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CNN International: New Recordings Highlight Gaps In Cornell Police Investigation; Trump: U.S. Moved Bombers From U.K. Base Due To Some Threats; South Korea: North Koreans Fighting For Russia Ordered To Kill Themselves To Avoid Capture. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 06, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ABC News says that in that same call, the fraternity member never mentions to Jane Doe the Snapchat message inviting others to join in that night. Jane Doe's attorney told CNN he's thankful information is being leaked, though he's concerned evidence of cell phone pics may have been lost.

THOMAS GIUFFRA, ATTORNEY FOR JANE DOE: I think they're in the bottom of Lake Cuyahoga because once they knew there was a problem, they cleared everything out and they got rid of it. And the fact is that the investigators let that happen.

CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is asking a judge to review whether recent police searches of his homes were legal. The former Duke of York was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office, he has not been charged, and police say their investigation is ongoing. The outcome of the judicial review could describe what evidence is admissible. CNN's Max Foster explains.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested back in February, taken to a police station and questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office, his homes were also searched. The home he was living in on the Sandringham Estate owned by the king, but also the home he was moving out of in Windsor. It's those searches that Mountbatten-Windsor is challenging now.

So, we know that the police were also assessing whether or not Mountbatten-Windsor leaked confidential information to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as U.K. trade envoy. If Mountbatten-Windsor does manage to be successful with this judicial review, which will be heard on Thursday in London, then it could mean that the search warrants that Thames Valley Police used were illegitimate, and any evidence that was gathered during those searches may not be admissible in court against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor or used in any sort of investigation against him.

We'll wait to see what that hearing finds. We are likely to hear on the same day what the result is, whether or not this judicial review that he's calling for is successful. Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace and the King are keen to distance themselves from this legal process. A royal source telling me that this is a matter for Mountbatten-Windsor and his lawyers.

They have no role in it, and they won't be paying for it either. We know that the king does support Mountbatten-Windsor financially, but it's been made clear to him. I'm told that these monies should not be used to fund a judicial review. We should point out that Mountbatten- Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Max Foster, CNN, London.

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KINKADE: Still to come, questions are swelling around the rapid departure of U.S. bombers from a U.K. airbase. What the Trump Administration says prompted the removal. Plus, the former American Idol contestant found guilty of murdering his wife, sentenced to life behind bars. We'll bring you the reaction from two of his daughters after the break.

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[04:35:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kincade. President Trump says all long-range U.S. bombers were removed from a U.K. airbase over the weekend in response to specific threats. While he didn't detail what those were, President Trump said the bombers didn't fly out of RAF Fairford by accident. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also weighed in, downplaying the significance of the bombers returning home.

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The only reason why you guys are focused on how many planes are at RAF Fairford is because of the threat that happened last week. But it's not unusual to see rotations happen and movement of assets to different parts of the world based on exercises, redeployments, people changing out, and new people coming in, new planes coming in, old planes going out. We have confidence in the security of all of our bases because all of our bases are theoretically could be threatened at any moment.

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KINKADE: CNN's Matthew Chance has more on the Trump administration's response amid the ongoing investigation into the air base incident.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Extraordinary, I think, to hear Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, talk about how there was nothing unusual about this necessarily. It not necessarily linked to the terror plot investigation that is underway around that exact U.S. military base RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in England, in which five people were arrested on suspicion of anti-terrorism act arrests and explosives.

They were under suspicion of -- of carrying out something like that. They were released on police bail, of course, but nevertheless, that investigation is still ongoing. So, you add to that the fact that there's been so many rumors going around the U.K. over the past 24 hours or so since the story broke about the suddenness of this evacuation of these B1 bombers, very heavy strategic bombers that have been based for some time now at RAF Fairford.

We're told, or rather, it's been reported in Britain that the jets appear to have been scrambled in a hurry without any prior warning, without even giving time for the refueling tankers that are necessary to get them across the Atlantic back to their home bases in the United States to be put in the air as well. The -- the whole kind of atmosphere around it seemed to be one of you know an unexpected you know decision being taken in a hurry to get those planes up in the air and out of RAF Fairford.

And of course, that was kind of underlined by the fact that a U.S. official has told CNN this was a new threat, an unspecified new threat to these aircraft, and it was a response to a real-world incident. That's the -- that's the quote that I've got written in front of me. Again, that you know is not something that the Americans are ruling out.

In fairness, if you listen closely to what Secretary of State Rubio had to say, but he's saying he's downplaying it, saying, look, this could well have been part of a redeployment as well. So, the real story, I feel, on this has yet to be revealed.

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KINKADE: Libyan man accused of building the bomb that brought down the Pan Am Flight 103 will stand trial in January. 270 people were killed after the fly came down over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. And new evidence delayed the initial August trial date. Attorneys have been working on the case for nearly four years since he was brought to the U.S. and jailed in 2022.

Sources tell CNN, the co-pilot of the accused -- of trying -- accused of trying to hijack a Fly Dubai flight last week was likely targeting Israel's Ben Gurion airport. We're also learning from a regional diplomatic source that Flydubai didn't reach out to the suspect's previous employer, Oman Air, before hiring him. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.

[04:40:00]

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This is obviously still a developing investigation, and we are seeing that the twists and turns happen in real time. But the latest information that we have, according to an Israeli official and an Israeli source familiar with the matter, is that it appears that this suspect, the co-pilot, the Omani co-pilot on this flight, likely wanted to target Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

And so, while initially clearly the plane was starting to go down, there were questions about whether or not he wanted to simply crash the plane where he was at the moment, which was over the Arabian desert. Now investigators are now indicating that it was likely he wanted to take that plane further and cause more casualties beyond simply the 170 plus passengers who were on that flight.

Now we know that Israeli officials are receiving regular updates from Emirates investigators. He is, of course, still in Emirati custody, but there is a close security partnership between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and so Israel does have some window into how this investigation is proceeding.

We also know that the Australian federal police and New Zealand police have also been looking into this suspect in this case, because apparently, he had spent some time in both Australia and New Zealand. Here in Israel, the questions are really turning not just to you know the suspect and how he got on this plane, but also to the security failures that led to this situation.

Last week, we had a lot of focus on the heroic passengers on this plane who prevented an absolute catastrophe from taking place, a catastrophe that we're still starting to grasp the potential scale of but now the questions are really turning to the failures internally in Israel as well, including at the Ministry of Transportation, which would have been responsible for vetting the pilots on these planes from foreign aircraft flying into Israel.

Apparently, the Israel Tax Authority would have received the names of these pilots, but the Ministry of Transportation said its procedures did not include checking the names of flight crew members, which is obviously a glaring oversight here. So, a lot of questions being asked here in Israel about this Israeli government, the Ministry of Transportation, and these clear warning signs across the board that were missed or simply procedures that were not abided by.

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KINKADE: Well, former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife Ashley. Sherrell Hubbard takes a closer look at what transpired in the Ohio courtroom on Monday.

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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Defiant until the bitter end, Caleb Flynn, fighting through tears, continued denying that he murdered his wife on February 16th.

CALEB FYNN, FORMER AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANT: I did not kill my wife.

HUBBARD: Despite the denial, Flynn was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the maximum possible sentence. A jury last month found him guilty on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, murder, felony murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence.

JUDGE JEANNINE PRATT, MIAMI COUNTY OHIO: Your actions, Mr. Flynn, were abhorrent.

HUBBARD: Prosecutors said Flynn killed his wife and staged the crime scene. They pointed to Flynn's affair with a fellow worship leader at his church as motive, saying Flynn believed if he could frame a faceless intruder for his wife's death, he could keep his relationship with his mistress and his job and custody of his daughters. A sobbing Flynn had a message for those daughters Monday.

FLYNN: There's so much I wish I could be here for.

HUBBARD: Flynn's daughters, just 10 and 12 years old, issued scathing statements.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You truly don't understand how much you hurt my life, and by the way, I don't plan on coming to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dear daddy, how could you do such a thing?

HUBBARD: Several of Ashley Flynn's family members gave victim impact statements. They remembered her as a mother, daughter, and a lover of God, and said that while they wanted Caleb sentenced to the fullest extent of the law, they forgive him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not let anger or bitterness consume the wonderful memory of Ash.

HUBBARD: I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.

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KINKADE: Still ahead, North Korean troops fighting for Russia face severe consequences if captured. CNN speaks to one North Korean defector about the deadly methods they're taking to avoid it.

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[04:45:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back. Some disturbing news out of Russia's war with Ukraine. South Korean intelligence says North Korean troops fighting for Russia have been ordered to kill themselves to avoid the shame of being captured. CNN's Will Ripley reports.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: South Korean intelligence says North Korean troops have explicit orders to kill themselves to avoid capture. They say at least one soldier even shouted General Kim Jong- un before pulling a grenade. THAE YONG HO, FORMER SENIOR NORTH KOREAN DIPLOMAT: All the people in North Korea are brainwashed.

RIPLEY: One of Pyongyang's highest-profile defector says when North Korean soldiers die fighting for Russia, their leader praises them as heroes. Doors open for the soldiers' grieving families. Brand new apartments on a special street in Pyongyang. Their children promised places in elite revolutionary schools, a path to privileged jobs.

YONG HO: The social status of your family would be upgraded to a kind of you know elite or ruling class. Your house, your -- your parents would be moved from countryside, very remote area, to the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.

RIPLEY: But North Korea's former deputy UK Ambassador Thae Yong Ho says if a soldier is captured alive, like these two carried out of Russia's Kursk region last year, the consequences can be reversed.

YONG HO: There would be a very heavy punishment. Their social status would be downgraded.

RIPLEY: Of the thousands of North Koreans sent to fight for Russia, only two are known to have been captured alive. In Ukrainian captivity with their identities concealed, they told CNN affiliate MBC, "I don't know if my mom is alive. I worry she could be in trouble because of me. If I had a hand grenade, I could have killed myself and not become a POW." Seoul's National Intelligence Service says they decided to go to South Korea, arriving by their own free will earlier this month.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: These guys are not easy to capture alive.

RIPLEY: South Korea was shocked when Ukraine's president revealed the transfer at the UN. Seoul wanted to keep it secret, in part to protect the soldiers and their families, but Ukraine says there was no confidentiality agreement.

YONG HO: I am protected by South Korean border guards (ph) 24 hours.

[04:50:00]

RIPLEY: Thae defected with his wife and two sons. I met the brother and sister he left behind in Pyongyang. In what they called a voluntary interview, they disowned him. In South Korea, Thae said that he did this to break the slavery chain.

100 percent evil propaganda, his sister told me. Thae feared his family was being forced to speak against him. His brother said, if I don't wash this sin away by myself, my sons and future generations will have to work harder to pay for this.

Now, Thae says Ukraine should target North Korean troops with leaflets and loudspeakers, telling them they don't have to die.

YONG HO: They are very young, in early 20s. They have a very bright future. RIPLEY: But Ukraine says thousands more may soon be headed to battle in the name of their leader. Will Riley, CNN, Taipei.

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KINKADE: Now take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news. Stay with us.

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[04:55:00]

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KINKADE: That's one last tango for the greatest of all time. In the coming hours, Lionel Messi will make his final appearance for Argentina at where else? Bonazire's Monumental Stadium. That final whistle will mark the end of an international career spanning more than two decades and the beginning of the post-Messi era in one -- for one of the world's most beloved sports stars.

Messi's tenure with Argentina's national team hasn't always been easy, but the little boy from Rosario won the hearts of his country forever. More when he brought home the World Cup trophy in 2022 after nearly a four-decade drought.

Stanford Professor Karl Deisseroth was greeted with hugs and cheers and champagne by members of his lab after winning the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. He shares the prize with German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work in optogenetics, a technique that uses light to help scientists map and control specific nerves in the brain. Their work helps scientists understand how the brain functions and could advance research into neurological and psychiatric disorders. The Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, literature, and peace will be announced later this week.

There is a new furry face at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Meet Sarka, a four-month-old snow leopard that's now on view with her mother. Zoo officials say she's curious and loves to jump around her new habitat, but as an only cub, she stays close to her mum. Sarka is part of a breeding program to help keep the zoo's snow leopard population genetically diverse. Only 5000 to 7000 snow leopards are left in the wild.

Thanks so much for watching. I'm Lynda Kinkade. CNN Headlines Express is next.

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