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Joe Biden Won't Seek U.S. Presidency; Assad Visits Moscow for Talks with Putin; Kerry and Netanyahu to Discuss Recent Violence; Netanyahu Blames Muslim Leader for Holocaust; Car-Free Day in World's Most Polluted City; Cities Struggle with Air Pollution; One Dead in Jerusalem After Apparent Attack on Israeli Soldier; Syria's President Assad Met with Putin in Moscow; WikiLeaks Publishes Info From CIA Director's Personal E-Mail; Hillary Clinton to Testify Before House Benghazi Committee Thursday; New York Mets Advance to World Series. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 22, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:10] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, Biden bows out. The U.S. vice president won't be running for the White House. That puts the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton on notice.

VAUSE: Israel's prime minister sparks outrage by blaming an Arab leader for the holocaust. But Germany says no, it was us.

SESAY: Pollution fighting or PR stunt. New Delhi's government tries to clear the air and busy city streets, calling for a voluntary car- free day on the same day as a national holiday.

VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

VAUSE: So that we know after weeks of speculation, is he in, is he out, a U.S. vice president has announced he will not be running for the White House in 2016. Joe Biden says the time it took to grieve for his son Beau meant the window to launch a successful presidential campaign had closed.

SESAY: But Biden says he will not be silent on issues that matter to the country and his party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This party, our nation will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy. The American people have worked too hard and we've come too far for that. Democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Biden's decision likely means that his more than 40- year-long career in federal politics will end when the Obama administration leaves office in January 2017.

Let's bring in CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. He joins us now from Houston, Texas.

Douglas, it's great to have you with us. Now back in 2013, you interviewed Joe Biden for "Rolling Stone" magazine. And you wrote this about the vice president. Let's put up the quote for our viewers. "It could be a mistake to underestimate his populist appeal and it's hard to imagine that this highly ambitious man will choose not to pursue the office he's wanted all his life."

So with that said, I've got to ask you, how surprised were you by Joe Biden's announcement today?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I did that "Rolling Stone" piece before Beau died. And so it was a little bit of a different Joe Biden. But he's always wanted to be president. If he ran, it would have been his third time. But it was a stunner today. I think many people thought that he was going to get his hat in the ring. There were a lot of indicators to it. But he decided again because of the death of Beau and the fact that the family is still healing that he needed to remain as vice president and not get entangled in what would have been a grueling campaign against Hillary Clinton, and then the Republican nominee come the summer and fall.

SESAY: And Douglas, you also made the point in that same quote, you said it would be a mistake or it could be a mistake to underestimate his populist appeal. That populist appeal didn't manifest itself in the polling as of late. Why do you think that was?

BRINKLEY: Oh, well, he hasn't run. You know, if he ran, it could have been a very different story. But he did that, you know, the vice president of the United States I think could have given Hillary Clinton a bit of a run for her money, or at least it would have been competitive. The real news story today with Biden getting out is that Hillary Clinton now has got a pretty much free run to get the nomination.

This is a day for the Clinton camp to really celebrate. Their only other rival, Bernie Sanders, says it seems very unlikely he could get the nomination. So it's all Hillary Clinton from this point on. The fact that Biden might enter was always there. But I think Secretary Clinton's performance in Las Vegas, she did a stellar job in the debate, may have also played in the fact that Joe Biden recognized that she wasn't hemorrhaging with the e-mail situation and the Benghazi problems. So I think that may have been a factor, too.

VAUSE: And Doug is talking about Secretary Clinton. It was interesting that during Biden's announcement, he really went after Hillary. He didn't mention her by name, but it was clear who he was talking about, my Republican colleagues are not my enemies, they're my friends. And he didn't say he didn't want to be president. He didn't say he didn't have the energy to be president. He just said his time for running for the nomination had passed. It seems to me he's left the door open just a little should Hillary implode, that he wants to be drafted, and that's what he wanted all along. BRINKLEY: No, I don't think that's what he wanted all along. I

really think we have to take the death of his son in a serious fashion and what that does to somebody. He went on the "Colbert Report" TV show and, you know, kind of spilled his heart of just how much agony he was in. So the timing just didn't quite work for him.

[00:05:10] He couldn't get -- you had to announce you're running soon because you would miss key dates to get -- be able to run in the primaries of Texas and Georgia very soon. And Alabama. Hence it was either this week or next week he would have had to decide. And this is the decision that he made.

VAUSE: But you're watching that announcement in the Rose Garden? Did you get a little emotional? Because regardless of your politics, Biden is a very likable guy and to think that really this is the end of 43 years in public office. It seemed to be quite a sad moment.

BRINKLEY: Yes. I mean I think it was a poignant moment. And there he was with Barack Obama on his side. And basically, Joe Biden was saying we need a third Obama term. And, you know, that's one of the closest friendships between a president and a vice president we've had in American history. They are, you know, major league personal friends. And so, yes, it was bittersweet I would say.

But look, when you have a career as long as Joe Biden's, and the fact of the matter is he still has over a year, well over a year as a sitting vice president, and the fact he says, I'm going to be an elder states person. I'm going to stay involved with political issues, doesn't mean he is disappearing from the scene. But we aren't going to be hearing as much about him in the coming months. It's all going to be Hillary Clinton and who is her opponent.

VAUSE: And of course Donald Trump, Hillary, Donald --

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: There is a lot of politics in the coming months. And we're very lucky to have you with us, Douglas.

Douglas Brinkley there, our presidential historian. Thank you so much.

SESAY: Thank you, Douglas.

BRINKLEY: Thank you. Appreciate it.

SESAY: Now Russian warplanes are pounding the western Syria town of Talbiseh. Video posted on social media purportedly shows the airstrikes.

VAUSE: Activists say the rebel-held town has been the target of Russian warplanes for two weeks. Russia's Defense Ministry says its planes hit 83 militant targets in the past 24 hours.

SESAY: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked his Russian counterpart for the assistance in a surprise face-to-face meeting Tuesday. The Kremlin says Mr. Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed coordinating their military action. The two leaders said their partnership is sound and essential.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): Syria is a friendly country to us, and we are prepared to do whatever we can only in the course of military efforts to fight terrorism, but also in the course of the political process.

BASHER AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): The terrorism that is now spreading today would perhaps be -- without your decisions and actions would have spread to even more territories and states, not just in our region, but to other regions, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Matthew Chance, live this hour in Moscow, he joins us with the very latest on this.

So, Matthew, let's unpack all of this. Assad travels to Moscow, quite possibly flown there on a Russian government plane. Putin then talks with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan. Where is all this heading?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But it's interesting, isn't it? It was a secret meeting. It took place overnight. It wasn't announced until the next morning when state television here in Russia broadcast images of that meeting in the Kremlin in the center of Moscow between Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. Obviously, key allies at this point.

The meeting has been criticized by the United States. U.S. White House spokesman saying, look, you know, it's terrible they gave a red carpet welcome -- I'm paraphrasing this now -- to a man who carried out chemical weapons attacks against his own people. But nevertheless, this is a clear alliance. And I think this meeting really underlying that. And it shows how confident Bashar al-Assad is, first of all, because it's the first time in, what, nearly four years since the Syrian crisis began that he's left the country on a foreign visit. He did that for the Kremlin.

But also underlines I think the diplomatic intent of Vladimir Putin. He is saying, look, this is the person we're going to be dealing with in Syria. We back Bashar al-Assad. And all diplomatic solutions in the future have got to come through Moscow because we're going to be front and center of that.

And to reinforce that idea after the meeting with Assad, Vladimir Putin had telephone calls with other players in the Syrian conflict as well, calling the Saudi Arabian king, the Turkish leader, the king of Jordan as well and the president of Egypt. So it's a bit of a diplomatic offensive that is started now by the Russians to push for some kind of political solution in which Assad will play a role.

VAUSE: Yes. And given all of that, I mean, Assad must be now looking at Putin as if he is leading the cavalry into town, it's like one of these old westerns. The town has been surrounded for months and years and suddenly the cavalry arrives and it's Putin. And he is really calling the shots now.

CHANCE: Yes, I mean, the first thing that Assad said, at least to the cameras when he got here, was a thank you. A message of gratitude to the Russian president and to the Russian people for providing the kind of support that they are providing to Syria.

[00:10:14] And it's been quite dramatic, the turnaround militarily on the ground there is a counter offensive under way now, led by the Syrian Army, but also including elements of the Iranian military and the Hezbollah militia. That's backed by the Russian Air Force. And so they're playing the air force to this ground offensive which is making significant ground.

VAUSE: Yes. Matthew, thank you. Matthew Chance live for us just on 10 past 7:00 in the morning there in Moscow. Thanks, Matthew.

SESAY: Now one man is dead in Jerusalem after an apparent attack on an Israeli soldier. Police say the suspect tried to grab the soldier's gun. The soldier and security guard opened fire, killing the suspect.

VAUSE: This comes as the head of the United Nations calls for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters in the West Bank that both sides should, quote, "show some courage and get back to a peaceful solution."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the recent violence.

SESAY: Well, for more on that we turn to our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman who joins us now from East Jerusalem.

Ben, are tensions still running high?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are running high. You had a series of incidents yesterday in which Palestinians allegedly attacked Israelis, although the final incident of the day appears to be a case of mistaken identity where two Israeli soldiers killed an Israeli Jew on a bus outside of Jerusalem. But tensions remain high. And there is no indication that there will be an easing of them. All it takes is a one or two incidents a day to keep tensions boiling.

We were in the southern West Bank yesterday in the city of Hebron where there were a variety of clashes going on there following the funeral of a young man killed outside of a city to the south of there. So no, there is no reduction in the tension, despite the fact that there is this flurry of diplomatic activity.

As you mentioned, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. He is apparently working on an idea of putting the so-called status quo, this informal, unwritten set of arrangements for the Temple Mount or the Haram al- Sharif as it's called, in writing, hoping that he can get all three parties, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, as well as Jordan, which has custodianship over the Temple Mount to sign on to that and perhaps reduce the tensions that were sparked by events there -- Isha.

SESAY: And Ben, that being said, UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural heritage agency, doctored a solution on Wednesday criticizing Israel for their handling or mishandling, if you will, of heritage sites in Jerusalem. As we talk about the noble sanctuary, the Haram al-Sharif, does that resolution have the power to change anything on the ground or to bring any influence to this conversation in the coming days with the secretary of state?

WEDEMAN: No. This UNESCO resolution, actually it was toned down. Originally it was supposed to include language that suggested that the Wailing Wall, or the Western Wall holy to Jews, would be described as a Muslim site. That was dropped. But the fact of the matter is, and the Israelis don't really pay much attention to UNESCO, they consider it to be an anti-Israeli body. This vote is not really going to change anything on the ground. I think we really just have to keep our eye on what Secretary of State Kerry manages or doesn't manage to achieve in trying to bring the two sides together.

SESAY: We will be watching it all very, very closely indeed. CNN international correspondent Ben Wedeman joining us there from Jerusalem. Thank you, Ben.

VAUSE: Well, for weeks now Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been hurling insults and accusations. But now the Israeli prime minister may have gone too far, blaming an Arab leader for the holocaust.

SESAY: Mr. Netanyahu's remarks have been condemned by Israeli historians and politicians. And now that he is in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear Germany was responsible. Details from Phil Black.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When most people think of the holocaust, the final solution, the extermination of millions of Jews, they think of this man.

But the Israeli prime minister says it wasn't a Nazi idea. He says it came from a Palestinian Muslim. Hitler's companion in this photo, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, who he says passed on the suggestion when they met in 1941.

[00:15:08] BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time. He wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, if you expel them, they'll all come here. So what should I do with them, he asked. He said, burn them.

COLETTE AVITAL, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: Well, at first I didn't believe what I heard.

BLACK: Colette Avital was once Netanyahu's opponent in Israel's parliament. She's also a holocaust survivor.

AVITAL: It's belittling the role of the Nazi party of Hitler himself and of all his associates for the final solution.

BLACK: Some historians have also piled on the prime minister.

MOSHE ZIMMERMAN, HISTORIAN, HEBREW UNIVERSITY: The killing of the Jews was already a fact.

BLACK: They view Netanyahu got his facts wrong, absolved Hitler and gave support to those who denied the holocaust ever happened.

ZIMMERMAN: Hitler didn't need any kind of advice from somebody. And of course not the advice of some small fry like the mufti of Jerusalem. So the whole dialogue that Netanyahu mentioned was invented.

BLACK: This is a violent time between Jews and Palestinians, which Netanyahu has repeatedly blamed on what he calls Palestinian incitement. He said it again in the same speech.

NETANYAHU: Stop lying. Stop inciting.

BLACK: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says the Israeli prime minister is inciting hatred at Palestinians by rewriting history. And some Israelis agree.

AVITAL: What exactly was Netanyahu saying? Hitler didn't do that much. It's really the Arabs.

BLACK: But some believe there is more than a colonel of truth to Netanyahu's history lesson.

Eddy Cohen is a researcher from the Bar-Ilan University who says there is no doubt Hitler and the mufti shared great motivation to kill and destroy Jews. Netanyahu insists he is not trying to absolve Hitler.

NETANYAHU: These plans of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

BLACK: As he's shown before, he's not afraid to use the holocaust to make a point. Once again, this historian's son is using that extraordinarily defining, painful event to defend his people's interests. This time many of his people are offended by his methods.

Phil Black, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, environmentalists call New Delhi the world's most polluted city. And just ahead, we'll take a look at the Indian capital and what they're doing to try and clear the air.

SESAY: And the world celebrated "Back to the Future" Day on Wednesday as Chicago baseball fans clung to hope that the Cubs, they just might win the title the movie predicted. Yes. We'll go there live, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:21:38] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Two degrees Celsius. That's what climate experts say is the difference between stabilizing global warming and total runaway climate change.

SESAY: Well, the pollution cause in climate change is also poisoning our air, especially in places like New Delhi, which has been labeled the most polluted city on earth. According to the World Health Organization, the air pollution is more than 15 times what is considered safe to breathe.

VAUSE: Of the top five cities with the worst air pollution in the world, congratulations, India, you've got four of them. But New Delhi is making an effort to try and to clear the air a little, declaring Thursday a car-free day.

SESAY: Something.

VAUSE: Here's our Delhi bureau chief Ravi Agrawal with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): If it's nighttime, it's time for the trucks to roll. While most of Delhi sleeps, more than 50,000 of these great heaving beasts ply the city's roads, carrying goods. But just look at them. Most tend to be many years old and poorly maintained. The result, exhaust fumes. A lot of it. And after a night full of that, a typical Delhi morning often looks like this. You can barely see more than a dozen feet ahead of you.

(On camera): Well, it's afternoon here in New Delhi, and things are a little bit clearer than they were in the morning. Now trucks aren't allowed to ply these roads during the day, but cars are. And the sheer number of cars is a problem. Every day 1400 new cars join the 8.5 million already on the streets here.

(Voice-over): The World Health Organization has labeled India's capital the most polluted city on the planet. Policymakers are beginning to react, with New Delhi's government trying out what it's calling a car-free day. Delhiites will be encouraged to leave their cars at home and instead take public transport.

Anumita Roychowdhury with the Center for Science and Environment says a car-free day is a step in the right direction.

ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT: Clearly in terms of impact, it's not going to make that big of an impact. But its role is to make people aware. So really in terms of hard decisions that are needed today to be able to control the number of vehicles, we would really have to do a lot more.

AGRAWAL: One thing the government has been trying to do is boost renewable energy. In a plan submitted to the U.N. last month, India said that by 2030, 40 percent of all its energy would come from non- fossil sources.

And what about those smoke-belching trucks? Starting November 1, the Supreme Court will impose a steep tax on trucks entering the city, likely discouraging the ones that were using New Delhi only as a thoroughfare. Small steps, many say, just a start on a very long road ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Ravi joins us now live.

So, Ravi, let's just recap all of this. The car-free day is actually totally voluntary. It's actually more of a car-free morning from 7:00 a.m. to midday. The experts say it won't have much impact on pollution. They called on it a national holiday when the roads are pretty empty anyway. All in all a pretty big success?

[00:25:03] AGRAWAL: Exactly, John. So I was driving around this morning, and we're about two and a half hours into this car-free morning. And obviously, there weren't very many cars on the road. But as you say, today is a big national holiday here in India, across India, not just Delhi. So there wouldn't have been that many cars in the streets anyway. It's quite politically expedient.

But that said, I'm not complaining. I have to say, just looking around and, you know, walking around, it feels like you can breathe a little bit more freely.

And John, you've lived in Beijing for so many years. So you would sympathize.

VAUSE: You have my sympathies like you could not believe. Living in a smokestack is never a lot of fun, Ravi Agrawal, our New Delhi bureau chief there, breathing a little easier, at least for today. Thanks, Ravi.

SESAY: He's so happy out there.

VAUSE: You have no idea.

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: Save your happy dance. Of course major cities around the globe are struggling with pollution. And many of CNN's correspondents, not John Vause, as he's here in L.A. now, are living in those cities like Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where some of the city's seven million residents are choking on the air they breathe. Cases of chest infection and asthma have soared in recent years. And the problem is caused more than 2600 premature deaths in 2014, according to a report by the University of Hong Kong and costs the economy nearly $4 billion. So what are the main causes and what is Hong Kong doing about it? A

big factor is roadside pollution. The heavy volume of traffic in this densely packed city means millions of people live and work close to busy roads, dramatically increasing their exposure to dangerous pollutants.

Hong Kong is offering subsidies to owners to switch to low-emission cars.

(Voice-over): Think tank, the Pacific Exchange, says 98 percent of the worst pollutants in the city's air come from commercial shipping and ferries. In July, Hong Kong introduced landmark new rules limiting the sulfur content of the diesel used by ships to have of 1 percent. Some also blame emissions blowing across the border from power plants and factories in southern China. Hong Kong has made it a target to cut these emissions. Partly by increasing cooperation with the mainland.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Diana Magnay in London. Now London's mayor, Boris Johnson, is making big changes to the city streets in a bid to improve air quality. Starting off by cleaning up the bus fleets. He's brought 1300 new hybrid buses to the city streets with hundreds more expected next year. And he is also mothballing 6,000 of the oldest, most polluting black cabs. And by 2018, any new taxi will have to meet zero emission standards.

He also wants this whole city by 2020 to be the world's first ultra low emission zone. And that means that if your car doesn't match the right standards by then, you'll have to pay a fine when you drive through the center of town.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And by the way, the U.S. is combating air pollution is with incentives for electric cars. Take a look at our own parking lot at the CNN center in Atlanta. You can see row after row of electric cars charging there. One of those is Rosemary Church's. The other is Errol Barnett's.

SESAY: I didn't know that they had --

VAUSE: Michael Holmes and Jonathan Mann.

SESAY: And you?

VAUSE: No. Got a TV.

SESAY: Georgia, California, Hawaii and Washington state have some of the highest percentages of electric cars. That's in part due to tax incentives for buying them. The federal government alone offers a $7500 tax credit. Not enough of an incentive.

VAUSE: I know. But I probably will get one. How about you?

SESAY: Don't buy now because I called you out.

VAUSE: What about you? I've seen your car.

SESAY: Moving on.

VAUSE: It's not electric. Short break. Hillary Clinton when we come back. She is preparing for a very long day in Washington. Testifying yet again on Benghazi. We'll look how she handles that being in the hot seat yet again.

SESAY: A hacked CIA chief. Sensitive information leaked and the hackers say they are not done yet. That is next. Do stay with us.

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour: U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, will not run for president. He made the announcement Wednesday with his wife and President Barack Obama by his side. Biden says he ran out of time to start a realistic campaign as he grieved over the death of his son, Beau.

VAUSE: One person is dead in Jerusalem after an apparent attack on an Israeli soldier. Police say the suspect tried to grab the soldier's gun; that's when the soldier and a security guard opened fire, killing the suspect. Israeli police are not calling it a terrorist attack.

SESAY: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about the Holocaust is sparking strong criticism in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. Netanyahu said killing Jews was not Hitler's idea, but rather it was the suggestion of the Muslim leader in Jerusalem.

VAUSE: Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad, met with his Russian counterpart, and chief backer, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on Tuesday. It's believed to be the first time Assad has left his country since the civil war began in 2011. A Kremlin spokesman said the pair talked about coordinating military action.

SESAY: The CIA condemns it as, "a crime with malicious intent." The news leak organization "Wikileaks" published information it says came from the personal email of CIA Director John Brennan.

VAUSE: The spy agency says it does not believe that classified documents were revealed, but the information published includes sensitive data about Brennan's security clearances. Wikileaks says they plan to release more documents on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton will appear before a U.S. House Committee on Benghazi Thursday. It's expected to be a grueling hearing about the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya on 2012 when Mrs. Clinton was Secretary Of State.

SESAY: Republicans call it a fact-finding effort. Democrats believe it's a political witch-hunt. Either way, Clinton has plenty of experience testifying on Capitol Hill, as our own Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Since the killing of four Americans in Benghazi in 2012, in all the congressional grilling, Hillary Clinton has let her frustration show in a big way only once.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Was it because of a protest or was it because guys out for a walk one night who decide they'd would go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?

FOREMAN: Aside from that, her testimony has historically been marked by steady nerves, even amid withering attacks.

[00:35:00]

REP. JEFF DUNCAN (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Madam Secretary, you let the Consulate become a death trap and that's national security malpractice.

FOREMAN: Malpractice, health, and insurance is what led her first to the witness chair.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a starring role on Capitol Hill, for the second straight day, Hillary Rodham Clinton --

FOREMAN: In 1993, she was the first First Lady to ever face Congress over massive pending legislation, making the case for her husband's Health Care Reform plan.

CLINTON: The benefits package is a fair one, particularly because it emphasizes primary and preventative healthcare which is not --

FOREMAN: Her composure and command of the facts drew rave reviews, even if the legislation did not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in the very near future, the President will be known as your husband. Who's that fellow? That's Hillary's husband.

FOREMAN: Since then, she has been in Congressional hearings dozens of times, often fielding the questions, sometimes as a Senator asking them.

CLINTON: If 9/11 was a failure of imagination and Katrina was a failure of initiative, this process is a failure of judgment.

FOREMAN: In the Benghazi inquiry, even when sharply challenged, she has rarely been pushed off of her talking points.

CLINTON: With specific security requests, they didn't come to me. I had no knowledge of them.

FOREMAN: It all comes down to a simple fact: when Hillary Clinton walks into that room, she will have more experience with congressional hearings than most of the people there; and that can make even a hot seat, if not comfortable, at least cooler.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: CNN will cover the hearing live on Thursday. Kickoff begins 10:00 a.m. in Washington; that is 3:00 p.m. in London.

SESAY: Well, many people the world over celebrated "Back to the Future" Day on Wednesday, but people in Chicago, oh, dear, they wound up the one movie prediction that struck out. We're going to take you to the Windy City live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, all around the world, fans celebrated "Back to the Future" Day. Love that music. October 21, 2015, that's the day Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to in their time machine/DeLorean. The cast of the classic film attended a 30th anniversary screening in New York City. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd were among them.

SESAY: And the fans, the fans came out in force. They just love this day. Fans in California dressed like their favorite characters and got a close look at Doc Browns truck and the famous DeLorean. It is so cool.

VAUSE: One couple in Virginia took their love for the movie and each other to a whole new level. Oh, dear. They chose this -- oh, it was their wedding.

SESAY: I think it's sweet.

VAUSE: They had the cake and their own DeLorean. Oh, my gosh.

SESAY: You don't find that cute?

VAUSE: I think that's just a little sad. Okay.

SESAY: We wish them the very best. I think it's fabulous. Well, the beloved movie nailed many predictions. I know you, you've been, like, going through these.

[00:40:00]

Well, the beloved movie nailed many predictions. I know you have been going through them.

VAUSE: Yes.

SESAY: Many predicts for the year 2015, but it officially missed a big one on Wednesday. You might remember this very bold proclamation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: The Cubs win World Series! Against Miami?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's something, huh? Who would have thought? 100 to 1 shot.

ANNOUNCER: And strike three called. They haven't been to the World Series since 2000, and the Mets are on their way back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's right, the hard luck Chicago Cubs are heading home. The New York Mutts are moving on.

SESAY: The Mutts or the Mets?

VAUSE: The Mutts. The Mutts outgunned the Cubs for four straight games. I don't like the Mutts.

SESAY: Yes, they did. There was a sad, sad night for those Cubs fans. To see the mood in Chicago, I'm not sure that we want to, not sure that it's wise, but let's bring in our own Ryan Young who is live outside Wrigley Field. My goodness, Ryan, say it ain't so. None of that "Back To The Future" magic rubbed off on the Cubs?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, look, everyone was talking about "Back To The Future" Day. There was a DeLorean in town. People were talking about the Nike shoes that got released today, with Michael J. Fox wearing them. They were hoping this would be the last thing that would come true from the movie, that the Cubs would have a chance to win the World Series; but we knew already today it was going about the hard because they had the potential chance to be swept. That's exactly what happened. They lost 8-3, but, look, Cubs fans are so classy. You can hear them on the inside saying go, Cubs, go at the end of it despite the loss.

So many people though had their hearts tied this game, hoping for a change. So many people love this team. Over 100 years without them going to a championship. You can see fans who are standing around, who have been here for quite some time. Look, you guys say you love the Cubs. how did you feel about tonight and what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I thought this was our year. "Back to the Future." they won their first play-off game 10/7, 107 years ago. They're a part of our team, but still fell a little bit short.

YOUNG: Did you feel sad in your heart? Did anyone cry in the group when it was over?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one.

YOUNG: Did you cry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She shed a tear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I shed one little tear.

YOUNG: You have fans taking it in good nature. They've cleared the streets so far. But, look, everyone is bringing up the "Back to the Future." Everyone is talking about historic Wrigley Field, if you look behind us. Everyone had that hope in their hearts, but in the end, it didn't happen.

SESAY: Ryan, I know they were hoping, but let's face it, its tough being a Cubs fan, I mean, given their history of curses and failures.

YOUNG: Look, on a personal note, look, my producer has lived in this city his entire life. He has been a Cub fan his entire life, and he is so hurt behind the scene right now, he just wants to go home. I totally understand it. When you're a die-hard fan, these fans here are die-hard. I would compare them to soccer fans in Europe. They really bleed the Cub colors.

SESAY: Well, you know, it is what it is, you know. Our hearts go out to the Cubs fans. Maybe not John's, but certainly better luck next year.

YOUNG: There is a silver ling here.

SESAY: What's that?

YOUNG: Yes, there is a silver lining here because this is a very young team and everybody thinks they have a chance and can make the play-offs again next year.

VAUSE: Next year. Yeah, yeah, next year. Right, next year.

SESAY: Ryan Young joining us there from outside Wrigley Stadium. We appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: Cubs World Series win will only ever be alive in a fantasy movie.

SESAY: That is so mean.

VAUSE: Yeah.

SESAY: They know where to find you. Better luck next year, we'll see what happens. Thank you for watching us here at CNN Newsroom, Live From Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. World Sports is up next but we'll be back in 15 minutes with another hour of news from all around the world. You're watching CNN.

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