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Washed Out Roads Hamper Tourism; Reports: Many Hostages Rescued; 9 Days Until Government Shutdown?; Three of Alleged Kenyan Mall Attackers May Have U.S. Ties; Television's Big Night; Americans Strike Out on Their Own; The Trade that Shocked the NFL; Dodgers Win Division, Take a Swim

Aired September 22, 2013 - 18:00   ET

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

ROSA FLORES, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosa Flores, in for Don Lemon.

And we are following two big developing stories.

You are looking at live pictures from the Marine barracks in Washington. Just moments ago, President Obama spoke at this memorial for 12 people who were killed in the Navy Yard shooting this past week. You'll hear what the president had to say shortly.

Now, we go to Kenya right now. Some of the attackers are holed up with hostages at a Nairobi mall. Security forces surrounded them. It seems minute to minute we are getting new and often shocking developments. And now, another American connection.

Here's the latest: three of the gunmen who opened fire inside a shopping mall in Kenya yesterday are from the United States. That's what we've been told by sources inside the extremist group claiming responsibility for killing at least 68 people yesterday. We, at CNN, are working to verify this major development.

U.S. officials say they've long been worried that a terror group called al-Shabaab recruits new members here in the States. In just a moment, I'll talk with someone from a Somali community here in America and ask him if he believes that that is indeed the case.

Something else from Nairobi right now where it's after 1:00 in the morning -- the Kenyan military issued a message not long ago that most of the hostages have been rescued. Police believe that the attackers had been holding about 30 people inside the mall. Several Americans were wounded yesterday in the sudden violence Saturday.

Live to Nairobi right now, and our correspondents there, and Nima Elbagir.

And, Nima, anything more from the Kenyan military about the fate of those hostages? Have most of them been, indeed, released?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's absolutely what we're hearing from the Kenyan ministry of interior and Kenyan defense, which is the Kenyan army. They say that they have managed to successfully secure the release of most of those hostages.

They do say most. So, we're not quite out of the woods yet.

They say that operation is still ongoing but there is finally, they believe, a resolution in sight. They also say that they have finally, after over 36 hours of impasse with those hostage-takers, that they have secured most of the building. We have not yet seen the hostages.

We've been pushed back with members of the public to a road slightly further away from the Westgate shopping mall, as much as to protect as to try and safeguard that ongoing operation.

There was some pretty compelling evidence, I should say, that the hostage-takers were receiving information from the outside world as to how things were carrying on and how the hostage situation was being perceived externally. And for those reasons, the Kenyan government has consistently called upon us and other members of the media to be very careful about what we've been putting out there.

But they are really hopeful, they say, that in the very near future they finally have some good news for the families of those inside for so long.

FLORES: You know, I know there was a bit of confusion. Was it evident that a rescue operation was actually going on? Did you hear noises? Could you hear some gunfire, perhaps?

ELBAGIR: Well, there was a very long period, over 10 hours in which we didn't hear very much, very sporadic bursts of gunfire. And then just before sunset, we started seeing some pretty intense activity, very low-flying helicopters, police and military helicopters, accompanied by military fighter jets buzzing that building very, very loud, and then nothing.

Absolute silence for quite a while and sources we were speaking to said that was very much in keeping with the kind of distraction activities that armed forces put into effect when they are trying to move special forces or trying to move troops in a way without, and assuming we are seeing SWAT forces in the U.S., trying to carry out operation while distracting the hostage takers.

We didn't actually hear anything from that operation. We did spell it to see increase of activities, heavy weaponry. A tank came past us. Kenyan forces, trucks moving back and forth. And then a statement by the Kenyan defense force that they believe that this operation could well soon be over.

FLORES: Such an emotional out there, Nima Elbagir, live in Nairobi for us, thank you so much.

Earlier, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen talked about the group claiming responsibility for this attack. He told me al-Shabaab has recruited here in the United States, especially in Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: A number of young men around two dozen, from Minneapolis, travelled to Somalia in 2008, 2009. But they also came from other places. One of the leaders of al-Shabaab, for a long period until he was killed earlier this morning, is a guy called Omar Hammami, who grew up Baptist in Daphne Alabama, which is a small town in Alabama, and then converted to Islam when he was a teenager and travelled to Somalia and became one of the star figurers of the group and frequently showcased and videos that al-Shabaab made.

So, it is as you say shocking and surprising. But it isn't totally surprising given the fact that we know Shabaab has recruited in the United States. And we've also know that they've recruited in a number of other European countries. And clearly, whoever is handling their Twitter account, on which they are very active, speaking in colloquial English, in a kind of English than an American or somebody growing up in the U.K. would be using.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And we will be talking shortly to a member of the Somali community out of Minnesota. So, you want to stay with us for that.

Now, a short time ago, President Barack Obama honored 12 patriots killed in the Navy Yard shooting Monday in Washington. The president says tears are not enough to fully honor the 12 Navy Yard shooting victims, because it's way too easy to get hold of guns in this country. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Americans are not inherently more violent people than folks in other country. We are not inherently more prone to mental health problems.

The main difference that sets our nation apart, what makes us to susceptible to so many mass shootings is that we don't do enough, we don't take the basic common sense actions, to keep guns out of the hand of criminals and dangerous people. What's difference in America is it is easy to gets your hands on a gun.

I do not accept that we cannot find a common sense way to preserve our traditions, including basic Second Amendment freedoms and the rights of law-abiding gun owners, while at the same time, reducing the gun violence that unleashes so much mayhem on a regular basis. And it may not happen tomorrow and may not happen next week, may not happen next month, but it will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: But the president said Washington lawmakers are not likely to lead any push for change on gun control. The president tried and failed to pass a tougher gun control bill last spring.

We are nine days away from a possible government shut down. A bitterly divided Congress must reach a budget deal or the shut down could come October 1st. House Republicans passed a plan Friday that would strip funding for the healthcare reform law also known as Obamacare.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed Republicans behind the plan when she talked to CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I called them legislative arsonists. They are there to burn down what we should be building up in terms of investment in education and scientific research and all that it is that make our country great and competitive. I don't paint them all with the same brush, and I certainly don't paint the speaker with that brush, but enough of them and their caucus to shut down government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: We should add that Republican Senator Ted Cruz says he'll filibuster if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tries to keep Obamacare funding with the simple majority of 51 Senate votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Senate Republicans have the tool that we always use when the majority leader is abusing his power, which is we can deny closure. We can filibuster and say, we will not allow you to add the funding back for Obamacare with just 51 votes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The House plan is expected to be rejected by the Senate.

We should add also the deadline came and went, folks. And Assad's government says Syria turned over all of its data on chemical weapons stockpiles. So what's next? And why does Iran want to get involved in all of this? That's just ahead.

Also coming up, they claimed responsibility for the attack on that Nairobi mall. And we've learned three of its members are from the United States. Who is al-Shabaab and are they a threat here? We'll let you know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today that the U.S. is blackmailing Russia into supporting the threat of military force against Syria.

Well, let's talk more about the chemical weapons deals. The details are still waiting for U.N. approval, of course.

Fouad Ajami is back, senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. And, of course, CNN senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is here as well.

And let's start with you, Fouad, why would the Russian foreign minister go public with this criticism in the first place?

FOUAD AJAMI, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Well, look, we are not just dealing with the Russian foreign minister, we are dealing with Vladimir Putin. And when you are dealing with the Putin regime, you are deal with, you know, a kind of high-stake gambler. And the Russians believe they are doing well, and the Russians believe that President Obama is on the run. The Russians believe they have us in the corner.

And if we expected a kind of a quick resolution of these chemical weapons issue, that we would just simply ask the Syrians for a declaration that would give us all this truthful documents, we were really in for a surprise.

FLORES: And, Nick, let's talk about the deadline for the information for the chemical weapons. They met the deadline. They gave us the list of chemical weapons. Can we trust it? Can we trust this information that they're giving us? They came up with it fairly quickly.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And actually having said they won't going to honor deadline set in Geneva by John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov, they went ahead and did it anyway, partly I think because in the background, they're a bit worried about upsetting people, because perhaps they're not in a great place militarily.

But U.S. officials said they are, quote, "pleasantly surprised" by what's in it. We may never know if it's the extent of absolutely everything. But the interesting here is when we see deadlock happening at United Nations over a resolution and Russians said they're being blackmailed in trying to keep a threat of force somehow into wording separately, unilaterally the Syrians are giving up their chemical weapons on paper so far, and the rhetoric is moving forward. And it's moving forward as fast as the Americans hoped it would.

So, it's interesting that the parallel seems to be in U.N. and U.S. diplomacy and their relationship with Moscow rather than Russians and Russians are just basically stepping forward, saying, look, we can get Syria to deliver. And that's what they are doing at the moment.

FLORES: And do they kind of want to be back on the table as leaders in the world, do you think, too?

AJAMI: Well, they have returned to the Middle East. I mean, if you look at the region, a Turkish colleague of ours, brilliant young columnist, she said, basically, where the Americans are leaving and who brought the Russians back, so there is -- you are watching an American retreat in the greater Middle East and Russian return.

WALSH: This is -- you know, Russia is not in this because they feel a massive love for the Syrian regime. This is their whole global stakes diplomacy game again. Putin, ex-KGB, yearns the days of the Cold War again, and he is getting a slight taste of it at this point.

FLORES: And we have to talk about Iran, because Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, had that op-ed in "The Washington Post", and pretty much very egregiously coming out and saying, you know, I want to help, I want to be able to connect, kind of solve the issues in the Middle East almost sounds like.

AJAMI: Well, if you look at Rouhani, of course, he wears a white turban. And if you look at the supreme leader in Iran, he wears a black urban. So, that's the division of labor. It's actually because the supreme leader (INAUDIBLE) and he can wear a black turban, but the issue here is that we don't know how much authority does Rouhani have. We know that the fundamental decisions in Iran over war and peace, over the nuclear program of Iran, all this decisions are made by the supreme leader.

Now, it could be that the supreme leader is ready to make a deal and that is given a warrant, a license to Rouhani, again -- I remain personally skeptical of this.

FLORES: So, I got to ask you. So, is there any way that President Rouhani will actually meet with President Obama? Because I think that's what everybody waiting for.

WALSH: It is not impossible. It would be a huge gamble in some ways for Barack Obama to do that. He always said he want diplomacy for this. But you talk about a guy, you know, a country, not having relations with for decades. If it wasn't ahead, it would be a bit of a gamble. But he is -- that's where Rouhani is meeting Francois Hollande of France. So, he's not like he's going to be completely out of his own doing this. There is a desire to try to get Iran involved in fixing problems as well as a problem itself.

But the major question here is how sincere is this? Is this a new gambit? The Iranians have trying playing difficult, that didn't really help. Now they will try playing nice a few years and each day the clock ticks further forward, critics say towards a day when they get a nuclear weapon, and that's really what the critics and the hawks against Iran say they are up to. People (INAUDIBLE), is it serious or just playing nice to buy time?

FLORES: Yes, definitely there are a lot of questions. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

AJAMI: Thank you.

FLORES: Even before the House passed its funding bill on Friday, members were setting up their calendars, preparing to take the measure up again, because it doesn't have a chance of making it through the Senate and landing on the president's desk. Can they really get this done by the end of the month? That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week on "THE NEXT LIST", two visionaries on the fast track to the future. Diana Eng (ph) melds high tech with high passion, for designs that could change with the world around you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you think all of my products are kind of new innovations out there just starting to come from (INAUDIBLE).

GUPTA: And neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Mikelalas (ph), unlocks the secret of the brain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, we are going to say example of (INAUDIBLE) that can only be seen this laboratory. Nobody in the world can do what you're going to see here. She's playing with her mind.

GUPTA: So, this is her doing this right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: We'll take you inside his lab where computers and robots are powered by your thoughts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people think, oh, you're doing brain interfaces, oh, you're going to read my mind and that's really not what we're doing here. What we're trying to do is extract information from the brain to move things, to help people regain mobility that they've lost, or maybe they've never had.

GUPTA: The future is now on "THE NEXT LIST", this Saturday, 2:30 Eastern, only on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back.

It's late September. A new fiscal year starts October 1st, and there's no federal budget. Haven't we seen this movie before, you're probably asking. Well, let's talk about with two very smart political analysts.

CNN political commentator Ana Navarro is a Republican strategist, and Robert Zimmerman here in New York is a Democratic strategist.

Now, the House passed a law Friday that will fund the government through December. This is a short-term deal. But it withhold any funding for the healthcare law. Democratic Senate won't pass it and, of course, the president wouldn't sign it if it did.

So why are we doing this?

House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, says she knows why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: They want to shut down government. The effect of putting the Affordable Care Act on the bill is to shut down government. They know that. They know that has no prospect of prevailing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, let's start with you, Ana. The how has voted to delay, defund or repeal Obamacare 42 times. Is Nancy Pelosi right? Do Republicans just want to shut down the government?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, and she knows better than that, Rosa. There's a Republican act (ph) or Republican this week have said they don't want to shut down government. It's something Speaker Boehner said in the past. It's something that very senior Republican senators are saying in the Senate.

Yes, it's very small, very vocal minority and Republican Party that is holding things up, and that are willing to shut down the government if that's what defunding Obamacare takes, yes. But it is not fair to paint the entire Republican Party with such broad strokes. Particularly when she knows that that's not what the Republican leadership wants.

It is going to require some negotiation, though. We can't start from the point of, we're not going to negotiate.

FLORES: Now, Robert, the latest CNN/ORC poll finds that 57 percent of Americans oppose most or all of the new healthcare law. We keep seeing reports of full-time jobs being converted to part-time jobs as businesses try to reduce healthcare costs. Should we take a second look at part of Obamacare?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, Rosa, I'm glad those polls and pundits weren't around with Lyndon Johnson enacted Medicare, because it was very unpopular at the time. It took President Roosevelt seven years.

There is a bigger issue here than just what the polls and pundits are saying, and that is if you look at the role of the congressional members of the Republican members of the House of Representatives, they're not taking a principle position or moral position.

This is congressional twerking, if you will. And very much like Miley Cyrus, they are basically creating a cheap thrill and gimmick for their base. And there's no integrity to their position. For example, the congressional resolution to quit funding the government to strip funding from for Obamacare, that also includes the economic benefits of Obamacare, for example, the savings achieved by Medicare.

So, at the same time they want it strip funding from Medicare, strip funding from Obamacare, they're also introducing legislation that includes the economic benefits of Obamacare. It's intellectually dishonest and speaks to what a gimmick they are engaging in.

FLORES: Ana, I'm going to ask you because there's been a lot of push and pull within the Republicans on this, and it almost seems like they have the self destruct button right next to them. Do you want to comment about that?

NAVARRO: Look, there's a very painful struggle going on within the Republican Party. I think it's important that as a party, we learn to live with each other, even if we have diversity of thought and don't agree on every issue.

I think those Republicans who believe in the slash and burn tactic, that if you're not with me on every issue, then we're going to go out and take you out in a primary. That sort of patricide (ph) is frankly not a healthy and not a way to grow a party. We have to learn to live with each other.

ZIMMERMAN: But the reality is, Ana, that small group, the Tea Party Republicans, they are in fact representing the majority, because they have co-opted the speaker of the House and the House leadership to support their position to defund Obamacare and shut the government down.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: What John Boehner did this week was, frankly, I think a very smart move and very practical move in the sense that he called the bluff of folks like Senator Ted Cruz. He said, OK, you guys on the Senate, OK, hot shot ---

FLORES: Sorry to interrupt. We are about to lose the satellite signal. We don't want it lose her. Thank you again so much, Ana Navarro and Robert Zimmerman.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you.

FLORES: We appreciate it.

And I know that the conversation will definitely continue.

And in the past few hours, we've had several huge developments in the terror siege at a Kenyan mall. We are learning of another possible American connection. And we've got an update from the Kenyan police on the state of those hostages. All that, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back.

New developments now on the terror situation going on in Nairobi, Kenya. This is still unconfirmed, but the Kenyan military sent an online message that most of the hostages taken in a deadly violent assault Saturday have been rescued.

Yesterday a group of gunman burst into a popular shopping mall, started shooting and taking hostages. At least 68 people were killed. Some Americans are among the many wounded. We learned a short time ago that three of the attackers may be from the United States. A known terror group is claiming responsibility.

CNN is closely watching for any new developments on the terror attack and condition of those hostages as well.

The U.S. government officials say they've long been concerned that the terror group al-Shabaab recruits from members right here in the United States.

Someone is on the phone with us right now that might be able to just shed some light on those concerns. This is Abdirizak Bihi and he is a leader in the Somali-American neighborhood in Minneapolis.

Mr. Bihi, can you hear me?

ABDIRIZAK BIHI, SOMALI-AMERICAN COMMUNITY LEADER: Yes, ma'am.

FLORES: Now tell me, is that a valid concern? Because I know that you can give us a personal account, if you will, of how this al- Shabaab group is trying to recruit here in the United States.

BIHI: Al-Shabaab has a history of recruiting from the Somali (INAUDIBLE) of -- from all over the world. I would say England is worse. London. But they have a history of recruiting here (INAUDIBLE) Somali-American young men. And that there are recruiters that have been indicted and have been taken. The people they're recruiting, one of them was my nephew, 17-year-old high school student that has been later on killed by al-Shabaab in Somalia. So yes, they are recruiting and they are really trying their best.

FLORES: And specifically talking about your nephew, how do these extremists -- how do they work, how do they get into the minds of these young Americans, these young people here in the U.S.?

BIHI: You know, that's very -- to talk about in detail is very difficult. But what we have learned for the past, past years since we decided to speak out against this. And outreach to our community, which 100 percent with us against terrorists and also al-Shabaab.

If the young people here, a lot of families come here without a dad, the love of dad, because of the war and also because of the immigration (INAUDIBLE), that, dad and some other kids (INAUDIBLE) another country, so there were a lot of young men who will be brainwashed by these people. Most of them took place in a mosque in our community that is now against al-Shabaab.

So they become the role models for these people. They engage them. They give them (INAUDIBLE) -- engage them positively and, you know, programming, youth programming because youth programming and resources are almost nil in our community. So they end up, those group of bible services.

FLORES: Now talk to us about how you're trying to discourage young people in your community to get involved with this?

BIHI: You know, we -- for five years, the date we decided to started to spoke out (sic) or approach the law enforcement with the families, with the mothers of those kids, we -- I reach into the community. Al- Shabaab will try and also to go to the community and often we tell them that I am not a good Muslim or a good person, and that they are discouraging to listen to me, but it took us five years to bring the fact and evidence to our community.

As you know, Somalia, everyday, people are bombed, suicide bombed or killed, doctors, students, generals, by al-Shabaab. So the community and the (INAUDIBLE) al-Shabaab is (INAUDIBLE) convinced by our story that they were here and they are here to recruit our young people.

FLORES: You know, it's --

BIHI: So we have to get young people also to a positive programming. We encounter two things. One is we were not given resources. We don't have any resources. So we have to use our personal money or whatever we can make, get a loan, to engage young people. It's been a long work for five years and we have survived. And we have impacted the community positively. And -- but sometimes we get people who attack us. (INAUDIBLE) that attack or (INAUDIBLE).

FLORES: Yes, that's difficult to hear. Definitely a difficult situation there.

Abdirizak Bihi, a leader in Somali-American neighborhood in Minneapolis. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Here now are five things you need to know for your week ahead.

Monday, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly gets under way as world leaders come together for debate and diplomacy. The crisis in Syria will certainly take center stage. Also, we'll see the global debut of Iran's new president.

Another big global gathering takes place on Tuesday. The Clinton Global Initiative. Founded in 2005 by former President Bill Clinton. The organization brings world leaders together to share ideas. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and U2 lead singer, Bono, will be there. Also attending President Barack Obama and he's expected to have a conversation on health care with Mr. Clinton.

Wednesday NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, along with two Russian cosmonauts, will be on their way to the International Space Station. The trio will launch from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket to join their fellow crew members aboard the ISS. Hopkins, an American, will serve as the mission's flight engineer.

Actress Amanda has a scheduled court appearance on Thursday. Bynes, known for her recent erratic behavior, was arrested in May after allegedly tossing a bong out the door of her apartment. She's charged with reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence.

And on Friday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its "State of the Science Report." The 2007 version says humans caused 90 percent of global warming. Friday's report is expected to raise that figure up to 95 percent.

And that's your "Weekly Five."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back. The 65th Annual Emmy Awards are tonight and viewers are sure to notice the tough competition being put up by the cable networks and of course, Netflix.

CNN's Nichelle Turner is live on the red carpet in L.A. with a big guest.

Nichelle, show us off. You look great, by the way.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A huge guest. Thank you, darling. I appreciate that, Rosa. You know, but I'm here with someone who looks even better, and she's a nominee for lead actress, Michelle Dockery, from "Downton Abbey." Lady Mary.

MICHELLE DOCKERY, ACTRESS, "DOWNTON ABBEY": Hi.

TURNER: This is your second nomination? You look gorgeous, first of all. We'll get the -- that out of the way first. Prada from head to toe, yes?

DOCKERY: Yes. Yes.

TURNER: Yes. You look gorgeous. Now you said that Downton Abbey just premiered tonight in the UK.

DOCKERY: It is.

TURNER: And we've all been wondering because Lady Mary lost her husband at the end of last season. What would happen with her? She's a widow now. She's --

DOCKERY: Well, the show stats six months on and Mary is still very much in deep mourning for Matthew and refuses to wear anything other than black. So the family are trying to bring her out of her grief, really. So the first episode is really about that. And she does slowly come out of it. And it is a wonderful series, and it -- you know, as much as there is the -- you know, the darker side with Matthew going, there is lots of light to it, which there always is. But it feels like the '20s have really kicked off this series.

TURNER: Yes, it has. And you know, one of the things that I spoke with, the creator, Julian Fellows, about earlier is there's some diversity that's being added to the cast this year.

DOCKERY: Yes, yes, the jazz singer. So yes, there are lots of changes, which is -- which is wonderful.

TURNER: Because it's like the world was starting to change at that time as well.

DOCKERY: And it's about the character adjusting to that change. You know, characters like Robert are still struggling to cope with the changes. But Mary is quite -- you know, she just gets on with it, really.

TURNER: Can we dish a little bit about the night? Because the pageantry of this is so very Hollywood. I know you're nominated tonight so there's probably a little bit of nervousness. But does something like this ever get old for you? DOCKERY: Never. Never. It -- no. It's amazing. And I just -- you know, I just try and enjoy every minute. And it's really just a wonderful experience that has come from, you know, being in such a successful show. It's really, really wonderful for us all.

TURNER: It is. Well, have fun at the party tonight.

DOCKERY: Thank you.

TURNER: Good luck for you. All of the "Downton Abbey" fans will be pulling for you this evening. We appreciate it. And you look beautiful.

Rosa, we have Michelle Dockery, again lead actress nominee for "Downton Abbey" along with a whole host of other fabulous ladies here tonight.

Now you talked about Netflix. Fourteen nominations for Netflix. They call themselves a network now even though their content is distributed via the Internet and no on television. That's a big coupe in itself to be nominated on television's biggest night.

FLORES: Yes.

TURNER: So we'll to see what happens in that category as well. It's going to be a fun night. It's thick on the red carpet here right now. And I'm trying to grab everybody I can see.

FLORES: I know. Looks like you're having a blast. And I'm trying to peek behind you to see what gowns I see because that's my favorite part, of course.

TURNER: Yes. You heard Michelle. Yes. Exactly. Well, I've got Seth Myers over here to my left and I had Tina Fey just here just a second ago. And I mean, we've got Christine Ramsey right here to my right so lots of stars right here on the red carpet all surrounding us.

FLORES: All right. Thank you so much, Nischelle Turner. You look beautiful. Thank you so much.

TURNER: Absolutely. All right. Bye, guys.

FLORES: All right. Now some more -- some more news. Some football fans were left scratching their heads after one team trades away one of its best players. And a Yankee pitcher says it's time to retire. While some baseball fans may say, who? That's next. But first --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When this small tech company began out in Kansas, one of the founders, Don Carroll, knew he needed virtually no permanent staff. Just talented temporary workers hired when needed and ready to embrace a new professional mantra.

DAN CARROLL, LEAP 2: I guess sort of the idea that the job you create for yourself is the most stable job you can have.

FOREMAN: He is not alone. One business study estimates there are already more than 17 million Americans who no longer work for companies but sell their skills day by day. And that number could jump to 23 million in the next few years.

SARA HOROWITZ, FOUNDER, FREELANCERS UNION: Yes. Freelancing is happening everywhere.

FOREMAN: At Freelancer's Union in New York, the founder, Sara Horowitz, knows all about it.

HOROWITZ: It's really a phenomenon where people are hardworking and they're just put in together a bunch of projects and they work in fields ranging from being a doctor to a programmer to being a nanny.

FOREMAN: Not much like traditional union, her group helps its members take on all the task that employers used to manage. Networking for the next job, marketing their skills, and the toughest part, managing healthcare. By combining their purchasing power, she says group members get insurance for 40 percent less than it would cost them individually. And for all the headaches --

HOROWITZ: Because they don't work that 9 to 5, they can be home when their kids come home from school. They can still do the things they love, the projects that many of us say, well, we'll do that when we retire.

FOREMAN: And she suspects many freelancers, despite some economic jitters, are feeling more free because they left the everyday office behind.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Kansas City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back. A big trade baffles the NFL. Plus the Dodgers win their division, and then they go swimming.

Let's talk about it with Terence Moore in Atlanta. He is a sports contributor to CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.

Now, Terence, let's start with football. The NFL's Cleveland Browns this week traded their best running back, Trent Richardson, to the Colts. Why did they get rid of him?

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's because they think the rest of us have chin straps for brains, OK? This was clearly a team giving up on the season after just two games, Rosa. And it's pretty much unprecedented. In baseball you have situations or you have situations where teams have had fire sales. I think of -- for instance, the Miami Marlins, for instance. But they did it after the season and after they won world championships.

I don't think the Browns are going to win a world championship any time soon.

FLORES: Now is this a win-win situation or is there a clear winner where the Browns or the Colts are the winners?

MOORE: Well, it's kind of a short-run long-term thing. In the short- term you've got to go with clearly the Colts. Because the Colts have been a Super Bowl contender and either a guy like Trent Richarson who's almost automatic when he's close to the goal line. In the long run, theoretically --

(LAUGHTER)

The Browns win, because they get a first-round draft pick and next year in NFL draft, that means they'll have seven picks in the top and -- first four rounds. So all that means, the way things are going, they could package those picks together, get a quarterback and trade him during training camp.

FLORES: Now let's take -- talk baseball. Yankees pitcher Andy Pettit says he's going to retire when the season ends.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: Wrapping up a great career. Let's tally it up here, 255 wins, a record 19 wins in post season. But he's probably the best Yankees pitcher some people have never heard of. Why is that?

MOORE: You know, it really is a great mystery. Because, I mean, you can say on the one hand it's because he's so soft spoken and he came up through the organization, at the same time with those two great players, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. But you know, that doesn't hold water because you look at Yankee history, you've always had a lot of great players. A lot of soft-spoken players. Lou Gehrig was soft spoken. Babe Ruth. This is one of those mysteries that goes with who built the Great Pyramids.

FLORES: And now we've got to -- we've got to talk about the L.A. Dodgers. They won the division on Thursday night in Arizona.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: And they celebrated by jumping into a swimming pool behind the outfield wall of the Diamondbacks stadium. Now Arizona fans, including, we should say, Senator John McCain, aren't happy about this. McCain even went to Twitter and wrote -- we're going to quote here. "No class act by a bunch of overpaid immature arrogant spoiled brats."

Ouch. Is he talking politics or is he talking sports here? So is he right, Terence?

MOORE: Well, this was pretty disgusting. But it was hilarious. You know what, all the stars are aligned. Because how many times can you win a berth in the playoffs, and then have a swimming pool to jump in?

(LAUGHTER) FLORES: Terence --

MOORE: What a country.

FLORES: Terence Moore, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And up next, folks, a possible American connection to the terror attack at a shopping mall in Kenya.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: New developments now on the terror situation going on in Nairobi, Kenya. This is still unconfirmed but the Kenyan military sent an online message that most of the hostages taken in a deadly violent assault Saturday have been rescued. Yesterday a group of gunmen burst into a popular shopping mall, started shooting and took hostages. At least 68 people were killed and some Americans are among the 175 people wounded.

We're closely watching for any new developments out of Nairobi.

We are nine days away from a possible government shutdown. A bitterly divided Congress must reach a budget deal or the shutdown would come October 1st. House Republicans passed a plan Friday that would strip funding for the healthcare law, also known as Obamacare. The Senate is expected to reject the House plan in the coming weeks.

I'm Rosa Flores in New York. Anthony Bourdain begins right now.