am still doing will still shine a light and give them hope at some point. a new approach. the u.s. changes tactics in syria. tensions high in the west bank. at least seven people are killed in gaza. we will have a live report ahead next. and an impressive spectacle. north korea celebrating the 70th anniversary of its ruling party in grand style. from cnn headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell, this is "cnn newsroom." good day to you, and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we begin with news just in to cnn. turkish media reports that at least one bomb exploded near

ankara's main train station moments ago. a witness says the blast was so powerful that it rocked nearby highrises. we're working to get more information, new details, and will bring them to you as soon as we learn more. and now to the shift in u.s. policy in syria. the government now suspending its program to train rebels in the fight against isis. the plan initially was set up to train some 5,000 syrian rebels a year. the half billion dollar program fell far short of its goals. cnn's barbara starr with more on how the u.s. plans to move forward. >> reporter: syrian forces backed up by russia continuing to escalate attacks in western syria as the u.s. announces a massive overhaul of its effort to train syrian rebels to fight isis. >> i wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard. >> reporter: few were.

new instead of recruiting fighters from the battlefield for training, the u.s. will provide air strikes and air drop ammunition and communications gear in northern syria to members of the so-called syrian arab coalition. some 5,000 fighters from various tribes and militia that's have been fighting isis for months. the original effort to train thousands in turkey and jordan and send them back into syria fell apart. an update on the number of those trained included this shocking admission by the u.s. general running the war against isis. >> it's a small number, and the ones that are in the fight is -- we're talking four or five. >> reporter: about 100 fighters remain in training, but the program is over. one problem, many of the rebels

oppose the u.s. rule that they must promise to fight isis, not assad. >> the challenge in syria is that the entire program has been pretty handstrong. it's like the u.s. was trying to train syrian rebels with one hand tied behind its back. >> reporter: and they've had little support. >> not allowing u.s. operations forces to accompany rebels in syria undermined the entire program. >> reporter: in the new program, rebels will industrial to promise to focus on isis, but this time the u.s. think tell work because fighters are already in place doing just that. the more they fight, the more air support and weapons the u.s. will give them. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: all of this as the russians continue to build their presence inside syria. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. a top iranian military

commander who is helping to train the syrian army was killed by isis. iranian state media report isis killed brigadier general hussein amadami where he was advising the syrian army. officials say his death dealt a psychological blow" to pro regime forces. and russia in the mix in syria. from the air, land, and sea, its military is in full swing in syria. from these images, you see the massive amount of firepower that moscow is using in the fight fancy isis and what it calls -- fight against isis and what it calls other terrorist groups. it says its air force killed 200 militants in the last 24 hours alone. they accuse them of targeting western-backed officials in the region. missiles appear to have struck outside of isis' control. following it all is our ian lee, joining us live from cairo, egypt.

ian, good day to you. a very complicated situation, and a lot to cover. let's start with the death of this iranian general. how significant an impact has that had? >> reporter: well, it shows that direct involvement of the iranians in this fight on the side of the regime -- of the regime and bashar al assad. what it also shows is that they have a very high-level presence in the country, that advising the u.s. has said that they have troops on the ground, as well. when we look at iranian state media, we look at what they're quoting the president as saying is that this is a big loss that has caused deep grief. so it is a big blow for the iranians and their operations inside of syria. but it also highlights just how high level this goes and how important it is for them that the regime of bashar al assad

survives. >> ian, the other developing story this day is the u.s. shift in strategy when it comes to training syrian rebels. so how that being viewed in the region? >> reporter: when you do look at it, as we heard from barbara starr, you have a $500 million program that was supposed to train thousands of fighters, to put them into the field to fight against isis. then you have the u.s. general admit that they only have four to five, and the one u.s. senator called the program a joke. it does not inspire confidence in the region for those who are backing rebels against bashar al assad that the u.s. has a real strategy going forward. now they have shifted to support other rebel fighters in the north hoping they can push against isis. a combination, as we also heard, of air strikes and ammunition. one of the goals is to cut off

border access for isis. they have control along the turkish border. that is a way that they've received the group, reporters, and supplies. there is a strategy now of trying to cut that off to prevent those supplies from going in and really trying to squeeze isis that way, george. >> then ian, put it into context comparing that shift with what we're seeing with russia. russia showing its muscle at this point. how is that escalation being viewed? >> reporter: russia has really ramped up its military presence, its military action in the country. dozens and dozens of strikes against various targets. the united states says that they aren't target isis as russia claims, that they're going after other rebel gruoups that are threatening the regime. there have been a handful of strikes against isis.

on a daily basis we see about two planes delivering troops and supplies to syria. shows that they are ramping up, they had cruise missile strikes from the caspian sea strike in syria, as well. so the russians very much ramping up their presence, their actions. this also comes as we saw an iranian general visit russia to talk about strategy there. now we're seeing an increased russian/iranian presence in action in syria. >> ian lee live in cairo, egypt. thank you very much for your reporting. the palestinian red crescent says at least seven palestinians were killed and 90 wounded from fighting in gaza on friday. israeli forces say more than 1,000 palestinians approached the security fence and threw rocks and burning tires at idf soldiers. for more, we'll go live to

jerusalem. we have more live this hour. good to see you this day. what is the latest on this case? >> reporter: well, george, we're hearing of another stabbing incident. this time near the damascus gates of the old city in jerusalem. israeli police say a 16-year-old palestinian boy stabbed two israelis. they say the police responded, opening fire and killing the 16-year-old boy. clashesish ru iserupted near th after the incident. meanwhile, overnight, clashes in arab cities throughout israel as well as eastern jerusalem, the west bank, and gaza. the situation escalating at the refugee camp in jerusalem. israeli police saying that live rounds exchanged on both sides, and they say a palestinian man during clashes opened fire on them. they returned fire. he later died of wounds, and

later they found bullet shells and a knife. they say gunfire was exchanged on the palestinian side, but they say the man shot and killed was throwing stones. his funeral is happening this morning. meanwhile in gaza, clashes there for a second day according to the palestinian red crescent. at least eight palestinians killed there since yesteray in those clashes. in total, palestinian red crescent saying in clashes across the west bank and gaza, at least 800 palestinians injured. >> what are palestinian and israeli leaders saying about all this? >> reporter: israeli leaders are blaming palestinians, hamas as well as the palestinian authority, for inciting sells. yesterday we heard from the leader of hamas in friday prayers praising the attacks. these kind of lone wolf attacks

saying that the battle for jerusalem is their battle. we've also heard from other palestinian leaders, palestinian president abbas saying he's trying to de-escalate the situation. we heard from a palestinian negotiator saying despite calls for escalation, people on the streets want to know what happens next if things de-escala de-escalate. he says that people want a two-state solution, and only that will finally end the bloodshed. george? >> and erin, for context for our viewers, palestinians who have been banned from being allowed into amass, can you explain to viewers some of the background? >> reporter: that's right. yesterday, palestinian leaders calling for a day of rage in protest of israel's policy toward the holy site known to muslims as the noble sanctuary and to jews as the temple mount. yesterday, restrictions were in place at the sites preventing

muslim men under the age of 50 -- sorry, 45, from praying. the kind of restriction that has enflamed tensions of late as well as visits from the israeli far right to the site. palestinian leaders questioning whether -- questioning israel's commitment to the so-called status quo of the site. israeli leaders for their part saying that the status quo will persist. we heard from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, calling. government ministers as well as members of the knesset not to visit the site in a bid to de-escalate things. >> erin mclachlan live in jerusalem. thank you very much. now we move to north. the country's leader, king jong up, says that his country is ready to fight any war with the united states. that is according to a reuters translation of his speech a short time ago. he spoke to the country at the anniversary parade of the ruling workers party. this comes as the u.s. has

concerns that north korea will launch weapons as parts of the anniversary. the massive military parade that you see got underway hours ago after a lengthy delay blamed on weather, though you do see sunny skies now. will ripley has more from pyongyang. >> reporter: when it comes to patriotic displays of state muscle, few countries can rival north korea in the kind of massive spectacles we're seeing unfold in the streets of pyongyang today. not only are we seeing thousands of troops representing the country's infantry, air force, navy, and paramilitary reserve forces, but we'll also be seeing a lot of the north korean hardware rolling through the streets. hardware that has been assembled at a military base outside of town, and lining up on the streets of the capital ready to roll through the square. some of these pieces of military equipment are considered vintage. they go back to the soviet era. there are some new pieces of military technology that the world will be watching for. this includes intercontinental

ballistic missiles on missile launchers rolling through the streets. people want to know who new weaponry -- what new weaponry is on display including drones, some of which have been on reconnaissance flights and reportedly crashed in south korea. this is an important moment politically for the supreme leader, kim jong un, and earlier met with a member of the party that hand delivered a letter from xi jinping to the leader of north korea, the first public statement of the two countries' rip after months of speculation and visit of the south korean president to china's military parade last month. the spectacle continuing in pyongyang as north korea sends a clear message to its own people, fierce patriotism, and to the world, defiance. you're watching "cnn newsroom." still to come, president barack obama pays a condolence visit to survivors and families of those

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. there has been another school shooting in the united states. students at northern arizona university are grieving after a fight turned deadly on campus early friday. police say four people were shot multiple times. >> two separate student groups got into a confrontation. the confrontation turned physical, and one of our students, steven jones, 18-years-old, produced a handgun and shot four of our other students. one of our students is deceased. the other three are being treated at the flagstaff medical center. >> reporter: the suspect is charged with first-degree murder. police say he is cooperating with their investigation. in the united states, the president, barack obama, made a stop on friday in roseburg,

oregon, where nine people died in a mass shooting at a community college earlier in the week. obama met for an hour with grieving families, as well as survivors of the attack by a lone gunman. after the meeting, he spoke briefly saying the u.s. needs to figure out ways to stop such shootings from happening. >> i've got some very strong feelings about this because when i talk to these families, we're reminded that this could happen to your child or your mom or your dad or your relative or your friend. so we're going to have to come together as a country to see how we can prevent these issues from taking place. >> the president did meet with some opposition gun rights advocates in roseburg, though protested his push for tighter gun reforms. gun sales in the united states are on record-setting

pace. in the first nine months of the year, there were 15.6 million background checks on guns sold from federally licensed sellers according to the national instant criminal background check system. compare that to 15.5 million checks during the same period in 2013 when gun sales surged after the sandy hook shooting. record sales mean increasing profits for gun makers. smith and wesson, for instance. the stock has skyrocketed to more than 80% this year alone. the company reported a first-quarter profit of $17.7 million on $148 million in revenue. it's on track for over $600 million in sales this year according to one group. take a look at a rival gunmaker, though. it isn't far behind. its stock up nearly 70% with quarterly earnings of $17.6 million on sales of $141 million. the company reports over half a

billion in gun sales a year, almost double what it did in 2010. here we go. prep time is dwindling for the u.s. democratic presidential candidates before their first major primary debate. there are just four days left until the event in las vegas, nevada. on tuesday night right here on cnn, the two white house hopefuls leading the pack are former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton and far left-leaning vermont senator bernie sanders. sanders might be new to the presidential debate spotlight, but the vermont senator is no -- by no means a stranger to debating. cnn's randi kaye has the story. >> reporter: this is not his first rodeo. >> i've been active in political life in the state of vermont for the last 16 years. >> reporter: senator bernie sanders has taken part in at least 19 political debates. hillary clinton at least 25. vermont journalist greg guma saw

some of sanders' first debates back in the 1970s. >> he's very practiced as a debater and able to really boil it down to a clear, unequivocal message. he's ready made for this closeup he's going to get next week. >> there's nothing wrong -- >> reporter: it's a style guma describes as assertive, disciplined, and confident. >> there's a man who talks about partisan hatred. you want to do something about partisan hatred. yet, you have run the most negative, dishonest campaign in the state of vermont. >> he uses his hands. he has distinctive hand gestures, pointing gestures like this or like this using both hands. i look at it as a kind of prophetic style also like a john the baptist who was sort of bringing this moral gospel to people in an inspiring way. >> tax breaks to billionaires, not this -- >> reporter: when he trades

barbs, it can be subtle. other times, not so much -- >> you have made it clear that you would vote for mr. gingrich for speaker which means that that type of ideology would be the prevalent ideology in the united states congress. why would you support such a right wing extremist as mr. gingrich? >> reporter: sanders likes to stand. he also likes to point fingers. >> the people like you -- >> reporter: the fact that his opponent, hillary clinton, praised the transpacific partnership trade deal 44 times calling it the gold standard and now opposes it, sanders may see an opening. over the years on the debate stage, he's had little tolerance for those he sees as flip-floppers. guma says sanders is relentlessly on message and good at spinning questions without answering them. >> call a spade a spade. talk about what really goes on in this country. >> reporter: he will defend himself if attacked but is not one to get flustered. >> he says that the economy is really booming, doing well. it's wrong. >> reporter: sanders seems to

have learned over the years to cool it with the eye rolls, bristle less, and watch his body language. guma says don't expect him to come out acting grumpy. and keep an eye out for his conversational style which he hopes will stand out on the national stage, in stark contrast to those laying it on thick with policy. [ cheers ] >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, new york. as we mentioned, cnn is hosting the first debate among the democratic u.s. presidential candidates. anderson cooper will moderate, and don lemon will pose questions submitted via facebook. our live coverage from las vegas, nevada, starts at 10:30 or 9:00 p.m. world central time on cnn. we'll replay the debate in its entirety wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in hong kong, 8:00 p.m. in tokyo. again, here on cnn. the speaker of the u.s.

house of representatives is one of the most powerful positions in american politics. but the process of choosing one is in total chaos now. that is after the congressman widely assumed to succeed jab john -- john boehner dropped out. kevin mccarthy was considered the front-runner until he changed his mind this week. now most eyes are on paul ryan. he told fellow republicans he's thinking and praying about seeking the position. you might remember that ryan was mitt romney's vice presidential running mate in the 2012 election. you are watching "cnn newsroom." still to come this hour, details about the deadly bombing of a doctors without borders hospital in afghanistan. where were the alleged taliban fighters being targeted? an exclusive interview with the afghan defense minister is ahead. plus, an iranian american journalist reaching a grim milestone while in iranian detention as we continue.

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welcome back. to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, you're watching "cnn newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm george howell. the headlines we're following this hour -- turkish media report dozens of casualties in a bomb blast in ankara just a short time ago. it happened near the turkish capital's main train station. a witness tells cnn the explosion was so powerful it rocked nearby highrise buildings. no word yet on who might be responsible for that blast. the escalating conflict between israelis and

palestinians has now spread to gaza. israel's military says troops fired at protesters who were attempting to storm gaza's fortified border with israel. palestinian medics say seven people were killed. the united states is making a major change to one of its efforts in the fight against isis in syria. it's putting an end to its program to train syrian rebels, putting it on hold. the u.s. military will now focus on air dropping ammunition and communications gear to rebel leaders and their units on the battlefield, and the air strikes will continue. north korean leader kim jong-un says he is "ready to fight any kind of war waged by the united states." that is according to a roitders news -- reuters news agency translation of his speech given a short time ago at the country's 70th anniversary of the ruling workers party. a big celebration as you see. afghanistan's defense minister insists that taliban fighters were shooting from the

"walls of the hospital" that was struck last week by u.s. bombs. 12 medical staff members and at least ten patients were killed when the doctors without borders hospital in kunduz was hit. the u.s. has apologized for what it calls a mistake. cnn's nic robertson spoke exclusively with the afghan cabinet member. >> reporter: what happened to the doctors without borders hospital? general campbell in charge of u.s. forces said that it was afghan special forces that requested the air strike. >> the problem that appears there was a large concentration of the fighters near the hospital and even inside the hospital. and the special forces, they asked for some support because they were getting under a lot of pressure there. >> reporter: even doctors without borders, though, say there were no taliban fighters using it as a base inside the hospital. >> when it's the base -- for instance, if somebody is shooting and firing from -- from

the wall of the hospital, this is something that you can see on the battlefield. >> reporter: i want to be clear and understand clearly because the details are important here. the taliban were firing from inside the compound, on the wall of the compound, outside of the compound? >> right from the walls. not from the inside but from the walls where they were -- took their position. >> reporter: this is where the air strikes were called in by the special forces, afghan special forces, to target the taliban who were by the walls on the outside? >> yeah. >> reporter: but a building on the inside was hit. >> actually, the building outside was hurt so that that damage was extended to the inside. >> reporter: doctors without borders say that it was precise. the plane came back around several times and kept hitting the same building inside the compound. >> as i said, this issue has to

be fully investigated in more detail. joining us live is our own nic robertson from kabul, afghanistan. we just saw your interview just a moment ago with the defense minister. tell us more about that meeting. >> reporter: well, he laid out the situation for the taliban and strength of the government at the moment. one of the things i talked to him about was why kunduz fell so quickly. local residents felt the army had run and deserted them. he said no, that wasn't the case, the taliban had snuck into the city. that the army were based outside the city. once the taliban were inside, it was difficult to fight because they were worried about collateral damage, worried about hitting civilians. he did say that like u.s. forces, he was ordering afghan forces to reassess their rules of engagement. he said this year for the afghan army was a tough year because

the taliban are fighting on many fronts, and because pakistan has now pushed out al qaeda elements, isis elements inside pakistan. they've come to afghanistan. he described a situation where the afghan forces are under a lot of pressure on a lot of fronts and also because they no longer have large-scale international support. the nato troops have drawn down, and this is part of the reason, of course, why u.s. special forces on the ground were able to call in those strikes that fatefully hit the hospital. as far as the investigation goes, we still do not have new details precisely laying out a sequence of events and explanation for -- clear explanation for those events, george. >> also, there's been an independent investigation demanded to find out how and why this happened. >> reporter: yeah. at the moment, it still requires

a nation, one of the 76 nations that supports the international humanitarian fact-finding commission to step up and propose it. doctors without borders says they have support from the leadership of nato. nato, of course, are doing their own investigation on the ground here, part of resolute support mission here. that is happening. but the real step that doctors without borders need to get that -- to get that international investigation going hasn't so far happened. they're still hoping it will, still demanding that it will. that's what's required, they believe, that the investigations have to be conducted by parties who weren't involved. so far, u.s. forces, nato, afghan government doing investigations were all involved. it would be a team of experienced professionals in the -- in humanitarian law, in military diplomats, these sorts of people that would be part of

that investigative team just to find the facts. they say they recognize how difficult that would be given how hard it is to get into the -- get into the conflict zone in kunduz and say that what they want to do could take time, but it's simply about getting the facts out so they know if they can be safe working around afghanistan as they are now. >> nic robertson giving us this report also from the afghan defense minister. thank you very much for your reporting live in kabul, afghanistan. a reporter for the "washington post" is marking a grim milestone in iranian detention. jason rasia, a dual american/iranian citizen has been held for more than 545 days. longer than the americans held hostage in iran more than 35 years ago. cnn's becky anderson looks at the case. >> reporter: june, 2009. protests rock tehran after the disputed election saw the radical president, mahmoud

ahmadinejad, return to power. a young reporter, jason rosian, had just left iran. >> i wasn't so much fearful about being detained but was told wednesday his to stop working. they revoked my press pass a couple of days before it was set to expire. >> reporter: but he went back and began working for the "washington post." in the spring of 2014, he and his iranian wife talked with cnn's anthony bourdain about the challenges. >> the difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there. when you walk down the street, you see a different side of things. people are proud. the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. >> reporter: there were frustrations. >> on this -- certain things, i miss my buddies. i miss burritos, but i love it.

i love it, and i hate it, you know. it's home. it's become home. >> reporter: six weeks later, jason and his wife were detained. their home ransacked. rigani was released on bail, but jason was detained, unable to talk with his family for four months until last thanksgiving when he was suddenly allowed to call home. >> we talked about past thanksgivings with people who are now departed. we both choked up a number of times. >> reporter: his mother, mary, appearing on "amanpour" in december, 2014, worried about his health. >> his continued mental state is in question simply because i understand he's been in chronic pain. >> reporter: resian was finally pout trial five months later, accused of espionage and facing a 20-year sentence if convicted. the trial ended this summer. the "washington post" again appealed for his release saying jason is a dedicated law-abiding

journalist and a good man who has been targeted with nonsensical, unsupportable and entirely baseless allegations of espionage and other offenses. iran's judiciary news services said his arrest has nothing to do with his being a journalist. through a website and on twitter with the hash tag #freejason, has family have kept up the pressure to get him released. >> the delays are completely inhumane. they're illegal by iranian standards. they're illegal by international standards. >> reporter: months after the end of his trial, still no verdict announced. only a hint from the president that jason and other americans in iranian jails could be part of an exchange for iranians convicted in the u.s. on charges related to nuclear technology. >> translator: if the americans take the appropriate steps and set them free, certainly the right environment will be open, and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the

swiftest freedom for the americans held in iran, as well. >> reporter: jason's mother says all her son ever wanted to do was report. >> he loves iran, and he took it will himself to try to -- hook it upon himself to try to show iran to the western world that's been closed out for so many years. >> reporter: cnn, abu dhabi. ahead here on "cnn newsroom," an unexpected choice for the nobel peace prize. a tunisian coalition that speared the country toward post-resolution democracy, ahead. plus, a status report on the first and only climber attempting to summit mt. everest this season. to folks out there whose diabetic nerve pain... shoots and burns its way into your day, i hear you. to everyone with this pain that makes ordinary tasks extraordinarily painful, i hear you. make sure your doctor hears you too!

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom," i'm george howell. this year's nobel peace prize recognizes tunisia's fight for peace and democracy after the

arab spring uprisings. the prize went to the tunisian national dialogue quartet. the nobel committee said it established a peaceful political process after tunisia's jasmine revolution in 2011 which you'll remember ousted the country's authoritarian regime. one of the quartet's leaders calls the award a message for the region. >> translator: this is a positive message for countries and states that experienced revolutions and where conflicts and danger still exist. on this occasion i want to call for civil societies who believe in these policies to make initiative to conciliate between rivals and find political solutions that will keep their countries safe. >> the road to democracy has not been easy for tunisia. militant islamists staged deadly attacks there in march and june of this year. a little background on this year's nobel peace prize winner. the quartet is a group dedicated

to creating dialogue between elements of tunisian society. formed in the summer of 2013, it includes a labor union, trade confederation, and human rights organization and a lawyer's group. now to a japanese mounta mountaineer who's failed his attempt to top mt. everest. more on how he descends the mountain and more risk. >> reporter: this has captured my attention. i started following this gentleman on facebook, on twitter. he is the first person to attempt a summiting of mt. everest, the world's largest mountain, since april when we had the catastrophic earthquake that led to an avalanche and dozens killed at the base camp of everest. he's not only the first person to attempt the summit since then, but he's also the only climber attempting to summit everest this particular season. he's posting picture where there is no one at base camp. this stuff is amazing. here's what he's encountering at

the moment. this is his fifth attempt. get this -- he's a solo climber, not using oxygen. and he has lost his fingertips in a previous attempt at summiting everest. unbelievable. he obviously has difficulty holding on to ice axes, a critical tool for climbers trying to summit everest. as you said, he has to contend with avalanches, rockfalls, high winds, extreme cold, and altitude sickness as he descends down mt. everest. he was about 700 meters just before the summit when winds got too extreme and the weather got too turbulent and he decided and made the right decision to come down early. keep in mind, these mountaintops go over 8,500 hundred meters, often the level of the jet stream. the jet stream, strong upper level winds, can dip down into the atmosphere. we're talking about winds in

excess of 100 miles per hour or 1 0 kilometers per -- 160 kilometers per hour. you can imagine the turbulent conditions experienced ted top of mt. everest for anyone attempting to climb that mountain. there are two distinctive climbing seasons across the nepalese mountains there. that would be late april and into may as well as september into october. that's when the rainfall and snowfall is just low enough before the extremely wet season starts to pitch in. but it's really that they start to lose daytime sunlight this time of year. that makes this a particularly dangerous journey, not to mention the possibility of more snow. he will have to con townsend that as he comes -- contend with that as he comes down the mountain. a significant feat in itself. i'm glad he made the decision, though, to come down because that's obviously a very dangero dangerous attempt. >> credit to him for attempting. >> yeah, absolutely. it's great that he's attempted

to be the first person since this tragic -- tragedy that took place in april. >> thank you very much. >> thanks. you're watching "cnn newsroom." still to come, u.s. baseball heats up for the playoffs. can the chicago cubs break a century-long occurs? want to survive a crazy busy day? sfx: cell phone chimes start with a positive attitude... and positively radiant skin. aveeno® positively radiant moisturizer... with active naturals® soy. aveeno® naturally beautiful results®.

image of chicago fitting to start this block. baseball fans in the u.s. are on edge after the first game of the national league division series. the st. louis cardinals are leading the chicago cubs 1-0, and the new york mets are one up over the los angeles dodgers. the winner from each series will then play each other for a chance to go to the world series. the city of chicago celebrated big time on wednesday when the cubs won their first playoff game in 12 years, but that was cut short with the loss on friday. a lot of people in chicagoland are certainly pulling for the cubs. they haven't won a world series since 1907. the hard-core fans blame it on the curse over a get to. cnn has the story. >> wait a minute.

cubs win world series -- against miami? >> yeah, it's something. who would have thought? 100-1 shot. >> reporter: that was a scene from 1989's "back to the future 2," where marty mcfly travels to 2015 to find the chicago cubs had won the world series. prophetic? maybe. sure, the cubs haven't won since 1908, and they haven't even made it to the fall classic since 1945 -- >> great scott! >> reporter: some think they're their are perfectly justifiable reasons why it's been so long since the cubbies have made it to the big show. >> we need some supernatural forces that pushing down our franchise, our beloved cubbies. >> reporter: curses, jinxes, hexes, some of the reasons chicago fans give for the 107-year world series drought like the so-called curse of the billy get to. legend has it the owner of a chitown tavern put the hex on the cubs when he and his pet get

to were kicked out of the world series because his get oat smel like, well, a goat. some think it was a baaad move because they lost 4-3. >> people love the get to. >> reporter: in 2012, a group of diehard fans and goat named wrigley tried to break the curse by walking from arizona to chicago. it didn't work. manager joe maddon knew about the legends when he took over, but it didn't phase him. >> this is a 107-year opportunity for me. i'm way too optimistic to worry about things like. that. >> reporter: it's been one heartbreak after another. the cubs were just five outs away from meeting it to the 2003 world series. they were leading the marlins 3-0 if the eighth when a fan named steve bartman became public enemy number one in chicago when he got in the way of cubs' outfielder moises alou, possibly robbing the cubs of the out. they surrendered eight runs in the inning and lost 8-3. that painful memory was put to rest forever when the ball was

blown up on live television. [ cheers ] >> reporter: this year's cubs theme is scrappy. will this finally end the championship drought? >> been a long-time coming to this moment. i've been waiting for it for a number of years. i'm ready. >> reporter: rev up those delowerians and flex those capacitiors, cubs fans. this could be a fun ride. >> i can only imagine what it will be like in wrigleyville if that happens. the rugby world cup is reaching the end of its pool stage. and the next few matches are critical. from pool a, australia and wales are already in the quarterfinals. on saturday, england says good-bye to the tournament whether they beat uruguay or not. pool b, south africa guaranteed to finish first. samoa plays scotland saturday. if scotland wins, japan will be out of contention. if the scott drop out of the match, then the japanese have to

defeat the u.s. on sunday to qualify. all eyes will be watching. we thank you for watching this hour. i'm george howell at the senior citizen cnn -- at the cnn center in atlanta. we're back after the break. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years.

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a bomb blast in turkey's capital. reports of dozens of casualties in ankara near the main train station. a live report straight ahead. ready for battle. north korea's leader declares his country is prepared for any war with the u.s. as the isolated nation parades its military might. and popularity sliding. angela merkel has led germany for almost ten years, but the

migrant crisis could be costing her support. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell. this is "cnn newsroom." good day to you and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we begin this hour with breaking news. turkish media report dozens of casualties from at least one bomb blast in ankara. it happened near the turkish capital's main train station. a witness tells cnn the explosion was so powerful it rocked nearby highrise buildings. no word on who might be responsible. for the latest on this, let's turn to our own arwa damon live in istanbul, and now joining us by phone. what is the latest? >> reporter: what we know from monitoring turkish media and what they're reporting trying to piece together the horrific events that took place earlier in the bomb blast happening during the rally, video just airing on turkish media showing

that exact moment. and you see a line of people dancing and then in the background, a massive fireball emerging, and then the camera appears to fall to the ground. various different media outlets at this stage reporting that at least ten people have been killed. again, this was a peace rally. this comes at a time when turkey certainly is on edge for a number of different reasons. they have recently launched, the government has, in the last few month launched this multifaceted attempt against terrorism targeting isis inside syria, bawls the pkk, the kurd -- but also the pkk, the kurdish group inside its own borders. this is what some considered a backlash because there had been cease-fire talks and there had been a cease-fire in place for quite some time now. and of course, we have turkey

heading for a new round of elections the beginning of november. so many people have been greatly concerned that there would be more violence that would somehow materialize. sadly it seems that today that it has. who is responsible at this stage we do not know. it could be a number of different players. no claims just yet, and the government not yet pointing the finger of blame at anyone. >> arwa, right now we understand the latest as far as injured and, you know, et cetera. can you explain to us the situation as it stands now? >> reporter: well, we know from watching these reports on turkish media that according to them at least ten people have been killed. dozens have been wounded. the scenes of the aftermath very chaotic. ambulances arriving quickly because it was on a main road. hospitals were not too far away, perhaps. something that is lucky for some

who were injured. scenes of complete and total chaos. the last time turkey saw something like this was over the summer, the bombing in the south. that also was targeting an effort by a bunch of different groups to try to get together humanitarian aid to send into syria actually, to the city of kobani. this time targeting a peace rally, some of the images broadcast on turkish media have been blurred out because they're so graphic in the aftermath of this horrific event. but we'll -- we do know enough from turkish media at this stage to know at least ten people have been killed, dozens more wounded. and this was a peace rally that's -- that so sadly ended this way. >> tragic indeed. our arwa damon joining us live over the phone. thank you very much for your reporting. we move on new to north

korea. the nation's leader, kim jong-un, says his country is "fully ready to defend itself against any threat from the united states." he gave a rare televised speech at the parade to celebrate the founding of the rulering workers party. this comes as the u.s. has concerns that north korea will launch weapons as part of the anniversary celebration. the massive parade, this military parade that you see, got undera a few hours ago after a -- underway a few hours ago after a lengthy delay due to weather. more from pyongyang. >> reporter: when it comes to patriotic displays of state muscle, few countries can rival north korea in the kind of mass spectacles that we're seeing in the streets of pyongyang today. not only are we seeing thousands of troops representing the country's unphant -- infantry and paramilitary forces, but we'll see military hardware rolling through the streets that has been assembled at a military

base outside of town rolling through the capital. some of the pieces of equipment are considered vintage, going back to the soviet era. there are new pieces of military technology that the world will be watching for. this includes intercontinental ballistic missiles on missile launchers rolling through the streets. people want to know what new weaponry north korea has on display in addition to north korean-produced drones, some of which have been on reconnaissance flights and reportedly crashed in south korea. this is also an important moment politically for the supreme leader, kim jong-un, who gave a speech to his people. and earlier in the day met with a high-level delegation from china. a high-ranking member of china's communist party hand delivered a letter from president xi jinping to the supreme leader of north korea. the first public statement of the two countries' relationship after months of speculation and a visit by the south korean president to china's military parade last month. the spectacle continuing here in pyongyang as north korea sends a very clear message to its own

people, fierce patriotism, and to the world, defiance. will ripley, cnn, pyongyang, north korea. it is the sabbath in israel today, but that's not stopped the violence between palestinians and israelis. sources tell cnn that clashes erupted when israeli forces raided a refugee camp in jerusalem saturday. an israeli police spokesman says that palestinians threw stones and molotov cocktails at them. palestinian medical sources say one man was shot and killed by police in the process. an activist at the scene claims that he was left on the ground to bleed to death. cnn's erin mclachlan is covering it live in jerusalem. good day to you. what's the latest? >> reporter: george, we're hearing of yet another stabbing attack in jerusalem. according to israeli police and rescue services. an israeli couple were on their way back from prayers at the western wall near the damascus gate of the old city when a

16-year-old palestinian attacked them, stabbing them. israeli police say they responded, shooting the teenager dead. clashes broke out near the damascus gate following that attack. there were clashes overnight in the west bank as well as at the refugee camp where the situation escalated. israeli police saying that clashes broke out at that camp, and a palestinian man opened fire on authorities. they say they returned fire. he later died in an israeli hospital. they say on his body they found bullet shells, as well as a knife. palestinian eyewitnesses say that there was live fire from the palestinian side of things, but they say the man was killed, was throwing stones. meanwhile, for a second day, clashes continue in gaza, according to the red crescent. eight palestinians now killed by

israeli forces in the clashes. in total, clashes across the west bank, jerusalem, and gaza, at least 800 palestinians injured. george? >> and what are palestinian and israeli leaders saying about all of this? >> reporter: israeli leaders are blaming hamas and the palestinian authority for inciting violence. yesterday we heard from hamas leader ismail hanea during friday prayers praise the attacks. we heard from other palestinian leaders trying to de-escalate the situation, but they say the bloodshed will not end unless there is a two-state solution. now yesterday in the israeli city of afua, there was an incident. israeli police say an israeli arab woman tried to stab a soldier. video following that shows her surrounded by israeli security forces. it's unclear what she's holding.

israeli police say that she's holding a knife. you then see israeli forces opened fire, moderately wounding her. but members -- arab members of the israeli knesset really reacting to that video in outrage, accusing the israeli security forces as well of the media of encouraging the execution of arabs in cold blood. >> erin mclachlan live in jerusalem. thank you very much for your reporting. the united states is overhauling one of its key efforts in the war against isis in syria. officials say the u.s. is putting its ineffective program to train syrian rebels on hold. the u.s. military will now focus on airdropping ammunition and communications gear to rebel leaders and their units on the battlefield. air strikes will also continue. cnn's ian lee has more on this latest shift in u.s. strategy and joins us live from cairo, egypt. first of all, let's talk about

another incident that happened, the death of an iranian general who was training the syrian army, killed by isis. the u.s. calling it a major psychological blow. how significant an impact has that had? >> reporter: well, this is a fairly significant development. the brigadier general was killed outside of aleppo just yesterday. he was a very high-ranking general within the iranian military. he's overseen operations in the past including he was very active in the war between iran and iraq in the '80s. this is a blow. this is a big loss. highlights the direct involvement of the iranians in this -- in this civil war that's taking place and how they're

backing up the regime of bashar al assad, a regime also being backed by the russians. >> also, when it comes to the shift in strategy by the united states of training syrian rebels, how is that being viewed in the region? >> reporter: you do have this major shift. if we look at what the initial plan was which was to have half a billion dollars to try to put thousands of syrian rebels to fight isis on the ground in the country, it has failed. we heard from american general that they were only able to get about four or five fighter on the ground. one senator called the program a joke. when you do have regional allies look at this failure by the united states to conduct this operation, this does raise a lot of questions, although the united states has shifted gears. they are now arming the syrian/arab coalition in the northern part of the country, giving them weapons, communications. they have been somewhat

successful on taking on isis. what they hope -- what the united states hopes to replicate is what the kurds were able to do -- give them weapons, provide air support, bomb isis targets, and then have the fighters on the ground capitalize on those air strikes to take the fight to isis. so it is a shift by the united states, one that they hope is more successful than the last attempt. >> ian lee live in cairo. thank you very much for your reporting there. russia in the mix, as well. its military in full swing against targets in syria from the air, from the land, and sea. from these images, you can see the massive amount of firepower that moscow is using to try to stamp out isis and what it calls other terrorist groups. russia says that its air force killed 200 isis militants since thursday. the u.s. and its allies accuse moscow of targeting western-backed moderate rebel groups. as you see here on the map, many

missiles appear to have struck areas that are outside of isis control. you're watching "cnn newsroom." still to come this hour, families of those killed at an oregon community college get a condolence visit from the u.s. president even as shootings break out at two more u.s. campuses. details ahead. plus, the u.s. republican party is in a frenzy trying to fill the third most-powerful position in american politics. now all eyes are on this man. ♪ ♪ (charge music) you wouldn't hire an organist without hearing them first. charge! so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck. ♪ ♪

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a week after a gunman opened fire on a communities college campus in roseburg, oregon, u.s. president barack obama paid a personal visit to pay his respects to the victim's families. ironically, hours before the meeting, two more shootings sent waves of fear in campuses of the states of texas and arizona. cnn's mary maloney has the story. >> reporter: the moment marine one landed, president was met with protesters who say he rushed to politicize the tragedy by pushing a gun control agenda. >> that's when he made it about gun control. and the way that coming off the first thing he said, instead of saying i'm sorry for the families, i think it was wrong. >> reporter: mr. obama met privately with families still grieving their loved ones following the mass shooting at umpqua community college. the gunman shot and killed nine

people before turning the gun on himself. >> i've got some very strong feelings about this because when you talk to these families, you're reminded that this could be happening to your child. >> reporter: early friday, two more college shootings unfolded. first at northern arizona university where police say a freshman shot four other students, killing one. later, texas southern university was also put on lockdown following a shooting. one student killed, another person hospitalized. in may, texas passed a new law set to go into effect next year that will allow anyone with a concealed handgun license to carry a weapon on campus. >> that means you're going to have -- you're going to have some shootouts maybe. that's what that says to me. i would like to not have a situation where we have shootouts on campus. >> reporter: mary maloney reporting. when it comes to gun sales in the united states, they are on record-setting pace. in the first nine months of the year, there were 15.6 million

background checks of guns sold from federally licensed sellers, this from the national background check system. compare that to 15.5 million checks for the same period in 2013 when gun sales surged after the sandy hook school shooting. record sales mean increasing profits for gun makers, as well. smith and wesson, for instance, their stock has skyrocketed. more than 80% this year. the company reported a first-quarter profit of $17.7 million on a $148 million in revenue. and it's on track for over $600 million in sales this year, according to factset. rival gunmaker stern and ruger isn't far behind. its stock up nearly 70% with quarterly earnings of 17.6 million on sales of 141 million. the company reports over half a billion in gun sales a year, almost double what it did in 2010.

here we go. the prep time is dwindling for the first major primary for the u.s. democratic presidential candidates. there are just four days left until the event in las vegas, nevada. it will be seen tuesday here on cnn. democratic presidential candidate bernie sanders, you see him here, held a campaign rally in tucson, arizona, on friday and touched on an issue that is sure to come up at that debate. >> i think there are disagreements of how we go forward in terms of gun safety. i think the vast majority of the american people want us to move forward in sensible ways which keeps guns out of the hands of people who should not have that and touch down on the senseless murders that we see every week. >> as we mentioned, cnn is hosting the first debate among the democratic u.s. presidential

candidates. our own anderson cooper will moderate. don lemon will take questions that are submitted via facebook. our live coverage begins from las vegas starting at 8:30 p.m. this tuesday on the east coast in the u.s. and if that's a bit late for you, you can catch the replay at 8:00 p.m. wednesday in london, :p.m. central european time only on cnn. we'll also replay the debate in its entirety wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in hong kong, 8 clock p.m. in tokyo. again, only here on cnn. u.s. congressional leaders are scrambling to fill the soon-to-be vacant seat for the speaker of the house of representatives. front-runner kevin mccarthy backed out earlier this week. now most eyes are on this man, paul ryan, who told fellow republicans he is thinking and pray i praying about seeking that position. dana bash has the very latest from washington. >> reporter: will he run for speaker?

paul ryan won't say. >> right now i'm going to make it home for dinner. >> reporter: pressure on a resistant ryan to run is growing and intense. >> i did everything except carry his gym bag this morning try to get him to do. it. >> reporter: just yesterday, ryan's office was saying no way to the job. not anymore. >> i think he's gone from a hard no to he knows he has to consider it. i know he's going home to have the kind of real meeting with his family that would allow him to weigh that. >> reporter: gop lawmakers from all side say he's the one republican who can get not just the 218 votes needed to become speaker, but support from most testify 247 house republicans in the fractured gop caucus. >> we have good conference working together. >> reporter: even kevin mccarthy, who abrupt leended his own -- abruptly ended his own quest for speaker. >> if paul ryan decides to do it, he'd be an amazing speaker.

he has to decide on his own. >> thanks, guys. >> reporter: cnn is told that mitt romney, the 2012 gop nominee who picked ryan as his running mate, called ryan pushing him to run. the policy walk enjoys his current job. >> what an absolute privilege and honor it is to chair this committee. >> reporter: chairing the tax writing committee which ryan talked to us about this summer. >> i'm chairman of the ways and means committee. an incredibly important job. >> reporter: is it fair to say it's a dream job for you? >> this is why i chose not to run for other things like the senate races in wisconsin, because i wanted to do the ways and means job. >> reporter: being speaker means a slew of fundraising and travel. a lot of time away from his children in wisconsin. ryan's resistance is also politically pragmatic. being speaker these days, trying to corral an unwieldy caucus is a nightmare at the white house. >> absolutely, could get 218

votes on the floor, maybe the whole conference. thanes the issue. the issue is how do we change the political dynamic. >> that was chief political correspondent dana bash reporting. now flood-ravaged south carolina. it looks like more rain and flooding is on the way for that state. emergency management officials are warning people to be careful. the floodwaters that swamped the state capital, columbia, at the beginning of the week is now flooding community downstream. more rainy weather is moving in, as well, but it won't be the deluge that south carolina saw last week when some 60 centimeters or about two feet of rain fell in some plays. for more on the weather situation, let's turn to meteorologist derek van dam. so much rain fell in such a short amount of time. >> we calculated it. 11 trillion gallons of water fell from the skies during october 1st to october 4th, within the north and south carolina community. that seris equivalent to 60.5

million olympic-sized swimming pools filled. >> all due in part because of the hurricane. >> yeah. it was tropical moisture streaming in from the ocean and an upper level low working together to create this firehose effect in the weather world. and that just created rain after rain in the same continuous area for days on end that caused the catastrophic flooding. there's more rain to come, george. unfortunately, we think about the potential for more money. rain and the water that continues to filter down the streams and rivers and ravines across south carolina will continue to impact areas downstream especially across the low country as you head toward the charleston region. remember, water seeks its own level. so naturally we're going to see this natural cresting of the rivers. take, for instance, a river just to the north and east of charleston. the santee river. currently the flooding gauges at 19 feet. it is predicted to crest at 24

feet late tuesday and into wednesday. that's just from the previous rainfall event that we had. there is more additional rain in store today and even into sunday, as well. we've got a low-pressure system that will develop across georgia and into the carolinas. that's going to bring rainfall. you see the counterclockwise spin in the precipitation on this high-resolution forecast radar imagery. that means more rain from columbia to charleston. that's why the national weather service has flood watches and warnings ongoing anywhere you see the bright green. and again, more rainfall starting to edge into communities already. we're anticipating between one to locally three inches of additional rainfall which is not good news. not the catastrophic rain we experienced last weekend. but they don't need any more precipitation. this is kind of unfortunately making matters worse. >> thank you. you're watching "cnn

newsroom." still to come, a high-level official in afghanistan speaks exclusively to cnn about the hospital attack in his country. how he says the taliban was involved as this broadcast continues. some cash back cards love to overcomplicate things. like limiting where you earn bonus cash back. why put up with that? but the quicksilver card from capital one likes to keep it simple. real simple. i'm talking easy like-a- walk-in-the-park, nothing-to-worry-about, man-that-feels-good simple. quicksilver earns you unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. it's a simple question. what's in your wallet?

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm george howell. the headlines we're following this hour -- turkish interior ministry says 30 people were killed and 126 wounded when a bomb exploded in anckara earlie. happened near the main train

station in the turkish capital. a witness tells cnn the explosion was so powerful it rocked nearby highrise buildings. no word on who might be responsible for that blast. north korean leader kim jong-un says his country is fully ready to defend itself against any u.s. threat. he gave a rare televised speech earlier at the anniversary parade for north korea's ruling party. the u.s. has been concerned that the country will conduct weapons testing during its massive celebration there. sources tell cnn hundreds of israeli police raid a palestinian refugee camp early saturday, resulting in more of the violence we've seen in recent days. israeli police say the palestinians threw molotov cocktails at them and exchanged live fire. palestinian medical sources say a palestinian man was shot and killed in the process. the united states is making a major change to one of its central efforts to stop isis in syria. it's putting an end to the program to train syrian rebels,

putting it on hold. the u.s. military will now focus on airdropping ammunition and communications gear to rebel leaders and their units on the battlefield. the air strikes, though, will continue. afghanistan's defense minister insists that taliban fighters were shooting from "the walls of the hospital" that was struck last week by u.s. bombs. 12 medical staff members and at least ten patients were killed when the doctors without borders hospital was hit. the u.s. has since apologized for what it calls a mistake. nic robertson spoke exclusively with the afghan cabinet member. >> reporter: what happened to the doctors without borders hospital? general campbell in charge of u.s. forces said that it was afghan special forces that requested the air strike.

>> translator: there were special feerorces near the hospl that asked for support because they were getting a lot of pressure there. >> reporter: even doctors without borders say there were no taliban fighters using it as a base inside the hospital. >> translator: when it's a base, for instance, if somebody's shooting and firing from the wall of the hospital, this is something that you can see in the battlefield. >> reporter: i want to understand this clearly because the details are important here. the taliban were firing from inside the compound, on the wall of the compound? outside of the compound? >> right from the walls. not from the inside but from the walls where they took their position. >> reporter: this is where the air strikes were called in by the special forces, afghan special forces to target the taliban who were by the walls on the outside. >> translator: yeah. >> reporter: a building on the inside was hit.

>> translator: actually, the building outside was hurt so the damage was extended to the inside. >> reporter: doctors without borders say it was precise. the plane came back around several times and kept hitting the building inside the compound. >> as i said, this issue has to be further investigated in more detail. >> nic robertson's exclusive interview with the afghan defense minister. he joins us live from kabul, afghanistan. good day to you. what's the latest on the investigation into this hospital bombing? >> reporter: doctors without borders are waiting to see if the country that's a sig terry to the european fact-finding commission, the independent national body that they've called. to do an investigation if any nation will step forward to request that this international body investigates the strike in kunduz. so far that doesn't appear to be

happening. doctors without borders say they believe they have the support of the nato chief in this call for the -- this particular commission. but in terms of details on the ground, there are three investigations underway. it is a nato investigation that's expected to deliver the quickest initial assessment. that's what we originally told. but so far, no new details and explanation to go with the sequence of events, why things happened, and a deeper explanation. we know that both afghan forces and u.s. forces have both now been told to look at their rules of engagement. so perhaps that does provide a clue. of course, still waiting for the precise details. >> reporter: a three-pronged investigation. and demand sudden an independent review, as well. given your exclusive interview that we saw, what more can you tell us about the meeting?

>> reporter: well, i asked about how kunduz had fallen so quickly to the taliban. what the defense minister told me was that it wasn't because the army failed. he said the army were in their locations outside the town. that the taliban were able to infiltrate into the center of the town and, therefore, the army couldn't -- you couldn't go after them aggressively initially because there was a risk of -- a risk of casualties among civilians. and i also put to him that a lot of people in the town told us that they believe the -- the government in the town had let the taliban come in. he said, look, that is just propaganda, part of war, propaganda trying to demonize one side against another. he also talked about the pressure that afghan forces have been under in afghanistan this year. the fact that the taliban have been stepping up their attacks. they appear to have people in more areas around the country. the fact that al qaeda and isis have been pushed out of pakistan by offensives in pakistan and

are now inside afghanistan and the fact that the taliban -- the afghan forces now are without the large support that they had of nato over the past ten years. and now they're in the fight alone. he gave the example of helmand where the north of helmand where a couple of years ago, you have 30,000 to 40,000 nato troops securing the area. now you have a much smaller number of afghan forces there. and again, helmand, northern helmand, one of the places that the taliban have been pushing to try to secure territory on the ground for themselves. so the broader picture, he gave me, of the -- of what the afghan forces face here is a much increased offensive by -- by taliban/al qaeda/isis. and essentially now the government forces here are taking on an international -- [ inaudible ] >> nic robertson live in kabul, afghanistan. thank you very much, and we will stay in touch with you as this investigation continues. a reporter for the

"washington post" is marking a very grim milestone in iranian detention. jason raisain, a dual citizen, has been held 545 days. longer than the american hostages held in iran 35 years ago. becky anderson looks at the case. >> reporter: june, 2009. protests rock tehran after the disputed election saw the radical president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, return to power. a young reporter, jason razian, had just left iran. >> i wasn't so much fearful about being detained but was told wednesday his to stop working. they revoked my press pass a couple of days before it was set to expire. >> reporter: but he went back and began working for the "washington post." in the spring of 2014, he and his iranian wife talked with cnn's anthony bourdain about the

challenges of reporting from the country. >> the difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you, we're seeing in front of our eyes, is actually there. when you walk down the street, you see a different side of things. people are proud. the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. >> reporter: there were frustrations. >> i miss certain things about home. i miss my buddies. i miss burritos, but i love it. i love it, and i hate it, you know. it's home. it's become home. >> reporter: six weeks later, jason and his wife were detained. their home ransacked. his wife was released on bail. but jason remained in prison with only one visit with a lawyer and unable to talk with his family for four months until last thanksgiving when he was suddenly allowed to call home. >> we talked about past thanksgivings with people who are now departed. we both choked up a number of

times. >> reporter: his mother, mary, appearing on "amanpour" in december, 2014, worried about his health. >> his continued mental state is in question simply because i understand he's been in chronic pain. >> reporter: reserrez -- rezaian was finally put on trial five month later, accused of espionage and facing a 20-year sentence if convicted. the trial ended this summer. the "washington post" again appealed for his release saying jason is a dedicated law-abiding journalist and a good man who has been targeted with nonsensical, unsupportable and entirely baseless allegations of espionage and other offenses. iran's judiciary news services said his arrest has nothing to do with his being a journalist. through a website and on twitter with the hash tag #freejason, his family have kept up the pressure to get him released. >> the delays are completely inhumane. they're illegal by iranian standards. they're illegal by international

standards. >> reporter: months after the end of his trial, still no verdict announced. only a hint from the president that jason and other americans in iranian jails could be part of an exchange for iranians convicted in the u.s. on charges related to nuclear technology. >> translator: if the americans take the appropriate steps and set them free, certainly the right environment will be open, and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the swiftest freedom for the americans held in iran, as well. >> reporter: jason's mother says all her son ever wanted to do was report. >> he loves iran, and he took it took it upon himself to try to show modern iran to the western world that's been closed out for so many years. >> reporter: cnn, abu dhabi. you're watching "cnn newsroom." and still to come, after ten years on the job, german

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the annual meeting of the international monetary fund and the world bank gets underway in just a few hours' time in lima, peru. on friday, we saw fiery protests there as demonstrators burned and then blew up a flag that looked similar to the u.s. flag. many protesters are upset over the agency's environmental and austerity policies. meanwhile, europe's migrant status is top of mind for world

financial leaders before they wrap up meetings on sunday. the u.n. security council is giving a green light to military action against migrant smugglers. the council approved the resolution on friday, authorizing european naval forces to board and inspect ships off libya's coast that are suspected of smuggling migrants. this as european ministers are taking a tougher line on sending economic migrants back home. those are people who are not seeking astylum from war or conflict zones. e.u. nations are tightening border controls and beefing up patrols to stem the flow of migrants. with almost ten years under her belt as chancellor, angela merkel is now one of germany's longest serving leaders. whale she's been praised around -- while she's been praised around the world for opening the country's bored force refugees, her popularity at home is beginning to slide. we have more. >> reporter: they call her mama merkel. for some, she is the embodiment

of european wealth and generosity, the leader who opened the doors for syrian refugees to germany and beyond. for her harshest critics, mama merkel is a withering dismissal of weak leadership in the face of a crisis that threatens to end europe's free borders. we took to the streets of the capital to find out what germans really think of mama merkel. >> she's said that everybody's welcome. that's good. >> coming from new zealand where we're not taking too many refugees in, we're actually -- we're in great admiration of what she's done. >> reporter: really? >> and how many people she's opened the doors for. >> the idea behind it of course is to help which is always good. i don't think it's a good idea to tell the people to come over, we want you, you know. and then after four weeks, we start to close down. what's the idea behind it? so that doesn't seem to be a plan. >> reporter: that concern has dropped her popularity to its lowest point in recent years.

for a chancellor that's been in power for ten years and possibly hoping for another term, that is not good news. the problem -- too many refugees. germany now expects as many as a million to apply for asylum this year alone. up to 10,000 a day are crossing the border into germany. [ applause ] >> reporter: many initially applauded her warm welcome, but with school gymnasiums, festival tents, and schools across the country overwhelmed, many are wondering how the country will cope. merkel insists she coming up with solutions, devoting $6 billion to refugee housing and integration, proposing transit zones in turkey, hungary, and greece to slow down the number of refugees. in the meantime, however, mama merkel may find germany is not prepared to provide such a warm welcome anymore. atika schubert, cnn, berlin. coming up next here on "cnn newsroom," rugby fans around the

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rugby fans around the world will be paying close attention in the coming hours as scotland can head to the quarterfinals of the rugby world cup if they beat samoa. the scott could also get the boot if japan loses to the united states come sunday. here's where things get a little complicated. scotland's two bonus points mean they will claim second place in the pool if they beat samoa. that would automatically send japan's -- [ inaudible ] if japan doesn't make the finals, the team has overwhelming support at home. >> reporter: a newfound passion for rugby in japan. it was the two-time champion south african team that fell to the japanese squad in its opening match. it was perhaps the biggest upset in international rugby history.

suddenly, the japanese team has newfound fans joining the ranks of long-time enthusiasts. "winning against south africa was unbelievably big news. i am so glad to the japanese people now know japan's rugby can match up against the world's best teams. it's a great push for the sport here now." nearly 25 million people watched the team nicknamed the brave blossoms beat the samoans two weeks earlier. a record for the sport. all that popularity has translated as it often does these days into merchandise. in fact workers at this sports shop tell us all of the famous national team jerseys, red and white jersey you see on tv, were sold out after south africa lost to japan. in fact, the only jerseys they haven't sold out are the alternate national team jerseys. beyond jerseys, the other thing that sold out, official japanese match balls. one thing that is still selling

is just your standard rugby ball bought by eager first timers ready to try out a sport they were inspired to try out by watching the team on tv. retail success just another indication of rugby's growing popularity. watch for players in the university lead. >> after woke up even, it's all over the news now. even people who don't play rugby know all about. it. >> reporter: weather the upstarts make it to the tournament -- whether the upstarts make it to the tournament's quarterfinals remains to be seen. the team hopes to match its success this year in the 2019 world cup set to be held of all places in japan. matt rivers, cnn, tokyo. and in the world of baseball, fans in the u.s. are on edge after the first game of the national league division series. the st. louis cardinals, they are leading the chicago cubs 1-0. and the new york mets are up over the los angeles dodgers. the winner from each series will

then play each other for a chance to go to the world series. when it comes to chicago, this is all very personal. the city celebrated big time on wednesday when the cubs won their first playoff game in 12 years. that was cut short after friday's loss. you'll have to keep in mind a lot of people in chicagoland are pulling for the cubs. they haven't won a world series since 1907, and they blame it on the curse of the goat. some people believe that is real. if this happens, you can only imagine what it will be like to be in wrigleyville for the chicago cubs fans. thank you for joining us this hour. i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta. for viewers in the united states, "new day" is ahead. for others around the world, "amanpour" starts in a moment. thank you for watching cnn, the world's news leader. you wouldn't order szechuan without checking the spice level.

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a big weekend in politics as they prepare for the major debated on cnn. this as a new poll tune its between hillary clinton an blern r bernie sanders. north korean president kim jong-un. what this could mean for the famous comedian. this is cnn