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Tourists Stranded at Sharm El-Sheikh; French Footballer Placed Under Investigation in Connection with Sex Tape, Blackmail of Another Player; Sources: Widow, Son of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz Now Under Investigation. Aired 3-4a ET.

Aired November 06, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:01] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tourists stranded at Sharm el- Sheikh as they prepare to fly home. That airport is assuring people that security is tight after a deadly plane crash. Plus --

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Million Mask March turns ugly in London. Protesters clash with police.

HOWELL: And a big downgrade for some U.S. presidential candidates. Find out who didn't make the main stage at the next republican debate. In fact, they made the junior stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: That's got to be a bummer. Well, hello and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell from CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta. Newsroom starts right now. And a good day to you. Both Russia and Egypt insist it is far too early to draw any conclusions about what might have brought down the Metrojet plane flight 9268 over the Sinai Peninsula. But, the U.S. and the UK says it looks like it was a bomb. The plane bound for Russia crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on that plane were killed.

ALLEN: Russia says it has no intention of restricting travel to Egypt. But, one U.S. official says specific internet chatter around Saturday's crash suggests ISIS, or its affiliate, sabotaged the Metrojet plane. On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama made his first comments on the issue.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board. And we're taking that very seriously. We know that the procedures we have here in the United States are different than some of the procedures that existed for outbound and inbound flights there. And we're going to spend a lot of time just making sure that our own investigators and our own intelligence community figures out exactly what's going on before we make any definitive pronouncements. But it is certainly possible that there was a bomb on board.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well, whatever the cause of the crash, there's clear discord between the U.S. and UK on one side and Russia and Egypt on the other.

HOWELL: Our Miguel Marquez reports that hundreds of millions of tourist dollars could hang in the balance.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An army of investigators walking miles through the desert searching for debris and any possible sign of what caused Metrojet 9268 to crash. Investigators from around the world, but Egypt's civil aviation authority in full control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egypt has adopted a strategy. Full transparency.

MARQUEZ: But, with millions in tourism at stake, will Egypt offer a fully transparent and open investigation. Tourism is one of Egypt's largest industries. And the warm waters around Sharm El Sheik a huge draw, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Already, some Egyptian officials are denying it was terrorism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened is a tragic airline incident that happens, unfortunately. Part of the reality of our world. Millions of flight every day. We are bound to have an incident here or there. But, Egypt is as safe as ever.

MARQUEZ: And two previous crash investigations raise potential questions about how Egypt reaches its conclusions.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB INVESTIGATOR: The Egyptians have an opportunity to issue an unbiased report. We've heard very little from them so far. A few contradictory statements. They're under enormous pressure.

MARQUEZ: Peter Goelz headed the NTSB investigation into the crash of Egyptian Air flight 1990 in October 1999. The flight left New York's JFK bound for Cairo. It plunged into international waters off the coast of Massachusetts. Egypt was initially in charge of that investigation. The NTSB took over. But, when pilot suicide appeared to be the cause, Egypt launched its own parallel investigation.

GOELZ: We became convinced that this was a deliberate act and the pilot, the copilot had flown that aircraft into the ground.

MARQUEZ: The Egyptian investigation concluded mechanical fault caused the Boeing 767 to crash. The NTSB determined First Officer Gameel Al- Batouti deliberately crashed the plane. The final seconds of the data recorder you can hear Al-Batouti repeating, I rely on God. And a second voice in the cockpit asking him why he shut down the engines and then begging him repeatedly to help him pull up before the recording ends. And this wasn't the only time Egyptian and western investigators differed over the cause of a crash.

[03:05:06] GOELZ: In 2004, there was an accident off of Sharm El- Sheikh. A 737 crashed. The BEA, the French and the Americans indicated that they believed it was pilot error. The Egyptians did not agree and blamed it on some sort of mechanical failure.

MARQUEZ: As the U.S. and other countries make their own assessments about why flight 9268 crashed, the pressure growing on Egypt. The world watching. Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And we have a large team of reporters covering this story from many angles. Right now, Diana Magnay is following developments in London for us. But, we want to begin with Ben Wedeman. He's in Cairo, Egypt. First, Ben, it seems those stranded tourists will get to fly out of Sharm El-Sheikh. What can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Natalie. We're expecting the first flights from the UK to arrive in Sharm El-Sheikh noon local time. That's about two hours from now. We understand there may be as many as 25 flights to take out around 4,000 tourists who are currently there. Of course, they will not be able to take check-in luggage, only hand luggage on those flights. Their check-in luggage will be taken back to the UK, perhaps, by the Royal Air Force sometime within the next week.

Now, this is happening after British Air reports security investigators went to Sharm El-Sheikh, looked at the security procedures there, made recommendations, which Egyptian officials say they did carry out. Now, we're also learning this morning that KLM, the Dutch national carrier, has declared that flights leaving Cairo for Amsterdam will also not be allowed to -- they will not allow passengers to bring in check-in luggage, as well, only hand luggage, which would indicate there may be concerns about the airport here in Cairo, which is much bigger and much busier. Natalie.

ALLEN: Well, I was going to ask you because this is kind of spreading now to an examination of security measures at other Middle East airports. And not just Cairo. Is that right?

WEDEMAN: That's correct. For instance, British officials regularly make tours of airports in the Middle East to recommend upgrading security procedures. And in general, they find the security at Middle Eastern airports is not up to standards of the U.S. and the UK. With the exception, of course, with Israeli airports which really do set the standard for stringent security measures. And just ten months ago, a British group/delegation did go to look at the measures there. But, the British have three countries in mind that they feel airport security is not sufficient. That is Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait. Although, it's worth noting that there has not, in the past, been any security incident at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Natalie.

ALLEN: That's good to point out. Thank you. Ben Wedeman out for us from Cairo. HOWELL: Now, let's cross over live to London. Diana Magnay is standing by live for us outside number 10 Downing Street. Diana, good to have you with us this hour. The prime minister there being very direct about the possibility of a bomb being on board that plane. How is President Sisi reacting to that?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Sisi and what must have been quite a tense meeting between the two, stressed in the press conference afterwards the extent of the cooperation between these two countries, kept emphasizing what measures his British friends were taking. And you can understand why to Egypt, Britain's tourists is hugely important. There is something like 900,000 British tourists who go to Egypt every year.

And David Cameron has made it quite clear that he feels that the security arrangements at Sharm el-Sheikh airport were not adequate. And that is why he sent his own team, an airport delegation team to Sharm to see how best those measures can be improved to get the 20,000 or so British tourists who are still stranded there back home. You can understand why Egypt is being reticent.

The British prime minister spoke to the Russian president yesterday who had the same line that it is important not to prejudge or draw any conclusions before this investigation is concluded. But, you know as well as I do, George, that these investigations can take many months. For David Cameron, the priority is making sure that his British citizens in Egypt are brought home safely. For the Kremlin, the priority is to not give any credence to ISIS' claims that they brought the plane down while Russia conducts air strikes in Syria.

And for President Sisi, it's a priority that relations between the UK, a huge trading partner, stay good and that people still keep coming to Egypt for the holidays. George.

[03:10:26] HOWELL: Diana, so we understand the UK and now the United States, you know, both of these powers now believe that a bomb may have played factor here. But Egypt's Foreign Minister says the UK and the U.S. have not been sharing intelligence about the crash with them. Are we hearing anything more about that?

MAGNAY: That's right. And that is something that the foreign ministry in Russia spoke very strongly about yesterday. That it is shocking, in the words of the spokeswoman, that Britain hasn't shared their intelligence with them. We don't know what intelligence the UK, the British prime minister is basing his assessment on. We're hearing more from U.S. intelligence officials who have spoken to CNN and talked of chatter amongst people they know are affiliated to ISIS' affiliate in Sinai. People who they believe have a degree of credibility. And that is why President Obama is talking about the possibility that this was a bomb. David Cameron's words, that it is more likely than not that it was a bomb that brought the plane down. Let's just quickly listen to a snippet of both what David Cameron and President Sisi had to say in their press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Of course, I cannot be sure. My experts cannot be sure that it was a terrorist bomb that brought down that Russian plane. But, if the intelligence is and the judgment is that that is a more likely than not outcome, then I think it's right to act in the way that I did.

ABDUL FATTAH AL-SISI, PRESIDENT OF EGYPT: We say it one more time. We are prepared to cooperate further with any procedures that reassure our friends that the security measures in place at Sharm el-Sheikh airport are enough and that the airport is safe to a good standard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: So, today, George, British tourists will start flying back. Empty planes going to pick them up. And just hand luggage for now as those security teams conduct their investigations and try and put very stringent measures in place. George.

HOWELL: It is interesting, though, that these two sides, you have Russia and you have Egypt on one side of it saying, hey, wait until this investigation is completed. But, the United States and the UK have indications, have reason to believe that a bomb may have been on that flight. Diane Magnay, live for us in London this hour. Diana, thank you for your reporting.

ALLEN: And so, again, security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport is continuing to be under intense scrutiny.

HOWELL: Egypt says that the small airport measures up to international safety standards. Our Erin McLaughlin was given an inside look at security measures there and spoke to stranded vacationers who were trying to get home.

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ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rush hour at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Hundreds of tourists line up for their first security check. Everyone is searched, young and old. They're all waiting for a flight some officials aren't yet ready to put their citizens on. Thousands of passengers are stranded after their government halted planes in and out of this airport. British authorities have asked for more security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel like it will be probably the safest flight back that we've ever had. So, we're glad that the government are putting security measures in place for us.

MCLAUGHLIN: Marion and Claire Foster, two of the British tourists stranded. For them, the trip home will be bittersweet. Stayed at the same hotel as some of the passengers killed on flight 9268.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, the night before, we had been watching a little girl dancing and their parents singing and the next day they weren't there anymore. So, it was really, really sad for us.

MCLAUGHLIN: Egyptian authorities want to show the world the tragedy won't happen again. So, they took us on a tour of the airport but won't talk on camera. They showed us security for both passengers and employees. Every employee who enters this airport is required to go through the same security screening as passengers. The only difference, they're required to have special I.D.s. They showed me where they scan the luggage. These x-ray machines and equipment that can detect explosives. Here is a room where they monitor cameras located throughout the airport. And they say they've taken an extra security step for British passengers.

A few years ago, British authorities requested this machine be used before every flight to the United Kingdom. It's capable of detecting explosives. Authorities say this kind of machine is not used on any other flight.

Officials have promised to increase security, but tell us it's too soon to say what more will be done to reassure everyone that it's safe to go home. Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:20] ALLEN: And we will be talking with some tourists who get to leave Sharm el-Sheikh and hear what they have to say about flying out of there coming up this hour.

HOWELL: They want to get home.

ALLEN: Yeah. Next here on CNN, a dam bursts in Brazil, leaving widespread destruction from the flooding that followed. Derrick will have that for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Riley with your world sport headlines. Liverpool made it three straight wins and 6 in a row. The first goal for the Mercy Siders was enough for the Liverpool first win in the Europa League this season. This is also the away win in Europe in three years. Tottenham who were ten games unbeaten in the English premier league were also in Europa League action on Thursday and they also welcome a win. Spurs won over Anderlecht 2-1 at Whitehart lane. The England international put Tottenham ahead in the first half. His fifth goal in three games. Tottenham won the game after a stunning strike. Spurs go top of their group.

French footballer Kerry Benzema was placed under formal investigation Thursday morning in connection to a sex tape and black mailing of another player. It was part of an inquiry to corruption and doping. Benzema was held in police custody overnight. In France, being under formal investigation does not necessarily mean he will be tried. Benzema's lawyer maintains the player's innocence. And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

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HOWELL: Police and protesters scuffled in Central London on Thursday. Protesters were supporting the activist group Anonymous, who sponsored the so-called Million Mask March.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the main shell, if you like, for equality, against censorship and the belief we should be one people. But there are some people here who are protesting purely for the doctors, purely for Palestine, purely for individual movements, which is great because it all falls under that shell banner. Primarily, it is about equality.

[03:20:15] ALLEN: If you couldn't understand what they were chanting under the masks, they were chanting Torrey Duck over and over again. Well, during some protests, some say some arrests were made and at least one police car was set on fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

We're going to turn now to the case in Illinois of a police lieutenant who staged his suicide and this case is getting more bizarre every day.

HOWELL: That's right. Sources tell CNN the widow and son of Joe Gliniewicz are now under investigation. It's in connection with the officer's alleged embezzlement of funds from a youth mentor program, one that he led. A police official also says Gliniewicz talked about having a motorcycle gang member kill a city administrator.

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ANNE MARTIN, FOX LAKE VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR: I was stunned. Absolutely stunned. It's definitely not a good feeling and it's very scary in the same sense, as well. It's almost surreal. I have been assured not only by the task force, our police department and other agencies out there that I am fine. People have been very good to me as far as the law enforcement agency in ensuring that I am safe and there's no threat upon me. And if there were, they would let me know immediately. So, they've worked very closely with me and have been absolutely wonderful. I feel safe at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Gliniewicz died in September. Authorities say he staged his suicide to look like a homicide and to apparently avoid being revealed as a thief.

HOWELL: Authorities in California say the California college student who stabbed four people on campus had a personal vendetta, but that he was not a terrorist.

ALLEN: Faisal Mohammad went on the stabbing spree Wednesday at the University of California, Merced. Authorities revealed why they think the 18-year-old did it.

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VERN WARNKE, MERCED COUNTY SHERIFF: We found a two-page handwritten -- and I'm going to call it a manifesto -- detailing his projected activities pertaining to the day's events. The reason for these projected activities, I want to make this very clear. He had gotten kicked out of a study group and was upset with one of the students and apparently took his anger to the extreme level.

HOWELL: Investigators also say Mohammad's backpack was filled with zip tie handcuffs and a night vision scope and duct tape. All of his victims are expected to recover.

ALLEN: Well, that's the good news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

At least one person is dead after a dam burst at an iron ore mine. This happened in Southeast Brazil. You can see the widespread destruction from the flooding that followed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Just look at that image there. One official says Thursday's burst flooded an area of 200 homes. It's not yet clear, though, how many people may be missing or homeless.

In Jordan, heavy rain brought flooding to the streets of the capital city of Amman just as that city was recovering from a severe sandstorm.

ALLEN: The rain lasted for less than an hour, but that was enough to flood homes, strand motorists and make matters worse. More rain is forecast. Hope no one was in that car.

HOWELL: Goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Let's go over to Derek Van Dam following all this. Poor Jordan. They go from a sandstorm to flooding?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. They've had a string of natural phenomenons plaguing that particular region. Take a look at some of the visuals of this sandstorm that Natalie just talked about. Believe it or not, guys, this very sandstorm actually delayed the U.S. First Lady, Michelle Obama's trip through the Middle East. She was trying to land there on Wednesday. Couldn't get into Amman.

The city, she was on a two-country tour trying to promote women's education across that area. Unbelievable stuff. That dust storm actually left a thick layer of dust on all the vehicles. People had to wear masks. They were selling those masks for the equivalent of $1 on the streets. If you wanted to stay healthy and not have respiratory problems, you needed to fork over that dollar to get your mask.

Let's stay across this part of the world. Move from the Middle East down across the Arabian Peninsula to an area known as the Arabian Sea, just to put you on geographical reference. There is Yemen, there's Amman and there's the horn of Africa. This is Somalia. We have yet another tropical cyclone forming across this area. We've gone from just last week, the first recorded landfall of a tropical cyclone or hurricane equivalent on the Yemen coast to now the potential for a second.

Here it is moving due west. And you can see the storm is projected to intensify. At the moment, it has sustained winds of roughly about 85 kilometers per hour. It's not a particularly potent storm. It's just that these types of storms are so rare over this part of the world. Again, a second landfall right along the Yemen coast. By the way, an intense amount of rainfall over this very dry part of the world means mudslides and landslides are a possibility.

Hey, I'm going to switch gears. If you think you're having a bad day, how would you like to be those guys on that boat leading up to this storm outside of Sydney? That's a storm that was moving into the Bondi beach area. Let's break Twitter and start a new hashtag, #shelfiedownunder. Take a look at the footage we actually have. People that filmed this rare, rare event. It's not that it's rare. It's just that it's an incredible sight to see. It happens because thunderstorms create a cool pool of air that spreads out in all directions, creating that wedge-shaped cloud over the horizon.

[03:26:03] ALLEN: And they're sitting there in the sun.

VAN DAM: Taking shelfies.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: Back to that boat. It looked like it was hauling 'A' to get out of there.

VAN DAM: That's what I would be doing. Driver, take me to land.

ALLEN: You're out of luck.

HOWELL: Thank you so much. You're watching CNN Newsroom. And still to come. The lineup is set for the next U.S. republican presidential debate. Which candidates made it and which did not make the cut? We'll have the list for you as the broadcast continues around the world this hour on CNN Worldwide.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is CNN Newsroom. Very good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

[03:30:05] ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our top stories.

Authorities from both Russia and Egypt say there is no evidence yet to support the theory that a bomb brought down the Metrojet flight. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have said intelligence suggests there was a bomb on the plane.

Thousands of British tourists could start flying home from Sharm el- Sheikh Egypt in the next few hours. The UK suspended flights in and out of the airport on Wednesday over security concerns following the Metrojet crash. Returning passengers will be allowed to only carry-on bags.

Police and protesters scuffled in central London on Thursday. The protesters were supporting the activist group called Anonymous. They sponsored the Million Mask March. Some demonstrators were arrested, some were injured. An activist said they were demonstrating for various issues, including equality and against censorship.

HOWELL: China's foreign minister told the U.S. Secretary of State a patrol in the South China Sea has harmed mutual trust and caused regional tension. That is according to a Chinese communist party newspaper. A U.S. ship passed within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese- made artificial island last week.

ALLEN: It's debate time yet again. The lineup for the next republican presidential debate is out and two big names didn't make the cut for the big stage. Fox Business Network says Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee didn't get enough support in recent polls to give them a spot in the main debate. Instead, they'll be relegated to the undercard debate along with Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum.

HOWELL: You know the candidates. They just hate these cutoffs. On Twitter, Christie wrote, it doesn't matter, the stage, give me a podium and I'll make it there to talk about real issues. Two other candidates, George Pataki and Lindsay Graham didn't qualify for either debate.

Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush holds nothing back in his new biography. Not even when it comes to his own son.

ALLEN: Bush Sr. is surprisingly candid about the presidency of his son, George W. Bush as well as his son's top aid. CNN's Jamie Gangel spoke with the author of the book, biographer John Meacham.

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GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I accept your nomination for president.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is George Herbert Walker Bush unleashed. Sharing his most private thoughts on everything from his time in office to his family.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes, the administration is not going to rest --

GANGEL: To his son's presidency.

JOHN MEACHAM, AUTHOR/BIOGRAPHER: He handed over four years of diaries in the White House with no strings attached.

GANGEL: And he said to you?

MEACHAM: Call them like you see them. Let them -- you're going to sort it out.

GANGEL: Among the many revelations, Bush 41 is bluntly critical of the American who served his son in the White House. He calls Vice President Dick Cheney an iron (expletive) and Donald Rumsfeld an arrogant fellow.

But perhaps, the biggest surprise, Bush is critical of his own son for his hot rhetoric.

We've never heard him criticize his son before as president. Why do you think he went public now? I think with the distance of history, he believes so strongly in the fact that force and diplomacy have to be complimentary, not competitive, that I think he wanted to put on the record that he doesn't think presidents accomplish very much by swaggering. They should be strong, but they don't need to be needlessly provocative.

GANGEL: So, is this a father worried about his son's policy being criticized? Not being right? Is there a father/son thing here?

MEACHAM: There's always a father/son thing here, of course. How can there not be?

GANGEL: Was George W. Bush at all defensive about the criticism from his father?

MEACHAM: He was surprised by it. I think it's safe to say. He said dad never said any of this to me either during the presidency or after. He said he would never have said hey, you got to reign in Cheney, he's ruining your administration. And, anyway, I disagree with him. These were my policies. He knew that his father's style was such that he would never say these things directly to him, which is in and of itself fascinating.

GANGEL: In addition to the president's diaries, Meachum was given access to Barbara Bush's diaries. And other insights include Nancy Reagan did not seem to like Barbara Bush. He told his diary. There is a blunt assessment of Bill Clinton as a draft dodger and a liar. Frankly, I think she is jealous of her. Meachum writes the Bush's were, quote, horrified by the Monica Lewinski scandal. But later, Bush acknowledges he couldn't help but like the guy.

Do you think it's a genuine friendship?

[03:35:30] MEACHAM: For George H. W. Bush, I think it is.

GANGEL: And for Bill Clinton?

MEACHAM: You never know, do you?

GANGEL: That said, the Bushes don't seem to have the same warm feelings toward Hillary Clinton calling her, quote, militant and pro liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Alright. Well, that book is generating a lot of attention.

HOWELL: Yeah, it is. ALLEN: Oline, as well.

Well, Hillary Clinton laughed it up with Late Night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday. The democratic presidential candidate was in California to raise money for her campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: She and Kimmel discussed the 2016 race, including one of her rivals, republican candidate Jeb Bush. He has been struggling in the polls lately and kicked off a new Jeb can fix it plus tour. So, Clinton offered up some advice on how to fix his campaign. Listen.

HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE-DEMOCRAT: He's obviously trying to continue to relate to the republican electorate.

JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: It sounds like he's running a handyman business. He should be on the side of a van.

CLINTON: Well, you know, if I were to advise him, I'd say, you know, there's a lot you can do about trying to fix things and maybe they should put a number on the side of the bus for people to call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So, to sort out all the politics, our show, Political Mann. It's coming back to CNN hosted by our own Jonathan Mann. This show returns with a new look, a new set and of course, new stories. Don't miss the premier weekend of Political Mann. In London, you can see the show on Saturday, November 7 at 11:30 p.m. In Hong Kong, you can catch it at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. And those of you watching in the United States can still catch it. Log on to cnngo.com. At 11:30 p.m. eastern time Friday, you can catch Political Mann. It's a great show.

ALLEN: We are just days away from a monumental election in Myanmar. Will the country truly embrace democracy?

And we will tell you about an interesting comment made by the country's Nobel Peace prize winner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:40] ALLEN: As Myanmar heads towards Sunday's historic parliament election, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi says she has a simple message for the country.

HOWELL: That's right. Suu Kyi rallied supporters of her opposition party on Thursday. She is constitutionally banned from becoming president, but she said if her party wins majority, that isn't going to matter. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUNG SAN SUU KYI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: I have not said we are going to win. I said if we are going to win in any form of government, I will be above the president. It's a very simple message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Suu Kyi won an election in Myanmar once before, but the country's military annulled the results and immediately placed her under house arrest.

ALLEN: Now, she is a survivor. Sunday's election is expected to be the freest in decades and as Christiane Amanpour reports, it is a story that's captivating the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've been fascinated by Myanmar, or Burma, for ages. It's got all the makings of a classic political and human drama. You (inaudible) the frail-looking, beautiful but steely heroine, Ang San Suu Kyi, who spent 20 years under arrest because she wanted to bring democracy to her people. You have the military who have reigned against her. They've been in power since the '60s and they were brutal in suppressing any kind of move towards freedom by their own people. But that all changed as of 2010 when they let her out of house arrest and the political process started in earnest.

THEIN SEIN, PRESIDENT OF MYANMAR: We have different views on some issues, but we were able to agree that we will leave those issues for later and solve our differences through negotiations.

AMANPOUR: There was a huge amount of interest and engagement by the west into Myanmar. And president Obama has visited twice. That's pretty extraordinary. It's a tiny little country. And President Obama, the President of the United States, has visited twice. What America believes and the west believes is that they have managed to sort of rest Myanmar away from Chinese influence.

OBAMA: Something is happening in this country.

AMANPOUR: In 1989, Ang San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest. But the very next year, her party won the first democratic election by a landslide.

SUU KYI: I've never thought what they did to me was personal, anyway. It's just politics. If you decide to go into politics, you have to be prepared to put up with these kind of problems. We mustn't forget that my father was the founder of the Burmese army and this is why I have a soft spot for them, even though I don't like what they do.

AMANPOUR: I visited recently as a tourist, not as a reporter, and I took all kinds of pictures of campaign posters. They had pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi and her father. He still is a national hero in Burma. In many parts of the country, there are still ongoing wars and conflict. There is another issue that has caused her outside supporters to be quite critical and that is the issue of Rohingas. They are a minority and deeply unpopular by the extremist Buddhist nationalists in Burma to the extent that they're not citizens. They don't have the right to vote, and she is being criticized quite a lot for failing to stand up for their human rights. The tragedy of Burma is that it has been so isolated for so long. And I do think a lot about the human toll and the human cost of people's brave sacrifice for freedom, for human rights, for democracy. And I did ask Ang San Suu Kyi about that. The toll that had taken on her and her family and her two children, who were very young when she was first put under house arrest

SUU KYI: I think what I would simply wish to do is to learn to have a good relationship with them across the distance that separates us.

AMANPOUR: And I still get a little surprised when she doesn't want to dwell on that. But, I sort of understand because she knows that had she showed any human -- any humanity, any human weakness, that the generals of the time would have used that against her and ended her political career, which was so many more than a personal political career. It was about a country's ability and need for leadership out of dictatorship and towards democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:45:25] HOWELL: So, the campaigning has ended and now we are looking toward the election. To talk more about this, let's bring in Phil Robertson by phone. He is the Deputy Director of the Asia Division at Human Rights watch. Phil, good to have you with us. So, let's talk about this election and what critics are raising as structural concerns. Everything from voter registration laws to the fact that 25 percent of the seats are handed to the military and the party it supports before a single vote is even cast. Even the fact that there is a lack of an independent election commission. Talk to us about these myriad of problems that you believe make the election fundamentally flawed.

PHIL ROBERTSON, ASIA DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: Well, there's a number of issues. You just enumerated many of them. First and foremost, the issue of 25 percent of the seats not being up for grabs on Sunday because they are reserve for the military. It's a big, big problem. But we're really concerned right now about the lack of an independent election commission. Because, obviously, that election commission is going to be at the center of resolving any sort of disputes that come up during the election.

Expectations are very high on all sides here and the election commission is headed by a man who is a former general who had openly said that he supports the ruling USDP party. But, they're also the final arbiter of the disputes because there's no judicial review of their decisions. If you have a problem, they will form a small sub commission to look into the complaints, rule on that. And if you don't like it, you can appeal to a larger election commission body and that's it. Their word is final. So, the potential for decisions here that might disappoint quite a few people and not be fully fair is something we're very worried about.

HOWELL: This is, though, hoped to be the freest election in decades. When it comes to the media, talk to us about that. Again, there are concerns about the ruling party's dominance over state media and how that plays into the upcoming election. ROBERTSON: Well, it's quite clear. We have looked at media and a

number of analysis of their coverage. The state TV, the state radio and a number of major state-run newspapers have all been speaking in very glowing terms about the ruling USDP party. Anything that party does has sort of touched a goal. But, there's almost no mention of the other parties and certainly very little mention of the MLB, the main opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. So, there is a skewed media environment. It's not as bad, of course, as in days of military dictatorship. But, going up country, radio and TV are the main news for many people and those are really controlled by the state.

HOWELL: Phil, you also bring up concerns about the disenfranchisement of some other voters in other different parts of the country. Also, the issue of the Rohinga. As you heard, I'm sure, in Christiane's report just a few moments before our interview here, not even considered citizens there.

ROBERTTSON: Yes. It's a major issue. The Rohinga have been disfranchised. They are essentially persons. Of the hundreds of thousands of Rohinga who are in the western Burma state, we estimate no more than several thousand are going to be able to vote. Literally, a drop in the bucket and a complete disfranchisement of a group. It's a major issue.

But there are ethnic Indians here, ethnic Chinese here who because they're not listed in the recognized graces of Burma are not granted citizenship and not allowed to vote. Literally, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people will not be able to vote in this election. Plus, many Burmese who live overseas. The absent balloting procedures by the government frankly were a joke. As many as about 19,000 migrant workers voted in the number of over 3 to 4 million.

[03:50:04] HOWELL: Again, expected to be the freest election in decades, but many of these issues that you raise, certainly issues that can play factor that, you know, certainly a lot of people will be keeping an eye on. Phil, thank you so much for your insight.

ALLEN: Speaking of insights, NASA has some on the planet of Mars. We'll tell you about that. Coming next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Charlie Brown. You've got to love Charlie Brown.

ALLEN: Who doesn't?

HOWELL: He is back on the big screen and with the rest of the Peanuts gang in a new movie that's out in theaters.

ALLEN: Now, the movie may look different than the Peanut specials from the past such as this classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. But the animators were able to get many of the characters to sound the same. They told our Jake Tapper how they did it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They used the sounds of Snoopy and Woodstock that Bill Melendez taped decades ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think as animators, that's something we're excited about. All you needed was Bill Melendez to laugh in Snoopy's voice and it was instantly funny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you set it really slow and then sped it up, right? At our desks, we go back to slowing them down to hear him. And when you have Woodstock, he's just like beep, beep, beep.

(LAUGHTER)

[03:55:05] TAPPER: Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. And it's like beep, beep, beep, beep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That had to be really difficult to do, though, in order to know the tempo you wanted to get with it. But to record it at, like, half speed. But very interesting. His voice for those characters, you can't do...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is those characters.

HOWELL: The movie will be released in the United States, China, Canada and several other countries this weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well, NASA scientists say they think they know how Mars turned from a warm, wet planet, similar to earth, to a cold, dry and barren world.

HOWELL: That's a little scary.

ALLEN: A bummer.

HOWELL: Over billions of years, the sun's solar winds stripped the red planet of its atmosphere. Astronaut Chris Hatfield explains to us why the findings are so important to us here on this planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HATFIELD, ASTRONAUT: It teaches us a lot about earth itself as to what is our history? And, more importantly, what is our future on earth? What are the natural, long-term processes that affect planets? If we really want to understand the health of earth, it's like looking at people. You can't just look at one human body and understand how human health goes. The more planets we can understand, the better. And it's pretty interesting to be able to look back into the past of Mars now and using this new NASA satellite really understand how Mars has lost its atmosphere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Should we be worried about earth? I hope not.

HOWELL: Maybe a little. ALLEN: I'll let you ponder that. Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie

Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Early Start is coming up for viewers here in the U.S. And for viewers around the world, CNN Newsroom continues.