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War Against ISIS; Where's North Korea's Leader?; Suspect Arrested in Hannah Graham Disappearance; New Denial by NFL Security Chief in Race Rice Scandal; LeBron James Opens Up About Race in America

Aired September 26, 2014 - 18:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: While resistance fighters battle ISIS forces, there is breaking news that some other elite terrorists are alive and likely plotting to attack Americans.

Also this hour, only one man may know what happened to a missing University of Virginia student and authorities are bringing him back to Charlottesville right now. We have new details on the prime suspect in the Hannah Graham mystery.

And North Korea's dangerous and shadowy strongman vanishes from the public eye. Now the communist nation is hinting at why Kim Jong- un hasn't been seen in weeks.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KEILAR: Fierce new battles in the war against ISIS, plus breaking news about the threat from another elite group of terrorists. They have been dubbed the all-stars of al Qaeda. And CNN has learned that U.S. government officials believe at least some senior members of the Khorasan group survived U.S. airstrikes and that they could be plotting against Americans right now.

We have correspondents and analysts standing by with all of these breaking developments. We also have an exclusive battlefield report.

First to our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was frank. He said he's under no illusion that airstrikes alone will defeat ISIS or destroy the Khorasan group. It is perhaps with that in mind that that chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, refused once again today to take off the table an option that the administration has tried to, and that is sending U.S. troops on the ground in Syria or Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ISIS has been making progress.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): ISIS fighters locked in battle with Kurds in Northern Syria, a brazen show of force live on CNN.

After 10 days of administration denials, today, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey stood by his commitment to recommend U.S. ground troops if he believes necessary to win the fight against ISIS.

(on camera): I wonder if you stand by that, that if you believe it's necessary, you will go to the president and say, Mr. Obama, I need ground troops in certain roles to succeed here?

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF CHAIRMAN: I just stand by the statement. I will make a recommendation.

The president gave me a mission. Destroy ISIL. And I will recommend to him what it takes to destroy ISIL.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): And this is what the war against ISIS looks like on the ground. CNN's Phil Black on the front lines, as cameras capture Syrian Kurds exchanging fire with ISIS fighters on the Turkish border.

BLACK: What you are watching is live video of ISIS fighters in Syria attempting to battle their way through this northern, mostly Kurdish region.

SCIUTTO: It is one more front in an expanding and confusing war. Here, it is Syrian Kurds running for their lives from ISIS, but so far, no coalition military action to save them.

(on camera): They appear to be facing the same genocidal threat that saw the Yazidi people and others in Iraq. The U.S. came to their aid. Why hasn't the U.S. come to the aid of the Syrian Kurds from the air?

CHUCK HAGEL, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are discussing how and what we can do with our coalition partners to help them deal with it.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): One coalition partner that could do that is Turkey, which borders Syria. However, on the ground, the administration continues to insist the only option for a substantial ground force are local fighters, Iraqis and Kurds in Iraq, moderate rebels in Syria.

DEMPSEY: The only truly effective force that will actually be able to reject ISIL from within its own population is a force comprised of Iraqis and Kurds and moderate Syrian opposition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: We have some news just in now from Central Command, and that is that new airstrikes are under way in Syria as we speak. A Central Command spokesperson saying: "We can't confirm additional airstrikes inside Syria. We will provide additional details when they become available."

A key question, Brianna, as we look at these, are they the kinds of strikes we have seen in the last 24, 48 hours, which have been a small-bore, a small convoy here, an ISIS tank there, that sort of thing, or if this is something more significant, like the first night when you saw some very large, fixed targets, command-and-control, et cetera.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: I do know this. I was at the Pentagon today speaking to U.S. military officials. And that is that you have jets flying over the area a great deal of the time, and they will often take targets of opportunity, which is a possibility. They're up in the air, they see a tank, they see an armored vehicle and they take it out.

That's a possibility here or this could be something more significant. We will find out.

KEILAR: All right, yes, this just coming in. We will get more details on that with you. Jim Sciutto, thank you so much.

Now we want to show you more of that intense battle against ISIS, really extraordinary pictures, this view that played out live on CNN. You got a bit of a taste of it. You could see some of it in Phil Black's reporting that was just in Jim Sciutto's piece.

Phil joining us now live. He's near the Syrian border with Turkey.

This is where you were earlier, Phil, when we saw really an incredible scene. Tell us about it, and tell us now what has been going on since night has fallen.

BLACK: Brianna, the hills of Northern Syria just behind me have fallen largely silent, the odd burst of gunfire, but that's it, very different to what we witnessed earlier this afternoon, where for some hours we saw this advancing, or attempting to advance, group of ISIS fighters that were trying to move through this region of Northern Syria.

And they were coming up against very strong opposition from local fighters, local Syrian Kurds who were defending their homes and defending their villages, trying to stop this offensive by ISIS, which has been going on for around a week or more now. And so for some hours, they exchanged small-arms fire repeatedly between the two ridges of two opposing hills, some heavier indirect fire as well, mortars, we believe.

And when ISIS tried to advance down the slope, they were really driven back by incoming fire. And so they sought shelter at the top of a ridge. From there, their opposition, their enemy, if you like, those Kurdish fighters were able to direct a very strong line of fire into their position. And the shelter from the ridge didn't really help them. We saw

them take fire and we saw them take casualties. We saw those wounded ISIS fighters be carried away. Then it was only just after dusk fell that it seems they lost the taste for what they were trying to do. Those ISIS fighters withdrew behind that hill, falling back.

But that is a rare moment I think in the fight that's been going on in this region for some -- as I say, for more than a week now as ISIS has moved through this mostly Kurdish region of Northern Syria. Those Kurdish fighters have been trying to slow their progress, but that's all they have been doing. They haven't been able to stop them, they say.

They say each day those ISIS fighters have been taking a mile or more at a time, advancing towards the major town of Kobani from each direction, from the south, from the east and from the west. And the bigger picture here is that that's triggered a very substantial humanitarian crisis.

In the weeks that has gone, news of this ISIS advance has triggered fear through the local population. As a result, it's estimated some 200,000 Syrian refugees have made their way to the Turkish border and crossed over. We have been seeing thousands more cross over every day still as those ISIS fighters take more territory, take control of other villages and towns, and those refugees have terrible truly traumatic stories to tell about the suffering they have endured to get to the border and the loss many have experienced at the hands of those ISIS forces, the forces.

The questions they are asking is, where is the international help, where are the coalition airstrikes that they believe could stop the forces that are bearing down on them, Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, at the same time, the U.S. wondering if Turkey can't be more involved in this. So, it's great to get both points of view here. Phil Black for us there on the border between Syria and Turkey.

This U.S.-led war on terror is intensifying on multiple fronts now. Law enforcement officials are making new arrests here in the United States and around the world.

Our justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, has the latest on that -- Pam.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, overnight, a string of arrests in London, Morocco and Spain.

In fact, since August, there have been terrorism-related arrests in at least eight countries, including the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Overnight, chaos in the streets of Spain, as police arrest a man believed to head a terrorist cell linked to ISIS. At the same time, police in Morocco captured eight of his suspected associates. This morning, two additional terrorism-related arrests in London, after British authorities arrested nine men, including this man, a radical Muslim cleric named Anjem Choudary, who recently spoke to CNN's Brian Stelter about the beheading of American James Foley.

ANJEM CHOUDARY, MUSLIM PREACHER: Quite frankly, I think it's completely pathetic and absurd for you to ask a Muslim to condemn the killing of one individual.

BROWN: The arrests are the latest in what appears to be a worldwide crackdown on possible terror cells.

CHAD SWEET, CHERTOFF GROUP: Imagine us hitting a beehive with a large stick. They're angry. They are trying to come at us. They are one plane ticket away.

BROWN: On Tuesday, Australian police shot and killed an 18-year- old ISIS terrorism suspect who allegedly stabbed two police officers. And just last week, 15 other men were arrested in large-scale raids, suspected of planning large-scale attacks on Australian civilians.

In the U.S., authorities arrested this Rochester, New York, man for allegedly wanting to kill U.S. troops. As airstrikes continue in Syria and Iraq, officials now say countries are stepping up intelligence sharing to identify potential suspects elsewhere around the globe.

SWEET: We're seeing uptick in radicalization. But we have also seen our ability to intercept and disrupt these plots as a function of our improved A-game abroad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Just this week, it was announced that Interpol is going to adapt its color notification system to better identify foreign fighters and inform partner countries in order to improve tracking -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Pam Brown, thank you so much.

Now back to the breaking news, CNN learning that U.S. government officials believe that at least some members of an al Qaeda cell survived U.S. airstrikes and may still be plotting attacks.

We're joined now by journalist and author Lawrence Wright. He's written all about al Qaeda and the terrorist threat.

Thank you so much for being with us.

LAWRENCE WRIGHT, AUTHOR, "THIRTEEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER": It's a pleasure.

KEILAR: And I should mention that you also have a new book called "Thirteen Days in September: Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David."

You're an expert on 9/11. You have gone back to look at the very origins of 9/11. Tell us how Khorasan fits into this and why we have really only heard about this in the last two weeks.

WRIGHT: Well, it's interesting that the intelligence community knows as much as they do about the Khorasan group.

I was surprised by that, that they had a cell that they spotted that was active in Syria. Muhsin al-Fadhli was the head of it. He was a young man in al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and he was close to bin Laden. He was one of the few who knew in advance, according to intelligence reports, that 9/11 was going to occur.

So he would have been very close. The story is that the Ayman al-Zawahri, who is now leader of al Qaeda, sent him to Syria with the idea of recruiting out of al-Nusra the al Qaeda affiliate, possibly some Western Muslims who might have passports that would allow them to travel easily in Western countries in the U.S.

KEILAR: So it is sort of a branch in a way. I wonder, there are some critics of the White House saying this Khorasan group is al Qaeda. It is proof that really the Obama administration has not tackled al Qaeda in the way that it has put out a narrative that it has. What is your, I guess in a way, fact-check on that?

WRIGHT: Al Qaeda is not dead. It's not healthy. But it's still alive and al Qaeda affiliates have proliferated.

Zawahri just announced a new chapter in India. And it tried to pull off some terrorist attack and made a fiasco of it. So it still exists. What's perhaps more dangerous are the affiliates.

Al Qaeda in Yemen is probably the greatest danger because of their expertise. And what's happening in Syria and Iraq, this is problematic. So many Westerners have gone to Syria to fight, and they have passports that let them go anywhere in the world. And so I am concerned about that.

KEILAR: That is really the worry right now with so many officials, this transit that allows foreign fighters in. You mentioned al-Zawahri. He is we believe still alive. "The Washington Post" saying that perhaps he's in Pakistan. The trail has really gone cold on him. How concerning is it that he is still alive and really what kind of real role and danger does he pose?

WRIGHT: Right.

Well, Zawahri has never been a charismatic leader. He's sort of anti-charisma. People don't join al Qaeda because of Ayman al- Zawahri. They did because of bin Laden. He had a mystique that was entrancing to a lot of young Muslims who wanted to get involved in that.

But Zawahri has had a terrorist career even al Qaeda and he ran it into the ground. So I don't think al Qaeda is being very well- managed. We haven't gotten Zawahri. That's a liability. But if you're going to have that organization in the hands of somebody, better him than someone more competent. KEILAR: What does it say, I wonder -- looking back to 9/11, it

has been 13 years. What does it say about the world's approach and fight against Islamic extremism that that much -- that this far past 9/11, whether it's al Qaeda in Yemen, whether it's the Khorasan group in Syria, that these are still very real threats, and not just threats in that region, but threats to the U.S., and as well as ISIS obviously?

WRIGHT: Right.

Brianna, there's a river of despair that runs through the Muslim world. There are many tributaries, poverty, joblessness, gender apartheid, lack of education, lack of opportunity. You can just name it, all the problems that could contribute to creating a sense of despair and hopelessness are present in many of the Muslim countries.

And we have that as one problem. The other is that there's an Islamic civil war going on, and a lot of what we're talking about, al- Nusra, al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, they're all proxy armies inside this vast Islamic civil war that we are now putting ourselves into.

KEILAR: I want to end by having you tell us a little about your book. It is fascinating. It is about -- it's "Thirteen Days in September." It's about the lasting peace agreement made between U.S., Israel and Egypt. The key there, lasting, the lasting peace agreement.

WRIGHT: It's true.

KEILAR: Tell us a little bit about your book and also sort of what that means for now looking at the crisis in this region.

WRIGHT: There's so much terror and so many wars. So little hope has come out of this region.

It's useful I think to look back at one time when peace was actually achieved. In the first 30 years of Israel's existence, there were four wars with Egypt. And since -- in the 35 years, there hasn't been a single violation of that treaty. I think you have to look at some of the lessons of Camp David that we could apply now.

One is, there are no perfect partners for peace. Anwar Sadat was a Nazi collaborator and an assassin. Menachem Begin was a terrorist leader. Jimmy Carter was a weak and unpopular president. You couldn't find a less likely cast of characters to make peace, but they all had an abundant amount of political courage. The timing wasn't great. There had just been a war in the Middle East.

Many Israelis did not want to sacrifice the Sinai for a piece of paper that said peace on it. Sadat was alone in the Arab world in thinking that peace with Israel was possible or even desirable. And then Jimmy Carter had double-digit inflation, gas lines, crime rate was 20 percent. The shah was going down. Midterm congressional elections.

Timing wasn't great. And the final lesson I think is that America was crucial in that. Carter had a mistaken idea that you could just get these two guys alone and they would come to like each other and trust each other. They hated each other. They screamed at each other. He had to physically separate them. And then he had to come up with an American plan and that made the difference.

KEILAR: Maybe what is old is new again, at least in terms of some of those I guess qualities of both timing and of character. We will see certainly what happens in what is going to be a very long, it appears, war.

WRIGHT: I will tell you one thing, Brianna. The Middle East will not look the same after this is over.

KEILAR: That is startling. Lawrence Wright, thank you so much for your great expertise. Really appreciate it.

And still ahead, we have the 9/11 call from a horrifying rampage -- 911 call, I should say. This came from a horrifying rampage on the job. A woman was beheaded. And we will tell you why the FBI is being called in.

And we will have the latest on the search for a missing University of Virginia student and new developments involving the prime suspect in the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The FBI is being asked to investigate a bizarre beheading and stabbing rampage in Oklahoma.

Police say the suspect was fired from his job at a food processing plant just hours before two women were attacked there. And we're told he had been trying to convert co-workers to Islam.

Let's bring in CNN's Martin Savidge. He's covering this story.

And that's the question, then, Martin. Are authorities there concerned that this is more than just a local tragedy?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Brianna.

If you had asked me that question 24 hours ago, I would have given you the answers that local authorities were giving, which was, this is a terrible crime, but it's otherwise a localized, what they said workplace dispute. And 24 hours later, though, there are some red flags here, which are why the feds are involved.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's sounds like he's running around out here.

911 OPERATOR: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that -- that's a gunshot. SAVIDGE (voice-over): Horror in Oklahoma. Police say a knife-

wielding man stormed the offices of Vaughan Foods in Moore, killing the first person he saw, 54-year-old Colleen Hufford, cutting off her head.

SGT. JEREMY LEWIS, MOORE POLICE DEPARTMENT: He encountered the first victim and began assaulting her with a wife. He did kill Colleen and did sever her head.

SAVIDGE: According to police, the suspect then began attacking a second woman, when he was shot and stopped by an armed company executive, who is also a reserve sheriff's deputy.

LEWIS: It could have gotten a lot worse. This guy definitely was not going to stop. He didn't stop until he was shot.

SAVIDGE: Initially, the attack was described as a workplace dispute; 30-year-old Alton Nolen, seen here in a mug shot from a previous arrest, had just been fired by the company that day.

But the police investigation has turned up some red flags, causing some to wonder if there may be more to the attack. Authorities believe Nolen converted to Islam and tried to convince others at work to join him.

LEWIS: After conducting interviews with co-workers of Nolen, information was obtained that he recently -- started trying to convert some of his co-workers to the Muslim religion.

SAVIDGE: Recent calls by the Islamic State asking sympathizers to strike back inside nations now part of the coalition out to destroy the terrorist organization have law enforcement agencies across the country on alert, looking for so-called lone wolf threats.

In Oklahoma, the FBI is now investigating Nolen's social media footprint, trying to determine if this vicious, deadly rage was revenge over a lost job or for a faraway conflict that has now hit the heartland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: It should be pointed out, Brianna, that Alton Nolen actually survived the shooting. He is recovering, and no doubt going to be questioned by authorities. He may be the one that gives them the motive behind his actions -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Martin Savidge, thank you so much for that report.

And just ahead, police in Charlottesville, Virginia, are ready to grill the suspect in the disappearance of UVA student Hannah Graham, now that he's been captured in Texas. We will tell you what's happening right now.

And find out why a North Korean state TV presenter is balling her eyes out. Something apparently is wrong with one of the most dangerous strongmen in the world. We will have new details about the fate of Kim Jong-un.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: There are new developments in the case of missing Virginia college student Hannah Graham. The man who may hold the key to her whereabouts is heading back to Virginia from Texas where he was arrested this week.

And CNN's Erin McPike is in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the very latest for us.

Erin, what are authorities there telling you?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Galveston County sheriff confirms to us that the extradition process is underway, and that Jesse Matthew is making his way back to Virginia. He's being escorted by Virginia police, and he will be back here tonight.

Now, meanwhile, there are still no signs of Hannah Graham. And tonight marks two weeks since her disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): Jesse Matthew, pictured here leaving a Texas jail, is the only link police have to finding the missing University of Virginia student.

(on camera): Hannah Graham leaves a party on this block around midnight on Friday, September 12, alone, and heading in this direction toward McGrady's Pub.

Police believe she makes another stop somewhere along the way, but she still has to walk this road about a half mile or so by herself and in the dark.

12:45 a.m., this camera captures Hannah outside this pub, also alone.

She continues to the Charlottesville pedestrian mall, but first heads under this bridge and another surveillance camera catches her running by this gas station. Police don't believe anyone is chasing her.

Thirteen minutes after, 1:08 a.m., this jewelry store's video captures her. Jesse Matthew is first seen her following her.

Twelve minutes past. She texts a friend saying she's lost in Charlottesville. Police say that's the last trace of her cell phone.

But sometime after, police say one witness remembers seeing her inside this bar. Tempo's owner disputes that, but she's under 21 and can't legally be served alcohol. Witnesses say Matthew is last seen with her outside Tempo, putting his arm around her. The rest is a mystery.

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: People saw Hannah, and people saw him, and people saw them together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: We learned today that the district court here is closed for meetings from Monday till Wednesday. So the earliest that Jesse Matthew will appear before a judge is Thursday morning, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. We'll be looking into that. Erin McPike for us in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thank you so much for your report.

And we want to get more now on the Hannah Graham case with CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes. He's a former FBI assistant director. And also joining us is investigative journalist Coy Barefoot. He is the host of "Inside Charlottesville."

Coy, you wrote -- and I read this last night -- you wrote a very detailed report, a great report focusing on Jesse Matthew, or L.J., as he is known. You interviewed his acquaintances throughout the night before he was seen with Hannah Graham. Explain what they said to you about Matthew's behavior, because he kind of had a run-in with a man, and then he also appeared, or was reportedly harassing some women, right?

COY BAREFOOT, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST/HOST, "INSIDE CHARLOTTESVILLE": That's right. I made an effort to talk to a number of people who were eyewitnesses that night to the events that took place in the couple of hours leading up to Hannah's disappearance.

And I spoke with people who were partying with Mr. Matthew that night. I spoke with people who were in Tempo, and they described his behavior as disturbing, erratic, aggressive.

He was constantly tracking these women around the bar, putting his arm around them, touching their hair, touching their back, touching their legs. And one of the young women with whom I spoke told me that she finally had to tell him, "Keep your 'F'-ing hands off me." And that took place just about an hour before he ran into Hannah here on the downtown mall.

KEILAR: And he also had this run-in, according to someone that you spoke with -- and CNN has not confirmed this; this is your reporting. But you spoke with someone who described another incident where he actually wrestled a man who pulled his hamstring, who actually heard a pop in his leg and pulled his hamstring.

This is really, I think, what led you to write -- even though some people described that he was a gentle giant, you said that the sources that you spoke with actually said throughout the night, or this is your description: "Throughout the night, L.J. Matthew demonstrated a troubling lack of respect for the physical boundaries of women and men -- or perhaps even a deeper lack of understanding that those boundaries exist."

Do you think that this is something, certainly, that the police are looking at, at this time? BAREFOOT: At some point, I think the police will have to focus

on that kind of behavior and what we know about the behavior of Mr. Matthew.

Right now, though, I believe that investigators and the police are absolutely focused on finding Hannah Graham. And that is our priority. Everyone here in Charlottesville is absolutely committed to doing whatever we can do to find Hannah and get her home to her mom and dad.

KEILAR: And certainly, Tom Fuentes, I want to bring you into this conversation. I mean, we're assuming that law enforcement must have pieced together Jesse or L.J.'s evening in the way that Coy has in his piece, right?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, they would try to, but there still could be some gaps between, you know, going in one establishment or going in another one, being seen on -- you know, at different stores' cameras at different times. So, you know, whether they can piece together every single minute, we'll find out later. But right now that seems like that might be a difficult chore to do.

KEILAR: And it may be as secondary, as Coy mentioned, too, certainly looking for her at this point and dealing, certainly, just with trying to get information from the suspect.

Coy, this is something I think people saw a video, they saw some of the video of Hannah and somewhat appeared to be Jesse Matthew together, and he may have had his arm around her in the video. This is something that led some people to say, "Oh, you know what? Perhaps they know each other." But I know you actually spoke with a long-time friend, and he told you something very different, didn't he?

BAREFOOT: He did. He told me something quite the opposite. I asked a friend of his, I said, "Dave, did he know Hannah? Did he ever talk about Hannah? Was Hannah a known person in your circle of friends?"

And he looked at me and he said, "Absolutely not. I've never heard of her. I've never seen her. He never mentioned her."

And I said, "But an eyewitness said he walked up and threw his around her."

And he said, "That's what L.J. did to women he was hitting on." He said, "That's not a sign that he knew her. That's a sign that he didn't know her."

KEILAR: And he was described by a -- by this friend, right, as a prowler. Tell us more about that.

BAREFOOT: Yes, he used that word, "prowler." And I -- I pressed him on that. And I said, "I want to understand exactly what you mean. You've known him for nine years." They're not close, best friends. That's not the way to describe that. They are acquaintances. They have partied together down here in the bars, in downtown Charlottesville.

But he said, "L.J. is a prowler." And he said, "But what I mean by that is he's the kind of guy that might look for a woman who might be intoxicated, might be compromised, might be a little vulnerable," because in his words, "he would have a better chance." That he would have better chances with a woman like that.

KEILAR: And at this point, Tom, there's no hard evidence, certainly, that we know of that, I guess, implicates Matthew in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, right?

FUENTES: Well, you're right, that we know of. But the police were very conservative from the very beginning of this thing, searching his car, towing his car, searching his apartment. Then they talked to him the next day when he showed up at the police department, and they still didn't arrest him. So they were very, very conservative, feeling that they did not have enough probable cause.

Somewhere along the line, they received a report of evidence, either from the car search or the apartment or both, that led them to place the charges for abduction. And so they have some piece of evidence that we don't know about as of this time.

KEILAR: I'm wondering, the last place that we know that Hannah Graham was, or depending on different reports, was this Tempo bar. And according to credit-card transactions, Matthew purchased two drinks there, we understand.

But we seem to have some folks working there at the bar who are raising questions about whether it was really Hannah inside of the bar. Granted, she was underaged, and she may have been served alcohol. Is that something that law enforcement is looking into, in terms of, you know, whether they put veracity in some of those witness accounts?

FUENTES: They'll be looking at that. But then don't forget, the witnesses have probably been partying all night themselves. So you're going to have basically everybody involved in this story having alcohol to one degree or another that evening and maybe more and not knowing what their condition was, what their memory would be, what they're -- what they're seeing now when they look back on the event.

KEILAR: Yes. Very good point. Thank you so much, Tom Fuentes.

Coy Barefoot, thanks so much for being with us from Charlottesville. Really appreciated and really enjoyed, certainly, the facts that you uncovered in your report.

Just ahead, there is another mystery: where is North Korea's leader and why hasn't Kim Jong-un be seen in public for weeks now?

Plus, new questions about when the NFL first saw the infamous Ray Rice video. Now there are conflicting accounts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Tonight, we're getting new clues about why North Korea's

dangerous and secretive young leader has not been seen in public for weeks.

Our Brian Todd is looking into that for us. And, Brian, it's a rather confusing explanation that we're getting from North Korean media.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. You know, usually, we don't get much information or even many signals from North Korea about Kim Jong-un. But tonight, a strong hint from Pyongyang that Kim has a health problem. And the information we've gathered on what may have contributed to that is downright weird.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): He came to power at 28 years old, full of vigor and optimism. Now, look at him three years later.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TODD: The presenter seems to be crying her eyes out as she delivers the news on North Korean state TV. Leader Kim Jong-un has a health problem. She calls him the marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, despite suffering from somewhat she would only describe as discomfort. Kim, who hasn't been seen in public in three weeks, has just, for the first time, missed an important parliament session called the Supreme People's Assembly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To skip the Supreme People's Assembly is a big deal.

TODD: CNN counted how often North Korean state media reported him at public events over the past three months. Twenty-four events in July, 16 in August. But only one in September.

Observers point to a limp he had in July and say he could have gout, which analysts say runs in his family. Then, there's his weight gain.

ALEXANDRE MANSOUROV, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: This is the way Kim Jong-un looked in 2011 in December when he came to power. This is the way he looks today. Obviously, he gained some weight. There is a history of obesity and diabetes in the family.

TODD: The Kim dynasty's lifestyle is notorious and could be, a lifestyle that extends back to Kim Jong-un's grandfather, the founder of North Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kim Il-sung used to sleep on a bed of naked virgins.

TODD: That's actually an account from a North Korean defector in a book by journalist Bradley Morten, one of many bizarre reports from defectors relayed by journalists over they ears. Kim Jong-Un's father, Kim Jong-Il, was a legendary smoker, drinker, womanizer. MICHAEL GREEN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTL. STUDIES: Kim Jong-un

combines all that plus the worst of western pop culture, Cokes and French fries, because you live abroad.

TODD: A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN, there are no indications Kim Jong-un is seriously ill, or that he's keeping a low profile because of potential challengers. But just being a North Korean leader is stressful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here Kim Jong-un killed his own uncle, and members of his family, preemptively because of fear about the stability of his system. So, you can imagine the stress on his psyche and on his body.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Part of that pressure, analysts say everything in North Korea, the system of government, the stability, the nuclear arsenal, the military -- all of it hangs on the Kim dynasty. If Kim Jong-un dies, it could be the beginning of the unraveling of this mysterious country -- Brianna.

KEILAR: It's so difficult to really understand what's going on.

TODD: Absolutely.

KEILAR: Brian Todd, thank you so much.

Just ahead, is the NFL telling all about the Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal? We'll sort through the new and conflicting accounts when the league got hold of the famous, infamous really elevator video.

And NBA star LeBron James talks to CNN's Rachel Nichols about the way that young African-American men are viewed.

But first, we have a look at a comic actor's serious cause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Seth Rogen's mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he and his wife Lauren struggled to find hope.

SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: The more it was affecting us, the more we learned about it, you realize there's no treatment of any sort at all that could do anything to slow the progression of the disease.

CUOMO: Out of their frustration, Hilarity for Charity was born -- an event where stars tell jokes, raise money and shine a light on Alzheimer's disease.

ROGEN: Having fun thus far?

The only thing we really know is kind of comedy and the people we have access to are comedians. It's the stuff we like to do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you combine the caramel and sugar in a

bowl, take off all your clothes and look at yourself in the mirror.

LAUREN MILLER, SETH ROGEN'S WIFE: Our main focus is to raise awareness of Alzheimer's among young people.

ROGEN: The idea is to provide caretakers for people who can't afford them is something we want to do with the money that our charity raises.

CUOMO: Whether it's a trip to Capitol Hill or an evening telling jokes, for the Rogens, the message is the same: Alzheimer's can affect everyone.

ROGEN: I don't think people understand that it's not their grandparents being affected. It's their parents being affected and soon enough, it's them being affected.

MILLER: The rate of Alzheimer is growing. It will come for us if we don't go after it. We have to be the answer to that problem. And if we don't come together to do it, then it really is coming for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New claims, counter claims and confusion in the Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal. NFL security chief Jeffrey Miller is "unequivocally," that's a quote, denying that he saw the video that shows Rice punching his then fiancee, he's now wife, until the video was made public this month.

But the "Associated Press" quotes an unnamed law enforcement official is saying that he sent this video to Miller in April.

Let's bring in CNN's Rachel Nichols. She is the host of "UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS".

Rachel, good to have you here. This is bad news for the NFL.

RACHEL NICHOLS, UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS: I mean, there does seem to be a lot of evidence in this situation, at least according to the "Associated Press".

So, the report, if you remember, initially came out a couple of weeks ago. It said that this law enforcement official actually let the reporter listen to an e-mail of a woman who had the digits in the phone, because you know that a lot of phones digitally track who voice mails are from. And the digits in the phone showed it was from the NFL offices. And the woman's voice says, "I received it. You are right, it's terrible."

Now what the "Associated Press" didn't release at the time and they said they have now gotten permission to do so is that woman was in the office of Jeffrey Miller, the head security official for the NFL.

And the other nugget of information in the new "A.P." report is that DVD of the video in the elevator that he says was sent in April had a note on top that says, "Ray Rice video, you have to watch this. It's terrible." So, now, all these pieces are coming together. And it's completely possible that Jeffrey Miller is telling the truth and that he never saw the video. But you have to start wondering how much that matters.

So, if you have a video in your office that has this kind of information on it and clearly someone in the office has seen or processed it, I mean, come on, at some point, either you're really messing up and it's negligent ignorance.

KEILAR: Yes, either he's lying, right? It is -- he's being willfully ignorant.

NICHOLS: Yes, exactly, and either one is pretty just much of a concern. I mean, of course, if the NFL is coming out and just hardcore lying to the American public, that is probably the greater offense. However, it's a pretty big offense to be that egregiously ignorant.

And, certainly, it speaks to how the NFL has felt about prosecuting and investigating the cases. That's really the issue here for so many American who feel passionately about this subject and want their sports league that they put so much time and energy into to share their values, that knocking your wife unconscious is wrong and finding out if one of your players, one of your most public facing employees, has done that, it's important. They want you to feel that way.

KEILAR: Yes.

NICHOLS: And this story tells you, they didn't feel that way, even if he never saw the video.

KEILAR: It does.

I want to turn now and talk about this great interview with LeBron James. You talk to him about some really substantive issues. You talk to him about Ferguson, Missouri, which hits close to home for him as a father. Here's part of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: We've had the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, in the past few months.

PROTESTERS: Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

NICHOLS: Besides from the specifics of the situation, it did sparked this national conversation on the way America sees young black men. What do you think about where we are right now?

LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Well, I definitely voiced my opinion on the Trayvon Martin piece, and you know, I related to Ferguson incident. I mean, having two boys of my own, one day, my kids left home to go anywhere, you expect your kids to return. You expect your kids to return home unless they are off to college.

I couldn't imagine them not returning home because of someone else, I don't know, is not thinking or cowardly act or whatever the case may be. We know racism is still alive. And the only thing I can do as a role model, I feel like I'm a leader in society is just to teach my kids and the people following me with right way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: He does not, Rachel, shy away from discussing these national issues when it comes to race. How important is that to him?

NICHOLS: You know, it's so interesting, because the last great figure in basketball that we saw of this magnitude was, of course, Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was pretty famous, actually, for never getting near a political or social issue. He seemed to be pretty concerned about sponsors, didn't want fans or anybody who's going to buy his shoes to feel like he was coming down on the wrong side of things, very famously talked about, hey, that's not my area.

LeBron at the beginning of his echoed that. Michael Jordan was, in fact, his idol growing up. But as he's matured, he's singing a completely different tune and a lot of people are pretty happy he's taking a stand.

KEILAR: Yes, it is fascinating to hear him talk about that and just being a role model. These are very important topics.

Great interview, Rachel. Thanks so much. And be sure to watch it. You can catch it on "UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS". That's tonight at 10:30 Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

And certainly remember, you can always follow us on Twitter. Just tweet the show @CNNSitroom, and be sure to join us Monday. You can watch us live or DVR the show so that you don't miss a moment.

Thanks so much for watching. I'm Brianna Keilar in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.