. But it's simply about getting the facts out so that they know if they can be safe working around Afghanistan as they are now.
HOWELL: Nic Robertson, giving us this report also from the Afghan defense minister, Nic, thank you so much for your reporting live in Kabul, Afghanistan.
A reporter for "The Washington Post" is marking a grim milestone in Iranian detention. Jason Rezaian, a dual American Iranian citizen, has been held for more than 445 days. That is longer than the Americans held hostage in Iran more than 35 years ago. CNN's Becky Anderson looks at Rezaian's case.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): June 2009: Protests rocked Tehran after the disputed elections saw the radical president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad return to power. A young reporter, Jason Rezaian, had just left Iran.
JASON REZAIAN, JOURNALIST: I wasn't so much fearful about being detained but I was told last Wednesday that I had to stop working. They revoked my press pass a couple of days before it was to expire.
ANDERSON (voice-over): But Rezaian went back and began working for "The Washington Post." In the spring of 2014, he and his Iranian wife, Yeganeh, talked with CNN's Anthony Bourdain about the challenges of reporting from the country.
JASON REZAIAN: The difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we are telling you, we are seeing in front of our eyes, is actually there. When you walk down the street you see a different side of things. People are proud. The culture is vibrant. People have a lot to say. ANDERSON (voice-over): There were frustrations.
JASON REZAIAN: I miss certain things about home. I miss my buddies. I miss burritos. But I love it. I love it -- and I hate it. You know. But it's home. It's become home
ANDERSON (voice-over): Six weeks later, Jason and his wife were detained, their home ransacked. Yeganeh was released on bail, but Jason remained in prison with only one visit with a lawyer and unable to talk with his family for four months, until last Thanksgiving, when he was suddenly allowed to make a call home.
YEGANEH SALEHI, WIFE OF JASON REZAIAN: We talked about past Thanksgivings with people who are now departed. We both choked up a number of times.
ANDERSON (voice-over): His mother, Mary, appearing on CNN's "AMANPOUR" in December 2014, worried about his health.
MARY REZAIAN, MOTHER OF JASON REZAIAN. His continued mental state is in question, Simply because I understand he's been in chronic pain.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Rezaian was finally put on trial five months later accused of espionage and facing a 20-year sentence if convicted. The trial ended late this summer.
And "The Washington Post" again appealed for his release, saying "Jason is a dedicated law-abiding journalist and a --
[04:40:00]
ANDERSON (voice-over): -- good man who is being targeted with nonsensical unsupportable and entirely baseless allegations of espionage and other offenses."
Iran's judiciary news services said his arrest has nothing to do with his being a journalist. Through a website and on Twitter with the #FreeJason, his family have kept up the pressure to get him released.
ALI REZAIAN, BROTHER OF JASON REZAIAN: These delays are just completely inhumane. They're illegal by Iranian standards, they're illegal by international standards.
ANDERSON (voice-over): But months after the end of his trial, still no verdict announced. Only a recent hint from President Rouhani that Jason and other Americans in Iranian jails could be part of an exchange for Iranians convicted in the U.S. on charges related to nuclear technology.
HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If the Americans take their appropriate steps and set them free, certainly the right environment will be open and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the swiftest freedom for the Americans held in Iran as well.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Jason's mother says all her son ever wanted to do was report.
MARY REZAIAN: He loves Iran and he took it upon himself to try to show modern Iran to the rest of the world, to the Western world, that's been closed out for so many years.
ANDERSON (voice-over): For 445 days now, Jason Rezaian has been unable to report or even speak to the outside world -- Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, an unexpected choice for the Nobel Peace Prize. A Tunisian coalition that speared the country toward post-resolution democracy, details ahead.
Plus, a status report on the first and only climber attempting to summit Mt. Everest this season. We'll have that story ahead.
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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm George Howell.
This year's Nobel Peace Prize recognizes Tunisia's fight for peace and democracy after the Arab Spring --
[04:45:00]
HOWELL: -- uprisings.
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HOWELL (voice-over): The prize went to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. The Nobel committee said it established a peaceful political process after Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution in 2011, which, you'll remember, ousted the country's authoritarian regime. One of the quartet's leaders calls the award a message for the region.
HUSSEIN ABASSI, GENERAL SECRETARY, GENERAL UNION OF TUNISIAN WORKERS (through translator): This is a positive message for countries and states that experienced revolutions and where conflicts and danger still exist. On this occasion, I want to call for every civil society forces in these countries to believe in their power and their message and to make initiative in order to conciliate between rivals and find political solutions that will keep their countries safe.
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HOWELL: The road to democracy has not been easy for Tunisia. Militant Islamists staged deadly attacks there in March and June of this year. A little background now on this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. The quartet is a group dedicated to creating dialogue between elements
of Tunisian society. Formed in the summer of 2013, it includes a labor union, a trade confederation and a human rights organization and a lawyer's group.
Now to a Japanese mountaineer, who has failed his attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Our own Derek Van Dam joins us now live to talk more about this and as he descends that mountain, he faces even more risk.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this has really captured my attention. I started following this gentleman on Facebook, on Twitter, Nobukazu Kuriki. He is the first person to attempt a summiting of Mt. Everest, the world's largest mountain, since April, when we had the catastrophic earthquake that led to an avalanche and dozens of people killed at the base camp of Everest.
He's not only the first person to attempt the summit since then but he's also the only climber attempting to summit Everest this particular season. He's posting pictures right now where there is no one at base camp of Everest. This stuff is amazing.
Here's what he's encountering at the moment. This is his fifth attempt. Get this, George, he's a solo climber, not using oxygen. And he has lost his fingertips in a previous attempt at summiting Everest. Unbelievable stuff. He obviously has difficulty holding on to ice axes, which is a very critical element and tool for climbers trying to summit Everest.
As you said, he has to contend with avalanches, rockfalls, high winds, extreme cold and altitude sickness as he descends down Mt. Everest. He was about 700 meters just before the summit when winds got too extreme and the weather got a little bit too turbulent for him and he decided and made the right decision to come down early.
Keep in mind, these mountaintops go over 8,500 meters, that's nearly the level of the jet stream. And often the jet stream, which is strong upper level winds, can dip down in the atmosphere. We're talking about winds in excess of 100 miles per hour or 160 kilometers per hour. You can imagine the kind of turbulent conditions experienced on the top of Mt. Everest for anyone attempting to climb that mountain.
There are two distinctive climbing seasons across the Nepalese mountains there. That would be late April and into May as well as September into October. That's when the rainfall and snowfall is just low enough before the extremely wet season starts to pitch in.
But it's really that they start to lose daytime sunlight by this time of year. That makes this a particularly dangerous journey, not to mention the possibility of more snow. So he will have to contend with that as he comes down the mountain, a significant feat in itself. I'm glad he made the decision, though, to come down because that's obviously a very dangerous attempt to get up to Everest.
HOWELL: But certainly credit given to him just for even attempting. VAN DAM: Yes, absolutely. And it's great that he's going to be -- attempted to be the first person since this tragic -- tragedy that took place there in April.
HOWELL: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
VAN DAM: Thanks, George.
HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, U.S. baseball heats up for the playoffs.
But can the Chicago Cubs break a century-long curse?
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HOWELL: Image of Chicago there, fitting to start this block. Baseball fans in the U.S. are on edge after the first game of the National League Division Series. The St. Louis Cardinals are leading the Chicago Cubs 1-0 and the New York Mets are one up over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The winner from each series will then play each other for a chance to go to the World Series.
The city of Chicago celebrated big time on Wednesday when the Cubs won their first playoff game in 12 years but that was cut short with the loss on Friday.
A lot of people in Chicagoland are certainly pulling for the Cubs. They haven't won a World Series since 1907. And the hardcore fans blame that on the curse over a goat. CNN's Coy Wire has the story.
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MICHAEL FOX, ACTOR ,"MARTY MCFLY": Wait a minute. Cubs win World Series -- against Miami?
THOMAS F. WILSON, ACTOR, "BIFF TANNEN": Yes, it's something. Who would have thought? It's a 100-1 shot.
COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was a scene from 1989's "Back to the Future II," where Marty McFly travels to the year 2015 to find that the Chicago Cubs had won the World Series.
Prophetic?
Maybe. Sure, the Cubs haven't won since 1908 and, yes, it's true that they haven't even made it to the fall classic since 1945 --
"CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, ACTOR, "DR. EMMETT BROWN": Hello! Great Scott!
WIRE (voice-over): But some fans think there are perfectly justifiable reasons why it's been so long since the Cubbies have made it to the big show.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need some sort of supernatural forces that are pushing down our franchise, are pushing down our beloved Cubbies.
WIRE (voice-over): Curses, jinxes, hexes, those are some of the reasons Chicago fans give for the 107-year World Series drought, like the so-called curse of the billy goat.
Legend has it the owner of a Chitown tavern put the hex on the Cubs when he and his pet goat were kicked out of Wrigley Field during the World Series because his goat --
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WIRE (voice-over): -- smelled like, well, a goat. Some think that was a ba-a-a-ad move because the Cubs went on to lose the Series four games to three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People love the goat.
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WIRE (voice-over): In 2012, a group of diehard fans and goat named Wrigley tried to break the curse by walking some 1,990 miles from Arizona to Chicago.
It didn't work.
Manager Joe Maddon knew about the legends when he first took over but they didn't faze him.
JOE MADDON, MANAGER, CHICAGO CUBS: This is a 107-year opportunity for me right now. I'm way too optimistic to worry about things like that.
WIRE (voice-over): But it's been one heartbreak after another. The Cubs were just five outs away from making it to the 2003 World Series. They were leading the Marlins 3-zip in the 8th when a fan named Steve Bartman became public enemy number one in Chicago when he got in the way of Cubs' outfielder, Moises Alou, possibly robbing the Cubs of an out.
The Cubs ended up surrendering eight runs in the inning and lost the game 8-3. That painful memory was put to rest forever when the ball was blown up on live television.
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WIRE (voice-over): Now this year's Cubs team is scrappy. Is this the one that will finally put an end to the championship drought?
JAKE ARRIETA, CUBS PITCHER: It's been a long time coming to this moment. I've been waiting for it for a number of years. And I'm ready.
WIRE (voice-over): Rev up those DeLorians and adjust your flux capacitors, Cubs fans. This could be a fun ride.
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HOWELL: I can only imagine what it would be like in Wrigleyville if that happens. We'll have to see.
The Rugby World Cup is reaching the end of its pool stage. And these next few matches are critical. From Pool A, Australia and Wales are already in the quarterfinals. On Saturday, England says goodbye to the tournament whether they beat Uruguay or not.
In Pool B, South Africa guaranteed to finish first. Samoa plays Scotland Saturday. If Scotland wins, Japan will be out of contention. If the Scots drop out of the match, then the Japanese have to defeat the U.S. on Sunday to qualify.
All eyes will be watching. We thank you for watching this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll be back after the break with another hour of news from around the world. You are watching CNN, the world's news leader.
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