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Clinton Cancels Trip After Pneumonia Diagnosis; Marking 15 Years Since 9/11 Attack; Mounting Concerns Over North Korea Missile Tests; Deadly Airstrikes in Syria Ahead of Ceasefire; France Terror Level at Maximum. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 12, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:35] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and, of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm George Howell, from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. NEWSROOM starts right now.

2:00 a.m. on the U.S. east coast. There are new answers now to questions about Hillary Clinton's health. She became ill Sunday at a 9/11 ceremony in New York, and she was seen stumbling as she left. First, her campaign said that she was overheated. Hours later, after she came out of her daughter's apartment, more details came to light.

CHURCH: A statement from her personal physician says this: "Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies. On Friday, during follow-up evaluation, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was put on antibiotics and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning's event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her, and she is now rehydrated and recovering nicely."

HOWELL: But certainly, there are many questions that are coming to surface because of this. Clinton has not canceled a campaign trip to California so that she could rest up.

CHURCH: CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us more about her illness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are still getting details in about what exactly may have precipitated what you are seeing in this video here with Secretary Clinton. Clearly, having some trouble getting into the van, seems to stumble. What we heard initially as you now probably know is that this was due to an episode of overheating, sort of a vague material. Not clear what that meant. Then it was just a few hours later that we heard that, in fact, Secretary Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia, but that that diagnosis took place on Friday. Today is Sunday. And that it was the pneumonia and a bacterial pneumonia for which she's being treated with antibiotics that may have made her condition even worse.

The way we're sort of hearing from the campaign and from her personal doctor is that she was dehydrated. She had an episode of overheating, and much of that was precipitated by this diagnosis of pneumonia.

There are still bits of information that we don't know. How did she get diagnosed with pneumonia? Did she get a chest x-ray? When was she seen by a doctor? What type of bacteria is causing this, and how is it being treated? What's the impact going to be on her travel schedule? Should she be traveling on a plane and doing other events? Should she be resting and getting rehydrated even more? These are all still open questions. We're not sure we'll get answers to those questions, at least over the next several hours, but as we get more information, we'll bring it to you.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

Clinton's rival, Donald Trump, is not commenting about her health issues. He told reporters on Sunday he didn't know about the incident.

CHURCH: Sources close to Trump have been told they could be fired if they write anything negative about Clinton's health on social media.

HOWELL: It will be interesting what his surrogates say today about this situation.

Hillary Clinton's pneumonia is forcing a temporary slowdown in her campaign.

CHURCH: CNN producer, Dan Merica, spoke with Poppy Harlow earlier about Clinton's schedule going forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICS PRODUCER: Hillary Clinton will not be going on a two-day California trip that was scheduled long ago. She was supposed to headline a fundraiser in San Francisco, a large fundraiser in San Francisco tomorrow night. She was going to then fly to L.A. where she had two events, two fundraisers, one with Lionel Richie and another with Diane von Fuhrstenberg. Right now, on her calendar the next open event will be in Las Vegas where she's supposed to headline a rally and speak about the economy in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

This is basically an acknowledgment from the Clinton campaign that this pneumonia diagnosis is an issue, and I was struck when the doctor put out a statement earlier today and said that, you know, I advise Secretary Clinton to change her schedule. The fact that the Clinton campaign allowed that line to be in the doctor's statement was fairly telling. It nodded to the fact that, A, this was an issue for them, something they took seriously. And, B, they were seriously considering the amount they scheduled Secretary Clinton. She -- the way that she raises money, the way that she's raised money throughout this campaign has been very labor-intensive. It requires her going from place to place headlining events like the one she was supposed to do for the next two days. She's headlined over 330 fundraisers as a candidate and over 37 -- I think it was exactly 37 in august. That's a lot of work. It's a lot of time spent raising money. There are serious questions within the Clinton campaign tonight whether they are over-scheduling her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:42] CHURCH: Clinton's health scare has many calling for the candidate and her campaign to be more transparent. And we will have more on that at the half hour.

HOWELL: As we mentioned, both Clinton and Trump were in New York remembering the dead from 9/11, a day often called the day that changed everything. 15 years ago, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

CHURCH: Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11. Across the United States Sunday, people paused to remember the lives lost.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 15 years may seem like a long time for the families that lost a piece of their heart that day. I can imagine it would seem just like yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Patrick Ican (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel Alcanyal (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frederick J.L. Jr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My father, John Patrick Gallagher. Dad, me and mom think about you every single day, but we will never stop loving you and missing you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Steven A. Knapp (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nujeni Aniadev (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My uncle, Andrew Fisher. Uncle Andrew, words cannot describe how much everyone loves you and misses you and, I look forward to meeting you in heaven.

OBAMA: We remember and we will never forget the nearly 3,000 beautiful lives taken from us so cruelly. We come together in prayer and in gratitude for the strength that has fortified us across these 15 years. And we renew the love and the faith that binds us together as one American family.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And for my late husband, my late brother-in-law, and my brother Thomas Petticini. 15 years later, the love you three shared while you were alive still lives on in all of us.

OBAMA: May God bless the memory of the loved ones here and across the country. May God forever bless the United States of America.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: 15 years later. Just tragic. The New York skyline was illuminated by the tribute in light to mark the 9/11 anniversary.

HOWELL: The tribute began six months after the attacks and is now part of the annual memorial service. The beams can be seen 60 miles away.

CHURCH: Another story we're covering, North Korea says it's getting ready for the worst-case scenario with its northern neighbor.

HOWELL: The country's defense ministry is laying out an extensive plan for how it plans to defend itself. It also says that propaganda broadcasts on the border may resume by November.

CHURCH: The U.S. is considering tougher sanctions against Kim Jong- Un. The U.S. special representative for North Korea policy met his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo.

HOWELL: They discussed the ways the international community can best deal with the threat from Pyongyang. North Korea now claiming that it can mount nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets. In a televised statement, Kim Jong-Un's regime called the U.S. threat meaningless.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The Obama administration running around and talking about meaningless sanctions is highly laughable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, the international community is on edge following the latest test.

Our Paula Hancocks joins us now with more from Seoul, South Korea.

Paula, we are now understanding that South Korea is preparing worst. What exactly does that mean? What do they consider to be the worst- case scenario and how are they planning for it?

[02:10:18] PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I think this is a plan that's been in place for some time. It would be very surprising if South Korea didn't have a plan of this type. It's interesting that parts of it are becoming publicized now. If they did feel there was a nuclear threat from North Korea, they would directly target the leadership. Effectively saying to Kim Jong-Un would be targeted if they thought there was an absolute danger.

Now, this is something that they have threatened in the past. This is something when times get particularly tense on the Korean peninsula that the military do leap out and make known. Also saying, though, that in the worst-case scenario there would be strategic missile strikes on particular targets.

I think this is an ongoing plan that would be updated each time there is another threat, but it just shows the concern in South Korea that there has been this fifth nuclear test and so soon after the last one -- Rosemary?

CHURCH: Again, the big question the international community has been asking is just how much progress has North Korea made? How difficult is it to make that

HANCOCKS: In that respect you could certainly see that North Korea is progressing in exactly what it wants to do. Now, the fact that North Korea said they tested a nuclear warhead, it's very difficult, says so almost impossible for experts here to be able to verify that.

We've heard in the past officials here in Seoul, in Tokyo, in Washington, always caution that North Korea should be taken at its word. It would be dangerous not to take them at their word. Certainly there seems to be more concern in the international community after this particular nuclear test and not least because it was so fast after the last one.

CHURCH: Yeah. A lot of concern throughout the world over this.

Talking there with our Paula Hancocks, from Seoul in South Korea, just after 3:00 in the afternoon. Many thanks to you.

HOWELL: China and Russia are set to hold joint naval drills in the South China Sea. China saying that the exercises are not aimed at any country, but they could aggravate tensions with Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Each of those nations with competing claims over territory claimed by China. An arbitration court in The Hague ruled this year that China does not have historic rights to the South China Sea. Beijing has rejected that ruling.

CHURCH: Air strikes killed dozens of people in Syria over the weekend. How this affects a U.S. and Russia backed ceasefire. That's coming up.

HOWELL: Plus, terror plots caught in time this week has France on edge about another terror attack. What the prime minister is saying about threats facing France as NEWSROOM continues.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:17:50] HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. These images from Saudi Arabia show pilgrims performing the ritual of the hajj called the Stoning of the Devil. It's where they throw stones at three walls symbolizing their rejection of temptation.

CHURCH: Islam requires all Muslims who are financially and physically able to make the journey to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

HOWELL: Now to Syria. A ceasefire is set to begin at sundown, but rebel groups say that they have doubts about the U.S. and Russia- backed plan. A representative from the Free Syrian Army group tells CNN it has reservations about that deal partly because it doesn't trust the Syrian government. An Islamist rebel group also issued a statement attacking the ceasefire.

CHURCH: The Syrian government announced its support of the deal Saturday amid continued air strikes on rebel-held areas. A rights group says at least 90 people were killed in air strikes on Aleppo and Idlib of the weekend.

HOWELL: Turkey launched air strikes of its own in Syria on Saturday.

CHURCH: Turkish state media reports those strikes killed 20 ISIS militants just south of the country's shared border. Several buildings were also destroyed. This is part of Turkey's continued push to eradicate ISIS from its border regions.

HOWELL: Following it all, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Amman, Jordan, this hour.

Jomana, it's good to have you with us.

Let's talk about this cessation of hostilities set to begin at sundown, but, again, there had been air strikes, there has been more violence leading up to it. Where do things stand now?

[02:19:29] JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George, when you talk about these attacks just yesterday, we were speaking to activists in eastern Aleppo, and they are taking about it a day after dozens were killed in these air strikes, only raising their suspicion, skepticism when it comes to the regime and to the Russians really honoring this deal as activists were telling us.

Now, overall if you look at one of the groups is saying they've had their discussions about this, and they have their reservations about this deal. They say that they've sent a message to the United States about this, and they're saying the issue with the deal revolves around the regime and how violations by the regime will be handled. They're also questioning why Shia militia groups -- these are groups from Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and other countries fighting along side the regime. They're saying, why are they not considered extremist groups.

Another issue has been also a Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate that recently distanced itself publically from al Qaeda and rebranded. They are saying it is being singled out by the U.S. and Russia in this deal only to benefit the regime. You need to remember that whatever we're going to call it does share several frontlines fighting along side moderate rebel opposition groups in different parts of Syria.

There's lots of questions. We're only a few hours away from sundown in Syria. There are lots of questions how long this will last -- George?

HOWELL: Jomana, you explain the politics around this, but I do want to get, as you alluded to there, to the heart of the matter. So many people who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid caught in the middle of the situation. They have doubts this will make a difference.

JOMANA: If we look at the hardest hit area, that is rebel-held Aleppo where people are living under siege. A renewed siege just last week by the regime and allied forces nations are appealing. They're running out of supplies. We're talking about food, medicine, and now they're running really low on fuel. They need the fuel for field hospitals. The U.N. says they're running low on everything. The U.S. for weeks has said it has humanitarian shipments ready to roll. They want to see a pause in the fighting so they will be able to deliver this humanitarian aid in the besieged area, so desperately needed for those caught in the midst of this conflict -- George?

HOWELL: As you explain that, again, we were looking at the video of the situation in Idlib, in Aleppo. You get a sense of what people are dealing with, and, again, how desperately they want this pause in hostilities.

Jomana Karadsheh, live for us in Amman, Jordan. Jomana, thank you for your reporting.

CHURCH: Moving to Europe now. France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls is warning that his country's fight against terror is far from over.

HOWELL: He said Sunday that the threat is maximal. We have said it again -- seen it again, I should say, in the past few days, past few hours, and as we speak.

CHURCH: He went on to say, "Every day services, police and gendarmerie thwart attacks and dismantle Iraqi-Syrian networks. The threat is maximal and we are a target."

HOWELL: He also said that authorities are monitoring some 15,000 people in France thought to be at risk for radicalization. And he warned there are nearly 700 French nationals fighting for terror groups in Iraq and Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Let's get more on all of this from CNN intelligence and security analyst, Bob Baer, who is also a former CIA operative, and he joins us via Skype from Telluride, Colorado.

Bob, thanks so much for being with us.

We learned from the prime minister of France early Sunday that new attacks in the country are expected and as a result the terror threat level is at its maximum. What does that signal to you? .

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY ANALYST: I think with the French, I have worked with them before. They're very serious about this. They're telling us they can't stop all of these attacks. They're aware of the threat. But so many of these cells are independent, aren't in touch with anybody else or Syria, that's what worries them. Like the Nice attack, it takes a car or a truck to kill a lot of people. The French have really clamped down but they can't stop them all.

[02:25:11] CHURCH: No, they can't. It was interesting that Prime Minister Valls said, every day, authorities are thwarting attacks and dismantling terror networks. He also said they're monitoring around 15,000 people in France. How is that even possible to monitor that number of people, and why has France become such a major target for these terror attacks?

BAER: I guess it's disaffection. It has something to do with poverty and the attraction of Islam, unemployment. They simply watching 15,000 people, listening to all those phones, you can't do it. It takes 24-hour coverage of these phones. On top of it, these groups learned to have encoded conversation.

The French told me before the terror attacks, they were actually monitoring these phones, but they couldn't tell they were plotting anything because they were using, you know, benign words, if you like. And this is what has the French scared. They can get on the phone, use the phones to plan attacks and still carry it off without the French catching them.

CHURCH: This is the big concern. Of course, we understand that at least two terror plots were foiled just this past week. It sounds like the French prime minister is preparing the country for an inevitable and perhaps imminent attack. Why? What more does France or can France do to protect itself?

BAER: The French now are, I wouldn't call it preventive detention, but they're very close to it. Just rolling up these networks as they spot them and the radicalization, but the problem is -- I agree with the French and it could happen in Britain, it could happen in Germany -- there are just so many people affected by the wars in the Middle East. And especially the bombing today affects true believers in France or the rest of Europe or even the United States. They can't predict where and when but they do have a serious problem

CHURCH: We were talking off-camera about the roll the prisons in France play. Talk to us about that.

BAER: Well, the original cells in France and the spiritual groups that are directing and interpreting Islam for them, a lot of it happened in prisons. The French prisons are miserable places. I mean, they make movies about these places. Gangs start there. What the French justice ministry has come out today and said is that there's still radicalization occurring in the prisons and that's what has them concerned. And they're asking to clamp down on the rules of detention. CHURCH: Bob Baer, always great to get your perspective and analysis.

We appreciate it. Thanks so much.

BAER: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, there was a lag between Hillary Clinton's diagnosis and the public announcement of it. Still ahead, why there are my questions about the delay.

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[02:31:22] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States, and, of course, all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm George Howell, with the headlines we are following for you this hour.

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CHURCH: Hillary Rodham Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis is raising questions about how serious the illness is and what her recovery will look like.

Dr. Sujatha Reddy spoke to CNN about that.

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DR. SUJATHA REDDY, ATLANTA PHYSICIAN: Pneumonia is a very common infection for most people it's two. I think, again, she is a little bit older, but she's also obviously, you know, a very vibrant lady. She has accomplished more than a lot of people do in several lifetimes. You know, I think this should be something that she should take seriously because we don't want her to get more sick. And I think recovering and resting is probably going to be the best prescription we could give her. Again, I'm just giving you my opinion based on what we know, you know, in the press release, but I don't think this is a serious life-threatening condition. Clearly she looked great when she did come out. I bet you -- I'm guessing they gave her some I.V. fluids or had fluids, and I'm sure that made her feel a lot better because I have a feeling she got very dehydrated this morning for a variety of factors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: In the meantime, Clinton's Republican rival has been unusually quiet at this point about the health situation. Sources say that Donald Trump's campaign will be respectful about the situation.

CHURCH: Apart from that, Clinton's diagnosis wasn't disclosed for two days and hours after she left the 9/11 ceremony in distress. That is now raising questions about transparency.

Michael Holmes spoke about that earlier with CNN senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: There are two issues at play here. On the one hand, there are outrageous conspiracy theories about Clinton's health that have percolated on the web for months. These are on the cover of the national enquiry. These are from trashy outlets suggesting she has a secret illness, that she's on death's door, that she's going to die. This kind of stuff, all right. That's been out there for a long time, and that has to be taken off to the side because that's nonsense. There are now very real questions, legitimate questions about this pneumonia, about whether she should have been going out on public events this weekend and things like that. That is where this story is going into Monday and Tuesday. There's campaign events and fundraisers scheduled for this we can. We'll see if she attends them or not.

[02:34:47] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think it will be a factor? The campaign has been, I guess, accused in the past of not much transparency. She plays everything close to her chest. She was a diagnosis on Friday. Is that something they should have mentioned?

STELTER: Yeah. Diagnosis on Friday, and then on Sunday morning, she chose to attend the 9/11 ceremony for obvious understandable reasons. She was one of New York's Senators during 9/11. This was an important 15 anniversary occasion. She also knew Donald Trump would be there. There were a number of reasons why she would choose to attend this event despite having pneumonia. Initially, when she left at 9:30 a.m., the press corps was told nothing for 90 minutes. Then the press corps was told she was feeling overheated and was now better. Then only seven hours later were journalists told she has pneumonia and has been diagnosed with it for two days. That does seem strange. I have seen a number of Democratic press aides and others criticizing that choice by the Clinton campaign to keep information so close to the vest.

HOLMES: We've heard a lot of people, including Donald Trump for that matter, saying Hillary Clinton needs to release all her medical record or a far more detailed accounting of her medical past. Is that going to resonate more? For that matter, with both of them because, let's face it, Donald Trump has released a rather bizarre three paragraph single page letter from his doctor.

STELTER: Right. That's exactly right. Today Trump has been silent, which probably makes sense. Number one, because of the 9/11 anniversary. There was a choice not to campaign today. Number two, he doesn't need to say anything right now. He has no reason to weigh in on this. The story speaks for itself. It has not stopped this before. Maybe he is getting better at political council from people. We have to separate the two issues that are at play here. There are outrageous conspiracy theories suggesting Clinton is dying and on death's door. No evidence of that. Trump has played into those theories, not by citing them directly, but by questioning her stamina, those questions about her stamina have more legitimacy by this issue today with her health. There is the nonsense on one hand of right wing web sites.

There are legitimate questions, legitimate concerns that reporters need to spend more time digging into, and, yes, I do think ultimately we're going to hear renewed calls to have more information about both Trump and Clinton's health, more records from them. Dr. Sanjay Gupta said maybe there should be an independent board able to review these documents in the coming weeks.

HOLMES: You mention the conspiracy theory aside in the media. The more fringe elements or whatever you want to call. Do you think that the mainstream media has a responsibility that for context. Pneumonia is not a death sentence. You need to keep things in perspective.

STELTER: Yes, absolutely. What happens in this day and age is that these ideas percolate on-line. They start showing up in people's Facebook pages. They start showing up on Twitter. They start showing up on right wing radio shows. Then they gradually make their way up into the media ecosystem where lots of ordinary people have heard them, even if they don't read right wing fringe web sites. That's what's happened in the case of Clinton's health. Relatively discredited ideas and theories about her covering up an illness have been given attention in mainstream media outlets. I think our job, and CNN knows this well, is to say directly we have no evidence for are that kind of nonsense on-line.

However, you put that to the side, there are important issues here involving two candidates that are senior citizens, something relatively new for U.S. presidential candidates. That we have to take seriously. That's not nonsense. I think there's a lot of Americans, who reject the fringe conspiracy theories, who have real questions about Trump and Clinton's heath.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Brian Stelter for us. Thank you.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. Still to come, police say a stabbing in Sydney was inspired by ISIS. Hear why they think the suspect had even larger plans in the attack.

HOWELL: And at the U.S. Open, Stan Wawrinka's major victory just ahead.

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[02:42:14] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Hundreds of thousands of Catalans held an independent rally on Sunday. I want to show you the scene in Barcelona here where more than half a million people filled the streets.

CHURCH: The petition movement has been blocked by the government. But a July poll showed that 48 percent of people in Spain support Catalonia's independence.

HOWELL: In Australia, police say the stabbing of a 59-year-old man was a terror attack, and it was inspired by ISIS. CHURCH: They think the suspect was trying to lure police to the

scene, so he could attack them as well.

Cameron Price of Seven Network has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMERON PRICE, REPORTER, SEVEN NETWORK: (voice-over): This is the moment Ihsas Khan was taken down by police after allegedly going on a terrifying rampage through the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no.

PRICE: The victim, 59-year-old Wayne Greenhalgh, was selected at random. The bloody floor of Tia Phan's (ph) hair salon evidence of the alleged lone-wolf attack.

TIA PHAN (ph), HAIR SALON OWNER: He came into the shop, all of his body blood, and he called me, help, help, help, and I didn't know what else to do.

PRICE: Witnesses say the victim was on his regular afternoon walk, and Ihsas Khan began stabbing him, first trying to slash his throat, then chest, slicing off his thumb.

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I told him to put the knife down and that don't be stupid and then he tried to stab me as well.

PRICE: This man just arrived home when he saw what was happening. Grabbed a fence post, and ran to help.

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I chased him with the pole, the fence pole --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It stunned him. That put him aback long enough to get into the shop.

Tia Phan (ph) then bravely ushered Wayne to the backyard, apply pressure to his wounds before returning to lock the front door.

PHAN (ph): We try to get in, but he couldn't. He tried to haul him back. He said, yeah, I have to die today. It's my day.

PRICE: When police arrived, Khan turned his attention to them.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE COMMISSIONER: We were alleged that he was going to attack them also. That didn't happen, fortunately.

PRICE: Khan is being charged with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone running around yelling, "Allah Akbar," at the door.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE COMMISSIONER: That is what leads us to have the belief that it was inspired by ISIS.

PRICE: Meantime, locals say they've called the national terror hotline about Khan as recently as last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'd stand outside of peoples' houses holding the Koran, reciting, and staring into houses.

[02:45:10] PRICE: This attack came less than a week after Islamic State called for lone-wolf attacks in Sydney, almost 15 years to the day since September 11th.

MALCOLM TURNBULL, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Collecting them both is a violent Islamist ideology that perverts the word of Islam and seeks to destroy and threaten our way of life.

PRICE: The prime minister praised those who came to help Wayne.

TURNBULL: We all have an interest in being alert to threats in our community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Our thanks to Cameron Price of Seven Network for that report.

HOWELL: There is a powerful typhoon that is taking aim at Taiwan.

And we want to bring in our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri to talk about the very latest of the situation.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's still many, many miles, or kilometers, out across the Western Pacific Ocean. It's several days away from impact. At this point, it looks like Taiwan. And the main concern I have, guys, is that about two months ago this exact region, another typhoon impacted this area. Let behind about 100 fatalities, $1.5 billion in damages. With those numbers, the area is still devastated from about 60 days ago and this typhoon, a little stronger, his headed in the same general direction. We'll follow this. We're hoping for some variations in the track. That would move the hardest- hit area out of the direct path.

I want to show it to you on satellite imagery. We have multiple areas of disturbed weather, but this is easily the most menacing storm. Moranti is 135 miles per hour, and it's a healthy category four equivalent storm system, and just a bee line right there through southern Taiwan over the next couple of days. Around noon on Wednesday. That's when the best estimations are for this land fall, and notice the winds really do not leak whatsoever. They come right back down, category four. When you think about this particular reason and then beyond that ends in the eastern China as the storm reemerges into the Taiwan Strait. That's an area in the path of the storm at 154 million people that live across the street. It's a smaller amount. That's half of the United States essentially when the population compares right there that could stand to be impacted.

You look at the comparison I was making, that was a storm that made landfall on July 8th. It was about 90 or so lives to be precise. Moranti is crossing the path and then seems to want to stay parallel with that path that takes it directly across into that region. Again, a story worth following within the next couple of days.

The Atlantic Ocean, too. Climatologically, look at the peak of that chart. That is September 10th to September 11th. It is the peak of hurricane season. We are in the heart of it. See the areas right here. A slight chance near the state of Florida and Bahamas, and out across the Leeward Islands, there's a high probability that Tropical Storm Ian will form. It's all coming together. With Ian, it looks like it will veer away from the United States and turn out into the open waters. Another lucky turn here for at least the United States.

CHURCH: We like to hear that.

JAVAHERI: Yeah.

HOWELL: Pedram, thank you.

JAVAHERI: Thanks, guys.

CHURCH: Thank you, as always.

We'll take a short break here. But tennis star, Stan Wawrinka, is just one tournament away from a career grand slam. Coming up, how this champ kept his head in the game.

Back in a moment.

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[02:52:38] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Stan Wawrinka served Novak Djokovic a defeat in a grueling final at the U.S. Open. The nearly four-hour match started strong for defending champ, Djokovic, but in the fourth set, he took two medical time-outs and looked pretty fatigued.

HOWELL: Wawrinka won that final set, 6-3, earning his third grand slam title.

CNN's "World Sport's" tennis analyst, James Blake, sat down with the champion for an interview after his big win.

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JAMES BLAKE, CNN "WORLD SPORT" TENNIS ANALYST: Congratulations. Down match point in the third round. How did you go from there to holding the trophy today?

STAN WAWRINKA, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: Saving match one, you have to be a little bit lucky, but it was -- it was a tough condition against a really good player. I was playing well. I was struggling. I was fighting, staying positive. Trying to find a way. I wan that much. And little by little, I start to play better. Each match I start to play. Honestly to do the interview right now on that court, this is unbelievable. BLAKE: One of the iconic moments or images of this tournament has got

to you pointing to your temple. How did that stop and how has that helped you?

WAWRINKA: It's started just like that. A few years ago, I think it started in the U.S. Open when I at Novak for the first time. I never try to think what I'm going to do. You see after the match when I don't do anything because I'm completely empty, dead, all the emotion coming. But this to me, it's really when I start to get tough with myself. I know that if I want to have a chance to be the top player, I need to be mentally ready for that.

BLAKE: You've become a bit of a fashion player. How would you rank this one? Which one is tops in your mind?

WAWRINKA: I think people make more fun of the one at the French Open. I think this one was a good raspberry.

BLAKE: OK. Settled the debate. People were saying pink or purple.

WAWRINKA: Doesn't matter. I don't care what the name.

BLAKE: OK.

WAWRINKA: But I don't mind. You know as well as me at the end of the day, you need to be tough with yourself and know when you step on the court you want to win the match. And this was the most difficult slam I ever played, physically, mentally. We had some tough conditions the last few days. And right now, I'm really tired. I'm completely empty. After the match one, I -- it was almost too much. I'm very happy.

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[02:55:25] HOWELL: You've got to give it to him, a raspberry shirt.

CHURCH: It's a good look.

Well done for him.

HOWELL: Absolutely.

We close this hour with an iconic picture that truly defined a moment in American history. Many of you will know this image. Greta Freeman was the nurse killed by the sailor in New York City's Times Square in 1945. This famous photo, the sailor embraced her amid spontaneous celebrations over Japan's surrender in World War II.

CHURCH: But we have learned now that Greta has died. Greta's son says she passed away at an assisted living home in Virginia. She was 92. Greta once said, of the photo and embrace, it wasn't that much of a kiss. She said the sailor was just overjoyed that he didn't have to go back to war.

HOWELL: An iconic image to us, but she said, oh, not so much. CHURCH: Didn't mean much.

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Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell.

We'll be back after the break with more news from around the world. Stay with CNN.

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