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Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S. Presidential Candidates Hit The Trail After Debate; Michelle Obama Campaigns For Clinton; One-On-One With The French Foreign Minister; Former Miss Universe: Trump Was "Aggressive Rude"; The Life And Legacy Of Shimon Peres; Dutch Officials Say Missile Came from Russia; Aid Workers Suffer As They Fight to Save Lives; K-Pop Superstar Curates Special Art Exhibit. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 28, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:03] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live this hour from CNN London. Thanks for being with us. This is THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Well, this hour, we are also keeping our eyes on a school shooting in the Southern U.S. An emergency official says two children have been shot at an
elementary school in South Carolina. One of them was taken by helicopter to a trauma center.
Now the sheriff's office says that a lone gunman is in custody hopefully this situation is over. The emergency official says the school is still
being cleared, very, very worried parents showed up at Townville Elementary, wanting to be reunited as quickly as possible with their little
ones, understandably.
But as we we're mentioning, emergency officials saying that in Townville, South Carolina, a lone shooter is in custody, two kids shot. No clear
indication as to their condition. We'll keep our eye on this story. We'll bring you details as soon as we have them.
In the United States, both major American presidential candidates seemed to be showing renewed energy on the campaign trail after their debate. They
have two more contests of course and around six more weeks until the November election.
The Republican, Donald Trump, is heading to the states of Iowa and Wisconsin after an earlier stop in Chicago, Illinois. Trump has stepped up
attacks on rival Hillary Clinton since the debate and his visit to the Polish-American Congress was no different. Listen to Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have a Trump administration that's going to get things done. There's going to lower
taxes. Hillary Clinton, who I happen to believe is grossly incompetent by the way, I just feel she's grossly incompetent.
But Hillary Clinton is going to increase taxes and -- well she didn't pay her bar exam in Washington, D.C. A lot of people don't know that, but I
happen to believe that she'll be very, very bad for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, headed to North Carolina to appear with former competitor, Bernie Sanders. She has some heavy hitters
stumping for her today as well. First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton. So does the race look any different after the
debate?
I want to bring in CNN politics executive editor, Mark Preston, in New York, for perspective on where the campaign stand now.
So we don't have by the way a national poll or any kind of poll post- debate. But it appears as though the Hillary Clinton camp is very happy with her performance.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: They are, Hala. Look, we will probably see some kind of national poll at the earliest on Friday
morning, maybe Friday afternoon, they'll be enough time for pollster to go out across the United States and get the scientific data they need to find
out.
We did see some data, preliminary data, CNN did a poll right afterwards of those who had watched the debate, it was secured Democrat because that's
what the sample size was, but it was overwhelming though, Hala. It was overwhelming that Hillary Clinton won that debate.
If anyone you sat down in front of the television and watched it, they would have to agree, but there is a division line right now. Those who
were supporting Donald Trump think that he won, those who are supporting Hillary Clinton think that she won and there's us in the middle right now.
And if you are objective, that debate went to Hillary Clinton.
GORANI: But of course, they are at this point perhaps not trying to convince their supporters, they have their support already. It's all those
people still on the fence, and for Hillary Clinton what's important as well are some of those younger voters.
And Michelle Obama today was appealing to them to go out and vote, try to convince their friends in college and young friends to vote as well for
Hillary Clinton. Let's listen to Michelle Obama for a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Hillary is one of the few people on this entire planet, and clearly the only person in that race is
actually had any idea what this job entails, whose seen it from every angle, the staggering stakes, the brutal hours, the overwhelming stresses,
and here's the thing, she still wants to do this job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:05:01]GORANI: So the big question is, did this debate convince those who might have been, you know, thinking about voting for Hillary Clinton,
but weren't super enthusiastic about it or even those on the fence?
PRESTON: But what I think we're going to see when we start to see polling come out in the next day or so, we're going to see that the slide that we
were seeing of Hillary Clinton's appeal to voters stopped.
Meaning Donald Trump had gained so much momentum over the past few weeks, he had basically tied her nationally, he was tied with her in several of
the battleground states, states that are going to decide the election.
But I think after the performance, the very poor performance that he gave, Hala, the other night at the debate, I think that is going to hurt him.
And Hillary Clinton came in very prepared and very focused.
And I do believe that is going to help her and as you point out, we've seen Michelle Obama on the campaign trail today, that's important. She is
arguably the most popular Democrat right now in the United States.
Having her out on the campaign trail is very powerful for Hillary Clinton as you noted, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are trying to get the
young votes, the millennial votes in New Hampshire today.
Chelsea Clinton in North Carolina trying to get young women out. The Clinton campaign is trying to triangulate right now to win this election in
November.
GORANI: And what about Donald Trump? What's his strategy now? Because at first he says he won the debate, he cited even polls to support that
argument, but at the same time, his camp must realize that for the next couple of debates, he's going to change something.
PRESTON: No question if he wants to win the presidency. He is going to have to change. He is going to have to study. He's going to have to do
his homework. He's going to have to practice. He did none of that heading into the first debate.
I believe there's a bit of frustration right now within his campaign that Donald Trump did not, for lack of a better term, take this debate as
seriously as he should have.
His supporters though, they will tell you they're very rabid and loyal, they think he did win the debate, but the fact of the matter is, Donald
Trump needs a bit of a course correction and we haven't seen it yet.
In fact, he is attacking a beauty queen for being overweight, not something you want to do when you're trying to attract women voters, or quite
frankly, voters like myself who as a father of a young woman. That's just -- it's just not smart politics.
GORANI: All right, we're going to be talking about that controversy involving Alicia Machado (ph), that Venezuelan former Miss Universe in a
moment with a Trump supporter.
Thanks very much, Mark Preston, for joining from Washington for more analysis on what's going on in U.S. politics. As I mention, we'll get back
to U.S. politics. We also have our eye on that elementary school in South Carolina.
But I want to talk about Syria, rebel-held eastern Aleppo essentially being just flattened. Relentless, relentless attacks from Syrian forces from the
air. Activists say two of the areas only remaining hospitals were knocked out of commission.
One was hit by an air strike, the other by artillery shell. At least three patients were killed. The U.N. Children's agency, UNICEF, says only 30
doctors are left in Eastern Aleppo. We're talking about a city that had thousands of doctors.
UNICEF also says at least 96 children have died in the fighting since Friday. Hundreds more have been wounded and an air strike on a bakery
Wednesday killed six people. Lined up just to buy bread in a part of the city where so many people are essentially starving because they can't get
their hands on food.
Well, this indiscriminate carnage prompted a stern warning from Washington to Moscow, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov today.
Kerry said the U.S. is prepared to suspend bilateral talks with Russia unless Russia stops the Syrian offensive. Those talks are meant to help
the two countries coordinate attacks against ISIS.
While men in suits talk in New York, in Paris, in London, well, all of the devastation continues in Syria. I sat down with a French foreign minister
to talk about the intractable situation there. I asked him first whether he had any solutions to propose.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN-MARC AYRAULT, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This war's been going on for five years and this war is atrocious. The regime
of Bashar Al-Assad is murdering its own people and Aleppo is a martyr city. Can we let this happen? Can we close our eyes?
The U.N. General Assembly was an opportunity to hold multiple talks, yet still we're unable to implement a ceasefire agreement struck between John
Kerry and Sergei Lavrov. And so we have reached the limits of this matter.
So we need to be much firmer and much clearer in particular with Russia and Iran, but Russia especially because the bombing of Aleppo is only possible
because Russia contributes to it.
It is absolutely necessary that Russia face its responsibilities. If you don't, then you could be complicit of war crimes. What was attempted were
talks in Geneva for a ceasefire, but they didn't succeed because there was a problem of trust.
[15:10:10]When the Friends of Syria Group met in New York, I witnessed this verbal contest between the Russian and the American, and the others were
spectators.
I proposed in the name of France to establish a mechanism of control for a ceasefire, but not just Russia and the U.S. would be involved in, but also
the other countries, European and Arab.
That would control the implementation of a truce and humanitarian access to renew trust and create the conditions for a ceasefire. We must be clear
that there will never be a military solution.
GORANI: But the Assad regime seems to be more concerned with attacking the rebels, the moderate rebels so-called than ISIS. It doesn't seem like they
share your concern with extremists' terrorists groups.
AYRAULT (through translator): We must convince Russia and Iran. They are stake holders in this war because on the ground there are little more than
5,000 Russian soldiers, several thousand Iranians and Hezbollah.
Let me give you an example, everyone must face their responsibilities. The regime used chemical weapons. I proposed in France's name that the
Security Council under Chapter 7, which means with possible sanctions condemn the use of chemical weapons.
Is it acceptable to use chemical weapons? We will see what Russia does. If there is a vote at the UNSC, will Russia use its veto? Can it take the
moral stance vis-a-vis the international community?
To close its eyes to the use of chemical weapons, this is a concrete example of what can be done.
GORANI: So you want to pass a resolution at the United Nations Security Council condemning the use of chemical weapons in order, essentially, to
quote, "Shame Russia into having to vote in favor of it?" Under Chapter 7 --
AYRAULT (through translator): Is there another solution? We could bomb regime forces. We tried. France supported this in 2013 after the use of
chemical weapons by Assad's regime. That was the red line. We had all greed, France, Britain, and the U.S., but if this red line is crossed then
we will strike regime forces, but that didn't happen.
GORANI: Why, because of Barack Obama?
AYRAULT (through translator): It was a sovereign decision of the United States and Britain. It is now in the past. We are in another reality. Do
we keep our eyes closed? Do we allow the massacre of Aleppo? I say we cannot accept this massacre of Aleppo.
GORANI: So diplomacy, not more military involvement, not -- no fly zones.
AYRAULT (through translator): To have a no fly zone, you need to take military action. The question was raised in 2013, France's position was
always clear and it still is, but we cannot act alone.
GORANI: If there are other countries willing to participate in the imposition of a no-fly zone over Syria, you would in essence support that?
AYRAULT (through translator): I think we need to favor the negotiation track, the political process, but also be firm. You need to be more firm.
It's true that these last few weeks, there was a sincere attempt by my counterpart John Kerry to negotiate with Sergei Lavrov, but we saw that it
led to a dead end.
So we have to speak with the same voice with a lot more firmness to say to Russia, face your responsibilities because if you don't, you will be guilty
of abetting crimes against humanity. It's not nothing to say that.
GORANI: Now war crimes. What do you make of Donald Trump? His proposals in terms of foreign policies specifically since you're the French foreign
minister?
AYRAULT (through translator): I don't exactly know what Donald Trump's foreign policy is. It's very confused. Of course, as the French foreign
minister, I'm not going to tell Americans how to vote.
But let me tell you something, the future U.S. president is important for the U.S., but also for the rest of the world. We spoke about Syria, for
example, we are allies, close allies and have been for a long time. I know Hillary Clinton a little, and when she was secretary of state, she did a
great job, and it's up to her responsibilities.
As for Mr. Trump, I have one observation. He said some very harsh things about France when France was suffering from terrorism and questioned the
French people. Those are the words that I will not forget.
He also said that if the French had been armed, if arms were legally for sale, that the French could have protected themselves. You know what
France is doing today is to fight against gun trafficking. So is not to allow terrorists to use weapons to attack French or European citizens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That was Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister telling me what he thought about Donald Trump's foreign policy proposals as well as
his strategy to help bring Russia back to the negotiating table, putting pressure on Russia to convince the Syrian regime to stop it's airstrikes
against civilian and rebel-held targets in Aleppo among other places.
Let's get you back to American politics now with both candidates stumping for support today. There is lingering controversy from Monday's debate
over Trump's remarks about a former Miss Universe.
[15:15:08]During Monday's contest, Hillary Clinton brought up the name Alicia Machado. Now, it's a name you may not have heard before Monday,
Machado spoke to CNN about her experience dealing with Trump at the time he owned the Miss Universe pageant and listen to what Alicia Machado said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA MACHADO, MISS UNIVERSE 1996: He was really aggressive. He was really rude. He was a bad person with me and that is the story that I need
to share.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: When you say --
MACHADO: -- from my community --
COOPER: When you say --
MACHADO: We can't accept -- we can't accept more insults for my Latin community. No more. No more insults for the women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. That was Alicia Machado at the center of this controversy involving a statement that Donald Trump made about her. The
next day he gave an interview to Fox News. He again doubled down saying she gained a lot of weight. She was the worst contestant ever.
Rebecca Sinderbrand joins us now from Washington for that conversation. She is managing editor of "The Washington Post's The Fix." Matt Schlapp is
also in Washington, D.C. He's a Trump supporter now and a former political director for George W. Bush. Thanks to both of you for being with us.
Matt Schlapp, I'm going to start with you. Several times we had interviews together and you've always, of course, been a Republican, but you didn't
declare your support for Donald Trump, why are you supporting Donald Trump now?
MATT SCHLAPP, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Because in America, what tends to happen is that we have a two-party system, and for those of us who are on the center
right, we tend to line up with the Republican candidate. And for those on the center left, they tend to line up with the Democratic candidate. So
I'm a proud supporter, enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump and I think he has a real chance to win the race.
GORANI: And you don't have any issue with him calling a former Miss Universe "Miss Piggy" or some of the things he said during the debate, he's
proud not to have paid federal taxes, all of those things that cause some amount of controversy. That is not problematic for you as a center right
Republican?
SCHLAPP: In the last year, and I've been on with you several times, in the last year, there have been all kinds of moments in this campaign where I
would have done or said things differently.
I think when it comes to this person who the Clinton campaign is using as a tactic in their campaign, you know, she entered a pageant and we all know
that when it comes to pageantry or being a model or being a movie star or even being in the -- on television as a news person, that physical
appearances are usually in contracts.
That's what the contract she signed had, included was that she had to keep certain standards on the physical appearance. It's the way the pageant is.
I have five daughters. I probably wouldn't encourage my five daughters to get into pageantry. If they wanted to get involved in it, it would be
their choice and they have to follow the rules. It seems like a pretty simple thing.
GORANI: Well, I hope that in the news business, if I put on 15 pounds, nobody calls me Miss Piggy and makes me do sit-ups in front of journalists.
Rebecca, I've got to ask you this, how is this going to play overall in the campaign? Is this something that will not obviously have an impact among
his supporters, but what about those undecided voters?
All right, I can't hear Rebecca, if you can hear me, we'll get back to you in a moment.
Matt, though, I've got to ask you a little bit about these national polls because the last national poll of polls had Hillary Clinton at 44 percent,
Donald Trump at 42 percent. But by all accounts, his debate performance was disappointing.
Do you agree with that - and if so, what do you think the impact will be on the next poll which is expected to come out on Friday?
SCHLAPP: No, I think these debates will be really important as people who are undecided make up their mind. What the poll shows there's big chunks
of Americans who have made up their mind and almost every poll shows this race to be a deadlock. And that's my take on the race.
The race is essentially even. The debate performances going forward are going to matter. I think the key thing on Monday is neither candidate made
a big gaffe. They didn't do anything to really change the direction of this race.
The biggest problem Hillary Clinton, I think, has going forward is the fact that, you know, this is just a year where the electorate in every poll you
look at a, a vast majority of Americans, up to 70 percent believe that our country's on the wrong track for all kinds of reasons.
So we to want make a change. And in America, we don't tend to do three terms with the same party and the presidency. We tend to go back and forth
--
GORANI: But this is an election like no other as you know, Matt. Rebecca, we have her back. Hopefully, Rebecca, your mic is on and it's working. I
was asking you, this Alicia Machado controversy, the statement on federal taxes, perhaps the fact also that he underperformed during the first
debate, what is, on your opinion, the impact on the overall race?
[15:20:12]REBECCA SINDERBRAND, POLITICAL EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": That's a question that remains to be answered, of course, you know that the
Clinton campaign is making and raising all of these issues of they had a sense of how Donald Trump might respond, and they were hoping that he would
respond that way and so far, he's been fulfilling their expectations.
They expected that when she raised the issue of Alicia Machado that he's not someone to back down from that. He is someone who would instead double
down on it and defend it. And that's something that not necessarily going play well with women voters.
Will it change the mind of anyone who was going to vote for Donald Trump? That remains to be seen. People are very locked into their votes at this
the point. The question can come down to enthusiasm.
There are people who would be inclined to support their Republican candidate, suburban women voters, is this something that could maybe make
them stay home? It remains to be seen.
GORANI: Enthusiasm, Rebecca, also the undecided voters, those who perhaps weren't sure and I know that CNN conducted a snap poll after the debate and
many said they were not as convinced by Donald Trump as Hillary Clinton. So that's also going to be very important. Right, Rebecca?
SINDERBRAND: Absolutely. And you know, you saw the other night, and we're going to have to see in a few days from now whether Donald Trump has kind
of shifted up his debate preparation.
You saw the different between someone who is a practiced debater, someone who has been doing this for a very long time, someone who's faced a member
of the opposite party on the debate stage before and someone who is at their first one on one debate.
Hillary Clinton laid a number of traps for Donald Trump, and he walked right into this. They wound up talking about a lot of things that Donald
Trump would rather not have spoken about, and not touching on a lot of topics he probably would rather have done.
Perhaps the more skilled debater would have been able to steer the conversation towards and away depending on what he wanted to talk about,
but he didn't do that.
And of course, he's someone who has not engaged in a lot of traditional debate preparation. We'll see whether or not that changes in the days
leading up to the next debate.
GORANI: All right, Matt Schlapp, thanks so much. We'd love to have you on again. Rebecca Sinderbrand, thanks to you as well. Coming to us from "The
Washington Post." We thank you for your time on CNN. Quick break, we'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Israel is mourning the loss of one of its founding fathers, the former president and prime minister, Shimon Peres, died early today at the
age of 93 after suffering a devastating stroke. Oren Liebermann has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The story of Shimon Peres is the story of modern Israel, who is the longest serving politician in
Israel's history. Peres was there from the very beginning. In government, he held virtually every major cabinet position and was prime minister three
times, but never won an election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never got the public love. He was never hugged by the populist of Israel as our leader. He was hated as much as he was
loved.
LIEBERMANN: In 1993, Peres signed the Oslo Peace Accord at the White House which recognized the possibility of a two-state solution with the
Palestinians for the first time. It won Peres the Nobel Peace Prize, but a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings and other attacks which followed, left
him struggling to defend the peace process.
SHIMON PERES, FORMER PRESIDENT, ISRAEL: I know that we are moving for this, but I know also that this is the right thought, the best thought, the
only way on which way we have to move.
LIEBERMANN: Ultimately, the increase in violence cost him the 1996 election. Israeli's turned their backs on Peres in favor of the hard lined
conservative, Benjamin Netanyahu.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm very grateful to him for lifetime of thinking big thoughts and dreaming big dreams and figuring out practical
ways to achieve them.
LIEBERMANN: He never stopped striving for peace. He believed in a two- state solution up until the very end.
PERES: Maybe in the conversation some people will say this and that, but the official position and the desire of the two states and the state. And
I think that's also conclusion of the Arabs.
LIEBERMANN: After nearly 50 years as a member of the (inaudible), Israel's parliament, he became the country's president until his retirement in 2014.
But when asked how he wanted to be remembered, he didn't mention a life of civil service.
PERES: I would like that somebody write about me that they saved the life of a single child. This would satisfy me more than anything else.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Shimon Peres dead at the age there of 93. You saw him there at 91 and his influence on Israeli politics will likely be felt for a long time
to come.
Israeli politician and diplomat, Danny Ayalon, joins me now live from Tel- Aviv. He served as Israel's ambassador to the United States for several years and later as the country's deputy foreign minister.
Danny Ayalon, you, of course, knew Shimon Peres, you worked alongside him. What will you remember most about him?
DANNY AYALON, FORMER DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Well, I remember that always he was the best sounding board. He was so wise. He was so
experienced. He was so well-versed with everything that goes on. Not just in politics, but also in science and technology and sports and arts and
literature, you name it.
Also in down times he was very personable, very great sense of humor. So in that respect, I think that the mourn of the nation is also a personal
one because people in Israel feel like they have known him personally because he was such a dominant public figure for so long.
GORANI: That's true, but he was one of essentially the founding figures, not at the very origin of the state of Israel but later on. But it's been
said by his biographer, by those who know him, that in his later years, he was very critical of the current government.
The idea that it abandoned the two-state solution, but he felt like the founding values were now being upheld by the current government. Is that
something you knew to be true about him?
AYALON: Absolutely. He was very critical of this government, but he was also very steady in the fact that he always kept his criticism inside so he
could have really very, very long arguments, bitter arguments at times with Bebe Netanyahu.
When he had to go and defend the state of Israel, whether it's against the something that he felt was not fair, and he was doing it with all his
heart. And as a president, he stopped being partisan. So as a president, he was just talking to every and embracing all segments and fabrics of
Israeli society.
GORANI: And of course, the Nobel Peace Prize was in '94, all of that is such a different era. And all of this involved at least the attempt at the
time to come to some sort of peace deal that would create two states, et cetera.
Mustafa Barghouti of PLO had this to say about Shimon Peres and I'll have you comment after we listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, FOUNDER, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE: Shimon Peres was a rather controversial figure in many ways for Israelis and
Palestinians. From one side, I think it was the most clear Israeli leader to take the risk of peace, but not just before. On the other hand, he was
one of the first people who initiated settlement activities and occupied territories which presented to the biggest obstacle to peace and the
biggest difficulty in establishing that independent Palestinian state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:03] GORANI: So, Danny Ayalon, Nureyev Mustava Barghouti (ph) sort of acknowledging, you know, yes, he did, he really attempted -- tried to find
a peaceful solution but, also, he was the one behind those settlements that the Palestinians say are an obstacle.
AYALON: Well, he was a man of his time. And he was also actually ahead of the curve. When he thought that the defense of Israel needed more Jewish
communities in Judea and Samaria, AKA the West Bank, this is what he did.
When he thought that actually the way, as he saw it, to peace is a political and physical separation with the Palestinians as most Israelis
do. He was coming with and initiating the Oslo agreement.
It is just too bad that the Oslo agreement was not successful. But basically it was because of Palestinian terrorism and the feel that
Israelis have, that they did not have a trustworthy partner that really was acting in kind, in reciprocity.
But he was also a man that was a founding father of Israel defense establishment.
I remember one meeting, when he was asked what he would like to be written on his tombstone.
And he said, I made the voyage from Dimona to Oslo. In Dimona, I tried to prevent peace; in Oslo, I tried to -- I mean, I tried to prevent war in
Oslo; I tried to prevent -- or to make peace. He was certainly a man of the time, whether it was for defense or for peace.
GORANI: Danny Ayalon, thank you very much for joining us there for your thoughts on the death of Shimon Peres from Tel Aviv. We'll be right back.
AYALON: Thank you. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: We have an update for you on that school shooting at Townville Elementary School in South Carolina. The sheriff's office says a teenager
is now in custody in connection with the incident. Three people were injured in the shooting, two students and a teacher. The severity of their
injuries is not known.
Local authorities searched the school and don't believe there are any other suspects on the scene. Students are now being reunited with their parents
at a nearby church.
Also among the top stories we're following: the state funeral for Israeli leader Shimon Peres will take place on Friday. The former president and
prime minister died on Wednesday at the age of 93. U.S. President Barack Obama, Britain's Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among
those who have been --
[15:35:00]
GORANI: -- invited to his funeral.
Typhoon Megi has made landfall in Mainland China, bringing heavy rain and the possibility of flooding. A day earlier, it lashed Taiwan. Take a look
at this. This is a giant scaffolding structure essentially crashing down off of a building there. The storm has killed at least four people and
injured more than 500.
All right. Now to a vote in the U.S. Congress, which is related to 9/11, Saudi Arabia and all of the victims in between. This is the first veto
override of the Obama presidency. It has overturned his veto of a bill that would allow victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.
President Obama vetoed it, warning it could damage relations with Saudi; both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to
overturn the president's opposition.
Let's go live to Washington, Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill.
So, first of all, what does this mean essentially?
The fact that this bill will become law; victims of 9/11 can now sue, what, Saudi Arabia, individuals, how will it work?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, actually not just in Saudi Arabia; any foreign country that is seen to have any sort of
role in a terrorist attack in the United States, those people who are affected by that could turn around and now sue those governments.
This was what (INAUDIBLE) actually in 1976 law that prohibited such legal actions in U.S. courts but now that is allowed to go forward. And Saudi
Arabia is front and center.
Those 9/11 families that are -- that have been victimized by the 9/11 attacks have been pushing for years in order to go after Saudi Arabia, who
they believe had played some role in the 9/11 attacks.
Now what the administration has been worried about is not just this hurting the relationship with the United States and Saudi Arabia but also
potentially opening up Americans overseas to lawsuits from other foreign governments, who may go after United States diplomats, for American
military action overseas. And it could lead to a whole range of efforts like that.
So Americans, the White House, trying to prevent members of Congress from overriding the president's veto. But the members of Congress, including in
his own party, did not listen to him. They sided with those 9/11 families and they believe that they should have their day in court.
So a very unusual fight, the first veto overridden of President Obama's nearly eight years in office -- Hala.
GORANI: And what's been the reaction of the White House?
They must be -- I mean, they didn't want this to happen, clearly.
RAJU: They have not taken it well. In fact, the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, actually called it the most embarrassing thing
that the Senate has done since 1983. Very strong words.
I talked to some Democrats about that. They were not happy. One Democrat said that it's amateur hour over at the White House.
Another Democrat, a Democratic senator told me that this was something that -- asking them to stand between 9/11 families and justice is just too much.
One other Democratic senator said, this is overcooked rhetoric from the White House. So a lot of tension on this issue between the president and
his own party -- Hala.
GORANI: What happened in the Senate in 1983?
Give us a bit of a history lesson.
RAJU: You know, there was actually another veto override that happened at the time, dealing with some land transfer issue. So that's what the White
House press secretary was saying. But pretty strong language coming from the White House.
GORANI: All right. Manu Raju, thanks very much, in Washington with the latest on that story.
Two years ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was blown out over the skies of Eastern Ukraine.
Nearly 300 people were killed. Now international prosecutors say a missile from Russia, directly, downed the plane. Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The challenges for anyone trying to work out what happened to MH17 were enormous. At the scene, we found a vast
unsecured debris field in the middle of a war zone.
Wreckage, evidence, victims, their personal belongings, all left lying in the fields of Eastern Ukraine. The remains this crew and passengers are
everywhere.
And yet there is no one here trying to work out what happened, no one here to take responsibility for this.
Over the following weeks, the victims were recovered; four months later, the wreckage was finally removed.
This is part of the operation. And you can see, it's not a delicate one to collect, the scattered debris of the aircraft.
As investigators pieced together what remained of MH17, they found among the wreckage and within the bodies of the crew pieces of a Buk missile.
They were compared to unfired missiles at the same time. One was detonated --
[15:40:00]
BLACK: -- to study the force and nature of the blast. Investigators were in no doubt about what brought down the aircraft, but tracing its origins
required meticulous forensic work.
They studied data from local phone towers, recordings of intercepted calls made and received by officers traveling with the weapon, videos and photos
posted online, witness accounts and satellite images.
The investigators say all of that has allowed them to accurately plot the course of the convoy carrying the Buk missile system, which shot down MH17.
And they say the journey started and ended in the same place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A system was brought in from the Russian Federation territory and then returned to the Russian Federation
afterwards.
BLACK: The investigators say the missile was fired from a patch of farmland near the village of Puvameiski (ph. Their work is now focused on
who was responsible. Their ambitious intention is to prosecute those people before a court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now there are 100 persons who, in one way or another, can be linked to the crash of MH17 or the transport of
the Buk.
BLACK: The investigators say they're trying to pull apart the chain of command to determine who gave the order to fire and why. The unstated
implication: they're investigating Russian military personnel.
Moscow has always denied any involvement and insisted its evidence indicates Ukrainian forces were responsible. It says this latest report is
biased and politically motivated.
But the families of victims disagree. They believe this investigation update is the best explanation yet of how those they loved were torn from
the sky. And they say it confirms what they've long suspected: Russia was involved -- Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. We'll put up our interviews and our best content from the program online.
Next on the show, we'll tell you about Hillary Clinton's plan to make college more affordable. Here's a hint: she's borrowing a page from her
old rival, Bernie Sanders. They're campaigning together. We'll be right back.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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GORANI: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is on the campaign trail with her former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders. The pair are in
Durham, New Hampshire, working together on an issue close to Bernie Sanders's heart, that is, affordability for college. It's so expensive to
go to university in the United States.
This is something that Bernie Sanders really wanted Hillary Clinton to incorporate into her proposals. Clinton is expected to unveil a new
initiative that will allow students whose family income is below $125,000 to attend in-state schools for free. That event is underway now. Those
are live images coming to us from New Hampshire.
[15:45:00]
GORANI: Let's bring in Symone Sanders, she's a CNN political commentator and the former national press secretary for Bernie 2016.
So, Symone Sanders, first of all, we haven't seen much of Bernie Sanders up until now. This is a joint campaign appearance.
Why now?
Why haven't we seen more of Bernie Sanders?
SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, Senator Sanders, he has gone out on the campaign trail for Secretary Clinton a couple of
other times. I think this is his third appearance, his second -- or fourth appearance, his second appearance with Secretary Clinton.
But you can expect to see more of him. You know, he takes his job being a senator very seriously. As I can remember from our time out there during
the primary season, you know, it was hard to pry him away from the Senate desk. But you can definitely expect to see Senator Sanders out there on
the campaign trail, especially in these last 40 days --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: -- more than we have been up to this point, you think?
SANDERS: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) up to this point. I mean, and frankly, because Senator Sanders attracted lots of Millennials, Secretary Clinton needs
Millennials to get engaged and invigorated and enthused about this campaign.
So that's some of the work he's going to be doing.
GORANI: So yes, that was going to be my next question, the demographic, I mean, she's having issues with younger people, Senator Bernie Sanders was
very popular with younger, you know, lessly (sic) named Democratic voters.
Do you think it will be enough for him to ask his former supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton?
Or will they be difficult to convince, do you think?
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Those who weren't planning on voting for Hillary Clinton.
SANDERS: Yes. I don't think it's enough just for Senator Sanders to ask but I definitely think it helps. What also helps is the secretary doing
events like she's doing today. I know from the last couple images I saw of Bernie Sanders up there giving a mini-rally speech. They're going to do a
panel (ph) today.
So what the secretary needs to do and what the Clinton campaign needs to do and continue to do because they are doing it is as to talk to Millennials
and come to them on the issues that they care about: college affordability, climate change, criminal justice reform, education, jobs.
Those are the things that are going to get Millennials to support Secretary Clinton.
GORANI: Do you think Bernie Sanders is satisfied with, you know -- he, of course, lost at the Democratic National Convention.
He was not the nominee.
But is he satisfied with how many of his ideas and proposals perhaps Hillary Clinton then ended up taking on board in order to in fact try to
appeal to his supporters?
SANDERS: Well, I think Senator Sanders is definitely pleased. I'm sure, of course, we always want more. So there's always more work to do and more
policies to incorporate, which is why you're seeing Secretary Clinton come out today with another layer of her college affordability plan.
So there's always more work to do. But I definitely think he's pleased with what he got.
And that's why you'll continue to see him out there on the campaign trail because he believes in what Secretary Clinton is talking about and also
(INAUDIBLE) Millennials are vital to a win in November.
GORANI: So -- and you were press secretary. So you traveled, you criss- crossed the country, you met all these Millennials. And by the way, I was told that the young people who were born at the end of the century are
called Centennials. They're allowed to vote for the first time this election. So these are also some valuable, potential voters.
What is it about Hillary Clinton that has, you know -- she's not appealed to that demographic as much as Bernie Sanders.
Why do you think that is?
SANDERS: I think it's mainly because the young voters, they're disillusioned with the system and they want to talk about specifics, they
want to talk about the issues. And what we have seen in this election from not just the media but the candidates themselves is they've had a lot of
criss-crossed back and forth about one another.
You know, Donald Trump is a bigot, he's a racist, Secretary Clinton saying I'm better than the other guy but not necessarily laying out what her
policies are while she's out there on television or on the campaign trail as much as we've seen her do in this last month or so.
So I definitely think that contributes to it and just the fact that, again, the system is not a lot of the things that young people -- a lot of young
people believe in and Bernie Sanders was someone that came in and showed them that, hey, I'm from outside the system but we can do this if we come
together.
So that is the message that Secretary Clinton and the Clinton campaign needs to continue to carry on until November 8th to get her in that White
House.
GORANI: All right. Symone Sanders, thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it.
Now every time bombs fall in Aleppo, volunteers rush in to try to save as many lives as possible. They often suffer casualties as well. Our
Frederik Pleitgen looks at one group working heroically against almost hopeless odds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A horrifying attack on humanitarian workers, aid trucks and a warehouse of
the Syrian Arab Red Crescent destroyed near Aleppo a little over a week ago, killing a dozen, sending shock waves through the organization.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of (INAUDIBLE) said we should stop, we should - -
[15:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- stop only for three days to say that we are sorry we -- but nobody can stop because you see that people need help. So we
cannot stop. We can never stop.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But shortly after, trucks are being loaded again. Aid convoys back on the roads. After the attack on its convoy, the Syrian
Arab Red Crescent only halted its activities for about three days.
Since then, they said that their convoys are running at full capacity again. The Red Crescent is one of the few organizations in this country
trusted by both government and opposition supporters. They cross battle lines to deliver aid all over the country, run water projects and even
bakeries.
And they risk their lives to provide first aid in this war zone. CNN was on hand shortly after a bomb went off in Central Damascus in 2013. Most of
the rescue workers are volunteers like first aid squad leader Imam Hamoudeh (ph).
IMAM HAMOUDEH (PH), FIRST AID SQUAD LEADER: They have to help other people if you can. You need to feel like you are doing something, like you are --
you have youth, you have a power, you need to do something to help other people who are in most need.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Together with the U.N., the Red Crescent even coordinates airdrops to besieged areas in Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two minutes to drop. Proceed to drop.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): We were in their operations room when aid was parachuted into Deir ez-Zor, which is besieged by ISIS.
The head of the organization says his plea to the powers involved in the conflict is simple: don't target the aid workers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been lost more than 57 volunteers in the front line. And all of them are young, between 18 to 26 year. This is really
showing what does it mean, the volunteering work in Syria.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): September has been a bittersweet month for the Red Crescent. They won the American Red Cross International Humanitarian
Service Award but, only a week later, its convoy was hit near Aleppo, a loss no award in the world can make up for -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Many civilians fleeing the Syrian conflict have ended up in Western countries like Canada. Ibrahim Halil Dudu (ph) arrived there less
than a week ago but already he's had a positive impact when a wardrobe malfunction threatened disaster at a wedding next door.
The Syrian newcomer came to the rescue. You see, in Syria, well, he was a master tailor. He knew exactly how to repair the bride's broken zipper and
save the day.
He doesn't yet speak English but gratitude needs no translation.
Stay with us.
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GORANI: Part of one of the world's most popular bands, a South Korean K- pop sensation, Big Bang. But music is not the only passion for the singer- songwriter. He's just curated a special collection of fine art for Sotheby's. So he spoke to us about that.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHOI SEUNG HYUN, "T.O.P.", BIG BANG: (Speaking foreign language).
[15:55:00]
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
END
