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Dow Recovering After Plunging 588 Points Monday; North, South Korea Reach Deal to Defuse Tensions; Attempted Rail Attack Raises Security Questions; NY Prison Escape Seen from Prison Point of View; Never-Seen-Before Photos of Agatha Christie. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 25, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:24] JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Global market jitters after Monday's wild ride on Wall Street. Asian markets are looking for a rebound this trading day.

Will he or won't he? Sources say vice president Joe Biden could make another run for the White House.

And step by step, we'll take you inside the tunnel that two convicts used to escape from a prison in upstate New York.

Like to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world.

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

CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

And we begin with the markets in Asia. Investors are keeping a close eye on the numbers after the dramatic selloff on Monday. And things are looking a little better today. Let's have a look at the latest numbers coming in to CNN right now across the region.

We have Japan which was in positive territory for a while but now down by almost half of one percent. The Hong Kong though up there by almost on 1.45 of percent. The Seoul Kospi up by 1.3 percent. Sydney's also been in positive territory, so, too, Mumbai. The Shanghai composite there still down by more than four percent. It was down by six percent at the start, pullback a little but still trading negative territory there.

Monday, U.S. stocks had a hair-raising ride dropping more than a thousand points at the open, later rebounding only to fall back at the close. The Dow ended Monday down 588 points or about 3.5 percent. It was the worst for the market since August of 2011, and it kept the biggest three-day point loss in the Dow's history.

And Richard Quest reports now it was a rough day for stocks across the board on Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Not one stock in the Dow was up, even though during the course of the session had been moments when several had risen above the far a bit.

Look at those stocks that showed the biggest losses. ExxonMobil and the other oil companies, not surprisingly, oil is now under $40 a barrel. This is going to hit their profits hard. ExxonMobil is down 4.7 percent.

Tech stocks like twitter, which is already closed (INAUDIBLE) is down a further 2.7 percent. These are the stocks where people tend to avoid when times of crisis.

Procter & Gamble, massive consumer facing company, selling consumer goods around the world. But Procter & Gamble, down 3.7 percent, even though in a recession, in a crisis, we still need to buy soap and toothpaste. It just shows the depth of what we were seeing today when things like P&G are the worst affected.

And bank of America. JPMorgan was also down sharply. But bank of America closed the session down five percent. It was one of the most traded shares on the market. And was absolutely clobbered.

Put it all together. When you look at the way the Dow Jones industrials closed, volume was up to 90 percent higher than you'd normally expect this time of the year. So there was real selling and real market movement in a market that still hasn't quite decided where to close.

Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Tech company, Apple, had a big rebound during Monday's volatility. Before the trading day began in the U.S., Apple CEO Jim Cook emailed Jim Cayman, he is popular market commentator on cable TV, and cook reassured him that Apple is doing just fine in China. Apple shares still took a small tumble but closed down a relatively mild 2.5 percent.

Well, for more on what's driving the markets today, let's go to Hong Kong and Asia Pacific editor Andrew Stevens joining us live.

SO Andrew, these numbers are kind of mixed all over the place. If you look at what's happening, the selloff seemed to be mostly contained to China, most of the (INAUDIBLE) in the region have shaken off. Not just what's happening in China but also in Wall Street as well.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Yes, just not in Wall Street, it is interesting. I was watching that collapse of Wall Street right out of the gates last night here in Hong Kong. And I was getting a lot of messages from people in the states. But, you know, quite sophisticated investors saying this is a fantastic buying opportunity. So there is a lot of smart money out there who were very interested in getting in on that collapse. So it does give you an understanding that perhaps the whole sort of crisis mode was slightly overdone.

And it's important to remember, we have been saying this, John, is that the Shanghai stock market and the performance of that market is only very loosely based on what's going on in the real economy. This is a market that went up 160 percent while the Chinese economy was starting to slow down and slow down quite sharply. So it's not a real indicator.

Now, what you see in here today is those markets around Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, up and up reasonably strongly as well. Which does suggest that the selling, again, and the fear about China was overdone.

The Nikkei has lost ground. It was up a little bit earlier in the day, interesting to see where these markets finished. But certainly, there is much more, I guess, rationale, rational thinking going on in these markets around the region at the moment after yesterday.

So it's not the end of the world. It's not China's sort of guaranteed hard landing which people seem to be concerned about yesterday. It seems to be that cooler heads are prevailing.

[01:06:04] VAUSE: And in some ways, I guess in Beijing, is there now a realization that after dropping $200 billion trying to prop up stock prices none of that really works and at the end of the day it only affects a small percentage of the population.

STEVENS: I think that's a fair comment, difficult to know what's going on at that level in the minds of policymakers. But certainly, having thrown in many ways, the kitchen sink at the market earlier in the summer, after it came off its peak around June the 12th and really, really did tank. China announced a whole series of measures, and it looked like a panic reaction. It looked like a, they were making it up as they went along, basically, and it only had a limited effect, so they sort of botched that.

And now, with this latest leg down, you get the impression looking at how the authorities are acting in that they're not really reacting, you sort of think that they're much more comfortable with letting this market now find more of a natural base. I don't think they want to see the panic selling, because that sends the wrong headlines across the country, no matter how much they try to hide it, so it will probably be more of a managed, managed sort of movement down. But down remains very much the direction of the Shanghai markets at the moment.

VAUSE: Yes. Downward approach continues there, mostly because you say it was so overvalued. Latest numbers out of Shanghai, they're trading down by just about four percent.

Andrew, thank you. Andrew Stevens live for us in Hong Kong.

And please head to our Web site, CNN.com for full coverage including a special section on what is actually happening in China and how that is playing into global markets.

Here on politics now, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton could still face a new challenger. There are fresh signs that vice president Joe Biden is considering jumping into the primary race. Joe Johns reports on what's pointing to a Joe Biden run and the

obstacles he could face.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Biden arrived at the White House today with a lot on his mind. His weekly lunch with the president in the oval office taking on new meaning, with speculation swirling about whether he will run.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Everybody is pretty interested to find out is to what decision the vice president is going to make. The president has indicated his view, that the decision to add Joe Biden to the ticket as his running mate was the smartest decision he'd ever made in politics.

JOHNS: A democratic source in-touch with Biden's associates tells CNN the vice president is now leaning more toward running for president than against it. The buzz about a possible Biden candidacy intensified after he traveled from Delaware to Washington this weekend for a secret meeting with influential liberal senator Elizabeth Warren.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: She's a leading voice in our party for progressive values and progressive issues, and I'm not surprised that Joe Biden and others would seek her counsel.

JOHNS: So far, the Massachusetts senator has refused to endorse front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying this last week.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I don't think anybody's anointed. You know, what I want to see is I want to see of all the presidential candidates lay out where they stand on key issues.

JOHNS: Biden associates see a possible opening, because Clinton has been battling trust issues with voters over her email controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you wipe the server?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What? Like, with a cloth or something?

JOHNS: The latest CNN/ORC poll shows 53 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton while 44 percent view Biden that way. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders see Clinton's numbers as helping him.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the evidence is pretty clear. We don't gain with. What the polls seem to indicate is that Hillary Clinton's support seems to be receding a bit.

JOHNS: Biden still would face major hurdles if he got into the race this late raising enough money and quickly starting up an organization. In the last few weeks he's been talking to advisers and supporters about whether a run is realistic. Biden has been told he needs to make a decision by October 1st. One plan would have him announce his intentions the first week of October. The official message from the vice president's office is that he has

not made a decision about running for president. And any speculation to the contrary is false.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:10:19] VAUSE: So could this be Joe Biden's moment? Does he have the support among Democrats to topple Hillary Clinton who remains a very strong front runner despite all the recent controversy?

For more, CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins us now from Los Angeles.

So Ron, very quick question for a start, do you think he will get into the race?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I still think more no than yes, but I think it is more dependent on what happens to Hillary Clinton than what happens to him. I mean, really, what we're seeing here is mostly about Hillary Clinton and the anxiety Democrats have about this email story that will not end.

Joe Biden is beloved by Democrats as vice president. He was a very effective senator, but there were reasons that he was not looking at running until recently. He ran twice before, was not a very effective presidential candidate either time. And he would be older than Ronald Reagan on inauguration day if he did win in 2017.

So I think this is more about Democrats looking for an insurance policy on Clinton than it is a ground swell of desire for Biden.

VAUSE: Yes, I get the feeling that, you know, maybe Biden is looking to be drafted here, to be kind of the savior of the Democratic Party should Hillary fall over?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I think, look, I clearly part of what is going on. But the real difficult decision he has to make is there is no doubt that there are Democrats are uneasy about the direction of the Clinton campaign, in particular, her inability to for far to put this email controversy behind her, and that generates a certain amount of willingness to look for someone else.

John, there is still a big gulf between that level of interest and the actual critical mass of support you would you have to achieve logistically, financially and voters to beat Hillary Clinton. So I think there's still enough interest to make this worthwhile to look at, whether there's enough interest to make him viable to beat her is another question. And again, what I think that depends more on what happens to her is what happens to him.

VAUSE: One of the biggest differences between Biden and Clinton is that he's seen as - he has got better numbers on being trustworthy and honest, but that's pretty much it, right? BROWNSTEIN: Right. I mean, look. I think Joe Biden's one line of

argument against her is that I could be more electable. If you think about it, he doesn't offer a generational contrast which is what Martin O'Malley is trying to do. He doesn't really offer an ideological contrast if you look Bernie Sanders is trying to do.

Biden comes out of the same kind of centrist Democratic tradition as Hillary and Bill Clinton. And in fact, Biden was the principle author of the 1994 crime bill that Bill Clinton signed and Hillary Clinton has largely repudiated under pressure from minority groups in this campaign. So it's not clear that he has a, you know, he has a viable line of differentiation against her that to the extent that she is damaged, there will be Democrats who might viewed in as a stronger general election candidate. But that, as I sad, depends more of what happens to her than anything he can do.

VAUSE: Finally, in terms of the presidential endorsement, is this a bit of a Sophie's choice for President Obama?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I can't imagine that he would get in the middle of this. And, look, I think we're, you know, again, I think if Joe Biden is smart, and he is smart, I don't think he's going to rush to a precipitous decision. I think he's going to wait and see what plays out with Hillary Clinton and this controversy surrounding her. Because if she recovers her footing it is very difficult to see why he would do this. If she continues to decline, we may cross that gulf from kind of a flirting interest to actually courting interest. That would make it more worthwhile for him to get in.

VAUSE: Yes, you never know for Joe Biden, third time may be the charm.

Ron, good to speak with you. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: And for now, Hillary Clinton is taking aim at the crowded field of Republicans. This ad targets their stand on immigration and the use of the term "anchor babies" to describe children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Legal status but not citizenship.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Exactly.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I use the word anchor baby.

BUSH: So you don't have these anchor babies as they're described, coming into the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Did you use the term anchor babies, do you regret that term?

BUSH: No, I didn't. I don't regret it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: You don't regret it?

BUSH: No. Do you have a better term?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't let the circus distract you. Most of the other candidates are just Trump without the pizzazz or the hair!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: At an appearance on the Mexican border, Governor Bush insisted he wasn't using the anchor baby term in a derogative way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: My background, my life, the fact that I'm immersed in the immigrant experience, this is ludicrous for the campaign and others to suggest that I'm using a derogatory term. What I'm talking about is the specific case of fraud being committed where there's organized efforts, and frankly, it's more related to Asian people coming into our country, having children in that organized effort, taking advantage of a noble concept, which is birthright citizenship. I support the 14th amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:15:18] VAUSE: And that remark about relating more to Asians prompted a call from a senator from Hawaii for an immediate retraction and an apology to the Asian community.

British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has died from severe head injuries sustained at the Pocono Raceway in the U.S. on Sunday. Wilson was struck in the head by the nose cone of another car which crashed. He remained hospitalized in a coma after the accident and then died Monday evening. Wilson was remembered as an extraordinary driver and a kind person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MILES, CEO, HULMAN & COMPANY: Justin's elite ability to drive a race car was matched by his unwavering kindness, character and humility, which made him one of the most respected members of the paddock (ph). As we know, the racing industry is one big family. And our focus is rallying around Justin's family to ensure that they get the support they need during this difficult time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Wilson is survived by his wife and two children. Just 37 years old.

A short break here on CNN NEWSROOM.

When we come back, three Americans on vacation in Europe will go home with a pretty special souvenir. Up next, we will look at the honor they received in France for risking their lives to some potential massacre.

And the U.S. state of Washington reaches two milestones regarding wildfires, records no state wants to achieve. We'll have an update on the relentless blazes when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:37] VAUSE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.

We now know the identity of another hero who helped stop a potential massacre on a Paris-bound train. Mark Moogalian was actually the first one who tried to take the gun away from the shooter on Friday. The French American was shot in the neck. He is recovering in the hospital.

Meantime, the other four men are also being held as heroes have been awarded France's highest honor in a red carpet ceremony at the president's palace. Francois Hollande presented the Legion of Honor to the three Americans and on English man.

And the Americans are in for special welcome home when they return to California. The city of Sacramento will throw a parade for the home- town heroes.

And we're learning new details more about the suspected gunman on that train attack. Investigators believe 26-year-old Ayoub El-Khazzani is linked to ISIS fighters based in Turkey and he was already on the radar of European counter terror officials.

Jim Bittermann has more now reporting in from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long before El-Khazzani was taken down and hog-tied after the train attack Friday, he was well-known to European authorities. According to French intelligence sources, the accused terrorist was the subject of what is known as a (INAUDIBLE) that can signaled intelligence communities across Europe that a person merits special surveillance. It was that notice reportedly provoked by El-Khazzani his connection to radical mosques in Spain which brought to attention his trip from Berlin to Istanbul in May. It's not known if he also traveled to Syria at that point.

A senior European official says it is believed he was likely he was linked to a cell of ISIS fighters in Turkey. The cell taught to him directly to another foiled attack in April against the church in Paris suburbs. The gunman in that attack is awaiting trial after accidentally shooting himself in the foot and turning himself in to medical personnel.

El-Khazzani, according to those who wrestled his weapons away, also does not appear to have been highly trained especially after his assault weapon apparently jammed.

ALEK SKARLATOS, AMERICAN WHO SUBDUE GUNMAN: Yes, he clearly had no firearms training whatsoever. And yes, if he knew what he was doing or even just got lucky and did the right thing, he would have been able to operate through all eight of those magazines, and we would have all been in trouble and probably wouldn't be here today.

BITTERMANN: El-Khazzani, who is still undergoing questioning at this French intelligence headquarters outside Paris, was not, according to his lawyer, a terrorist at all. She says he was just trying to pull off an armed robbery of the train with weapons he found in a Brussels park. El-Khazzani's father in southern Spain interviewed by a British newspaper said his son never talked politics but just liked football and fishing, although he admitted that the 25-year-old had been arrested on drug-related charges.

Given El-Khazzani's track record and the amount of weaponry he allegedly brought aboard the train, French authorities are apparently not buying either the lawyer or father's picture of the motives. Because the case remains under the jurisdiction of France's top terrorism prosecutor.

El-Khazzani now joins a list of accused terrorists who either raised suspicions or were known to intelligence authorities before they went into the action. The question commentators and politician are beginning to ask is exactly what's stopping security officials from heading offer the terrorists before they can act.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, near Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) to report in Washington state's disaster wildfire season. 2015 is now the worst fire year on record for the state. And the current group of 16 wildfires is also the largest in the state's history. Close to 255,000 hectares or 630,000 acres have burned. An area bigger than all of New York and London combined. The fires have also destroyed more than 200 homes.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with what make this be some good news for firefighters in that part of the United States. And they haven't had a lot of good news to deal with lately.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's about time, John. You know, it's interesting because you and I talked about something that is actually now beginning to happen, which was firefighters is out of New Zealand and Australia finally arriving now across the northwestern U.S. We know that 69 of them arrived in the past several hours. This happened about 15 years ago where the officials had exhausted all of their personnel. In fact 32,000 firefighters across the country working on massive flames right now. So, additional help mid-level managers and supervisors are being brought into place as well to help with the fighting efforts.

But I want to show you the big changes in the weather pattern because tremendous dip in the jet stream, anytime you see this sort of a pattern and you talk about at least cooler temperature wanting to shift further south. And the series curve support as storm system dropping south the moist environment begins to enter the picture Friday, Saturday, on into Sunday. So we get cooler temperatures, we get wet weather to come in, certainly the first time in a very long time we've seen this pattern. And notice in Seattle, it does warm up before it cools off significantly, into the upper 60s by next week with a four-day stretch of rainfall. The last time that happened you have to go back to the beginning portion of the summer season. Certainly good news there. You notice above average possibility for rainfall inside the next ten days. Below average possibility when it comes to temperatures dropping as well. Above average as it stay with the temperatures dropping as well.

But I want to show you what's happening in Turkey in recent days because tremendous rainfall occurring over this region. We know eight fatalities. Two people considered missing in the town of Hopa. This is on the northeastern corner of Turkey. The meteorological pattern set up to create this remarkably because I want to look at this and take you out there towards the black sea across Turkey because the terrain is conducive for all this. And we bring you into the black sea. You have the northerly flow coming off the warm waste environment. The mountains right there just outside of the town, within about 10 miles inland go out from say level up to some 6,000 feet in elevation. This is perfect for forcing the air to rise. Once the air rises, it cools, it condenses, and you have the recipe for tremendous rainfall which we saw by the way upward to the foot of rainfall. A vast majority of it in the six-hour period that causing the flash flooding over this region of Turkey.

So, you look at the flood again take place over this region. And the concern is that the pattern very much unusual as far as the amount of rainfall they saw. This is the beginning of the wet season, but about 250 millimeters coming down, 170 millimeters is what is considered normal. And again, most of it happening in just a few hours, John. So, very dangerous scenario in part.

VAUSE: Yes. Well, possible, can't handle that much rain that quickly.

JAVAHERI: Not many parts can, absolutely.

VAUSE: Yes. OK, Pedram, thank you.

When we come back, we'll check the world financial markets. We will take a look at Monday's wild ride on Wall Street. And we will have some advice for investors. That's just ahead.

Also, north and South Korea reaching a deal to ease recent tensions. We'll have details on the terms both sides agreed to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:37] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live all around the world. I'm John Vause. We'll check the headlines this hour.

Some financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region are inching up. Quite a different story than yesterday. Let's take a look at the latest numbers. And there they are. The Nikkei was up by 1.5 percent earlier, but now it is down by 1.5 percent. Still not as bad as it was just a day ago. Hong Kong is much higher on the day, but still up by .25 percent. But the Seoul KOSPI remains in positive territory, up by 1.5 percent. But the Shanghai Composite in China still way down by more than 4 percent.

The leading Democrat says Joe Biden has gotten President Obama's blessing to run for president. Sources say Biden is leaning toward running but has not made up his mind, not yet. He met with top Obama advisers on Monday night to discuss a possible run.

British Indy car driver, Justin Wilson, has died from severe head injuries sustained at the Pocono Race Way on Monday. He was struck in the head by a nose cone from another car. He remained in the hospital in a coma but died on Monday night. Wilson was just 37 years old.

Here's financial markets. They look to recover after the biggest single-day drop since 2011. The Dow closed down 588 points on Monday. The market had plunged more than 1,000 points within minutes of the opening bell.

In case you missed it, here's a look at the way the day played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We begin with breaking news on Wall Street. Dow futures down some 600 points this Monday morning ahead of the opening bell.

(BELL RINGING)

HARLOW: All right, the markets are open. You see the big board up there. In just a few moments, we will see how the selloff, looks like it's accelerating, the Dow down 100 points at the open. We're seeing the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 800 points. It was off more than 950 points just a moment ago.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When you see a 5 percent move in a market in the stock market in a single day, it's very, very rare to see this. This is a lot of selling coming from all around the world. Now we're down 6 percent, more than 1,000 points here.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: At the moment, this market having been down between 600 and 800. It's looking for its direction.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just too early to tell how low we're going to go at this point.

HARLOW: The Dow 667 points. Half an hour into the trading session.

I want to pull up the big board again. It's important to put this into perspective. The Dow off 300 points. Nowhere near the 1,000 point drop we saw at the open.

ROMANS: The Dow now down 340-some points. That looks sunny and rosy after an epic 1,000 point plunge.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: It appears things have stabilized for now. The true question is where we close today.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We're now 200 at 141. Good god, might we erase the disaster of today?

VAUSE: About a half an hour left in the trading day. The Dow sinking once again. You can now see down 668, after really rebounding.

(BELL RINGING)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to settle in right now at 584 points down at 4:00. That's on top of the 500-point loss that we saw earlier this week.

QUEST: At the end of trading on Monday, the 24th of August, look at the numbers. The madness is over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Analysts are urging investors to stay calm and to remember that corrections are healthy for the market. But the CBOE's volatility index, sometimes called the Vix, or the fear index, jumped.

One expert says the best strategy is to make sure your investments are diverse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER KENNY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, CLEAR POOL GROUP: It's certainly true over the last four trading day the we've seen volume expand, prices coming quite, quite sharply and the Vix go up 200 percent. That set off alarm bells for every investor. That said, it's important to remain diversified, to make sure you have exposure to the Vix, if at all possible. Even at these elevated levels, there is justification for exposure.

Additionally, think defensively. Don't try to catch the falling knife. This market is going to be intensely volatile for the next few weeks, possibly months. With that in mind, there's going to be a lot of money shaken out of very, very weak hands. You want to have exposure to the Vix, utilities, financials with a focus on the domestic economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:35:15] VAUSE: The fear index is at its highest level in six and a half years.

Let's head to the Korean peninsula where the North and South have reached an agreement to ease tensions after days of marathon talks. South Korea has stopped its propaganda broadcasts over the border and also turned up the K-pop.

For more, let's go to Seoul. Kathy Novak is live this hour. Kathy, both sides have now shown they can negotiate their way out of a crisis. Is this seen as a turning point in North-South relations?

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We may have to wait and see, I think the hope that they were able to get together at all at this very high level and have these discussions and get to the point of what was really at stake here, which was defusing these tensions. We know at this time of year when the U.S. and South Korea holds drills it's a time of tension, but this time it seems a little different with this real threat from Pyongyang that had been setting a deadline for 5:00 local time to turn off the K-pop or it would strike South Korea. And South Korea and the United States were putting in real preparations for that possible. And this time around it wasn't just the joint military drills, it was the land mines and the speakers, and it led to this level. So they were able to get past that.

In terms of a turning point and future relations going forward, there are also talks outside of the land mines and the propaganda speakers that we've been discussing. There's also in this agreement, plans next month for the Red Cross to be involved in further discussions that would set up possible family reunions at the end of September, when the Koreas mark their Thanksgiving. It's a very significant time of year. And I think if they're able to get that done, if we're able to see some family reunions, then that would be seen as a very positive sign and perhaps the positive that came out of what was a very difficult situation -- John?

VAUSE: Yeah, if you look at the history between these two sides, in 60 years, North Korea has never apologized for anything, and that includes starting the war in 1950. So this expression of regret by the North, it seems a pretty big win for the South Koreans.

NOVAK: It may. It depends on what you consider an apology, I think, is the question being asked today, especially in the South Korean media here, John. North Korea did not say sorry. It expressed regret. There was sort of this feeling that it is regretful that your soldiers were injured by this land mine, but not an admission that North Korea actually planted the land mines that maimed these two South Korean soldiers. Both South Korea and the United Nations say there was enough evidence to show that it was by North Korea. But as you say, North Korea is not one to apologize. So it was interesting to see how they would come out of this with any kind of agreement that would satisfy both sides. And it seems that this expression of regret is being seen by the South Korean government as enough of an apology. And we heard from the head of the national security and his press conference that he said the word apology. He said it is significant that North Korea apologized. So that's how it's being interpreted there -- John?

VAUSE: Sorry is always the hardest word.

Kathy, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

A short break on CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, two killers received international attention to their prison escape. And ahead, the elaborate path they used to get out. And we'll have it from the prisoners' point of view.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:42:03] VAUSE: One of our top stories this hour is that thwarted attack on a train in France. And it's brought the vulnerability of rail travel back into the spotlight. We take a plane, we go through a number of security check points, but you can walk onto almost any train without so much as a second look.

Here's CNN's Phil Black.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 2004 terrorist bombings in Madrid brutally exposed the vulnerability of the trains. The blast killed 191 people. But today, in Europe, there's still only one rail service that enforces anything like airport-style security. When you ride the Eurostar, you and your luggage pass through x-ray screening.

SIMON CALDER, TRAVEL EXPERT: Eurostar is a closed network. Ever since it opened 21 years ago, connecting London with Paris and Brussels, it's been considered that the channel tunnel is a target. And therefore, you've always had airport-style security. And because there's so few stations involved in the network, that's been relatively easy to maintain.

BLACK: But the Eurostar is a tiny part of Europe's rail network. Long sections of high-speed rail track cross national borders, weaving through a huge, complex web of city and local rail lines. It moves hundreds of millions of people a year with little to no passenger screening.

CALDER: It is the sorts of numbers which simply don't happen in air travel, and therefore, the air travel solutions do not apply to the trains.

BLACK: Security experts say European countries must strike a difficult balance between risk management and convenience.

RAFFAELLO PANTUCCI, ROYAL UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTE: On the one hand, you do have a terrorist threat that occasionally does a bit of target public transport. But on the other hand you have the economic benefits of having a mobile train system across the continent that people can use very easily. That's a sort of fundamental element within the economy.

BLACK: In the short term, experts believe the answer lies in more covert surveillance and more visible armed security.

PANTUCCI: So have be more people at major train stations with guns, for example, will help not only engender sort of public sense of security but maybe potentially deter some people from launching an attack.

BLACK: There's no failsafe option. So as on trains, as with almost every area of modern European life, people are now considering what money, convenience and freedoms that they are prepared to sacrifice to reduce the rare but increasingly persistence threat of terrorism.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: U.S. President Obama is in Las Vegas outlining his plans for an energy-efficient future. Mr. Obama unveiled a number of executive actions to promote cleaner energy, especially solar. He said they provide solar energy to more than 40 military bases and technology to double the amount of energy solar panels can produce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF HE UNITED STATES: Now is not the time to insist on massive cuts to the investments in R&D that help drive our economy, including the hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts that many Republicans want to take from these successful job-creating clean energy programs. It's thanks, in part, to these investments that there are already places across the country where clean power from the sun is finally cheaper than conventional power from your utility, power often generated by burning coal or gas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:45:29] VAUSE: Mr. Obama is also making $1 billion in loan guarantees available to encourage companies to develop new energy technology.

Two convicted killers spent three weeks on the run in New York State before one was killed and the other captured. David Sweat and Richard Matt used power tools to cut through steel walls and steam pipes before emerging outside their maximum security prison. Now we're getting a look at what the escape actually looked like from the convicts' point of view.

Here's Randy Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a flashlight so we can get decent camera footage.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two state investigators armed with supplies and two GOPro cameras showing us how inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt shimmied and snaked their way to freedom.

The video, given to us by an official source, is about 20 minutes long, as long as it takes for these investigators to wind their way through the belly of Clinton Correctional Facility, just like the escapees did back in June.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the end of D block.

KAYE: We're not showing the investigators' faces, but their point of view is eye opening.

They begin at the very spot where Sweat and Matt cut holes in their cells, then follow the same six-story high catwalk before jumping down to take on an elaborate maze of pipes and the prison's tunnel system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Approaching the first significantly tight squeeze, the end of B block leading into the C block area.

KAYE: About halfway through the tape --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost nine, almost 10 minutes in.

KAYE: -- our first glimpse of the hole that takes them from one prison building to the next. Investigators squeeze themselves through it to reach the other side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bunch of lanes.

KAYE: They push forward, retracing the prisoners' steps, and just like them, dealing with unbearable heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting warm.

KAYE: At 14 minutes, they're underneath the asphalt yard between buildings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've entered into the block area and entered into the pipe-chased tunnels adjacent to B block and C block.

KAYE: It's a maze that even these investigators have trouble mastering. There's piping hot steam. At times, it's hard to breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're basically southbound from that tunnel.

KAYE: About 17 minutes in, they reach the now legendary steam pipe used by the escapees. This is where it gets tricky. Sweat had told investigators he spent nearly a month cutting holes in this steam pipe, all part of his secret nightly trips spent mapping out their elaborate escape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get in this pipe. It's going to lead to the exit. And attempting to extricate myself from the steam pipe, which is not easy.

KAYE: And then, the homestretch, passing one chained-up manhole cover and making their way to the next one, the very same manhole Richard Matt and David Sweat emerged from, kicking off a three-week manhunt.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here, some never-before-seen photos of one of the world's most popular writers, Agatha Christie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:52:56] VAUSE: Well, let's check on the markets this hour. There's been a pretty big turn around. Seoul remains in positive territory but Tokyo and Hong Kong have given up all the gains they made earlier. This has happened in the last 20 minutes or do. Total down by about 3.5 percent, also Shanghai heading down into way negative territory around 6 percent. A similar story on India, the India Sensex is down by 1 percent. That, too, had been up in positive territory. So markets again showing a lot of volatility.

A London exhibit is marking the 121st anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth with never-before-seen photos of the famous author.

Nick Glass got a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

MATHEW PRICHARD, GRANDCHILD OF AGATHA CHRISTIE: And there she is.

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Agatha Christie as a child, in her own words, "a solemn little girl with pale, flaxen, sausage curls."

PRICHARD: And there she is.

GLASS: Matthew Prichard is her one and only grandchild.

We were privileged. We believe this is the first time the family albums have ever been filmed.

PRICHARD: Early years of my grandmother, up until her 30s, she was a different person to what she became after she became famous and was known for her writing. She was -- then, you might say, you might say she was herself.

GLASS: This London exhibition should prove revolutionary, an athletic outdoor girl on roller skates by the pier and in her early 30s in Honolulu, surfing.

PRICHARD: It was said that she was one of the first British women who actually was photographed upright on a surfing board.

GLASS: Agatha described the sport as heaven. One of the most perfect physical pleasures she'd ever known.

Agatha Christie was simply prolific. This, they think, is the typewriter she used to type out "And Then There Were None" and "Death on the Nile," a legacy of over 100 novels, short stories, plays.

Matthew is the keeper of the flame, manager of her literary estate for almost 40 years now.

[01:55:03] PRICHARD: I do consider myself, if you want to use that word, a glorified brand manager. That's what my job is.

GLASS (on camera): There are a lot of books. Have you read them all?

PRICHARD: Oh, yes.

GLASS: You must be one of the few.

PRICHARD: Oh, no, I think you'd be surprised how many people have read all the books.

GLASS (voice-over): But one story remains taboo, a mysterious, sensational and traumatic disappearance from home in 1926. Her husband, Archie Christie, told her he had fallen for another woman and Agatha went missing for 11 days. She was eventually found by the police in a hotel in Yorkshire.

PRICHARD: We don't talk about the disappearance. As you say, a lot of people ask me about it, but the family never did, and I don't. So can we move on to the next subject?

GLASS (on camera): Absolutely.

(voice-over): In a way this amounts to a deeply affectionate tribute from a grandson to his beloved grandmother. In part, it's also a celebration of Agatha before he came along. They both had birthdays in September.

PRICHARD: She gave me the rights to "The Mousetrap" for my 9th birthday, not that I knew much about it at the time, but I don't think she realized how generous she was being.

GLASS: In Agatha's hands, in one of the family albums, the words "chariots" and "horses," namely the design on a favorite summer dress worn as she left by boat with Archie on a world tour in 1922.

Not only could Agatha Christie write, but she had style.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And thanks, Nick Glass, for that report.

I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett. They'll have the very latest on the market volatility we're now seeing across Asia. Please stay with us.

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