Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

59 Dead; 175 Hurt in Terror Attack; Hillary Clinton Gives New Interview; NYT Journalist Witnessed Mall Carnage; U.N. General Assembly Meets This Week; Emmy Awards Buzz

Aired September 22, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: A lot going on. Lot to tell you. Glad for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Now, 8:00 here at CNN world headquarters. This is NEW DAY SUNDAY.

PAUL: And if you're just waking up, we want to make sure we get you up to speed on the breaking news we've been watching overnight, that terror, of course, on a shopping mall.

CNN can now confirm, 59 people are dead at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. We can tell you, too, that 10 to 15 terrorists were involved in this attack. Attackers are holding around 30 hostages, we're told. This all according to Kenyan and Western diplomatic sources at this point.

I want to go to CNN's Zain Verjee.

BLACKWELL: Zain, can you give us the latest? What's happening there now?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really crazy to be in the area in which I live, which is pretty much out this gates and to the right, and see ambulances behind me, a triage center that the Red Cross put up there in the makeshift area outside the gate, and paramilitary forces and trucks all around me.

Basically, the situation at Westgate right now is that the siege continues. It's not clear exactly where the hostages are. And also what their condition is.

But we did speak to some officials who said there are about 30 hostages. There are 10 to 15 gunmen -- unclear too what their condition is. But we understand that the Kenyan security forces, along with their international counterparts have really been working together closely.

This is nothing new. They do a lot of different security areas, just counter-terrorism stuff, sharing intelligence. So, they have been working closely, and typically with the British, with the Israelis and with the United States.

BLACKWELL: Any details on a motive, Zain? VERJEE: Well, al-Shabaab's motive have been pretty clear. They have said in the past that they want revenge attack on Kenyans partly because the Kenyans troops are inside Somalia fighting al-Shabaab. They took a crucial town called Kismaio (ph). This is really important to al-Shabaab this place because this is where they raise all the taxes and they get a lot of money out of the goods and services that go through Kismaio. And that money is used to fund al- Shabaab.

So, Kenya being there under the African Union banner, it's a huge problem for al-Shabaab. So they're saying this is a strike back. But they're also very anti-Western. They don't want any kind of foreigner or Westerner in Somalia or involved at all. They want a Sharia state, and that's the overall motive.

But specifically at Westgate, they want to prove that they can strike in this way in a way outside Somalia that they have never been able to do before. So it's a whole new ball game at this level.

BLACKWELL: Stretching beyond 25 hours now.

CNN's Zain Verjee, outside of Westgate Mall in Nairobi, we'll check back. Thank you.

PAUL: Secretary of State John Kerry calls the attack there an unspeakable evil. He released a statement. I want to read part of it to you. It says, "Attacks like this can't change who we are, a people committed to peace and justice for all, but rather must reaffirm our determination to counter extremism and promote tolerance everywhere," unquote.

BLACKWELL: Now, if you haven't heard of the militant group al- Shabaab before, here is some information. It's based in Somalia and has connections to al Qaeda. The U.S. has considered a terrorist group since 2008, and its main mission is to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist state. Al-Shabaab is believed to have carried attacks that have killed eight workers, journalists, civilian leaders, peacekeepers. It's raised tens of millions of dollars through extortion and illegal tax schemes, fees they levy.

The group is believed to have the most American members of any terror group. And a government report estimates 40 Americans have joined al-Shabaab over the last now years, nearly half of them from the Somali community in Minnesota.

And even though the mall massacre in Kenya happened half way aren't world, there is a central question that we're asking -- could it happen on American soil?

PAUL: Yes, how vulnerable are we?

CNN's Margaret Conley joins us live from New York.

So, what are have you learned about how secure our malls are and maybe some other soft targets here? MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christie, we've seen these attacks overseas on civilians in very public areas. We saw it in Madrid in '04, the bombings in London in '05. In this case in Kenya, Americans were involved. And that raises questions about whether or not this could happen here at home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY (voice-over): It may be more than 7,000 miles from Nairobi, Kenya, to the United States, but the mall massacre half way around the world couldn't bring a tragedy any closer to home.

Washington, D.C. resident Sara Head was inside the mall when shots were fired. She kept hidden in the stairwell, with dozen of others as the chaos unfolded.

SARA HEAD, WITNESS: So, I just waited in the stairwell for an hour and a half. There were two individuals with me that had superficial gunshot wounds -- well, individuals in the stairwell with me. They were not with me. But there was about probably, I don't know, 60 of us. There were a few floors worth of people.

CONLEY: The attacks on these soft targets raises questions about mall security on U.S. soil. Could what happen oversea happen here?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Soft targets are attractive because they're not defended. It's very effective way of causing a lot of panic, a lot of damage very quickly and achieving objective of terrorizing people.

CONLEY: Back in this country, one mall that puts its security front and center is Minnesota's Mall of America, one of the largest enclosed shopping centers in the country, visited by 42 million people a year.

DOUG REYNOLDS, MALL OF AMERICA: I think that if you're looking for 100 percent safety, you should probably wrap yourself in a bubble wrap and never leave home.

CONLEY: It even has something many government facilities do not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a drill. Mall of America is now going into lockdown.

CONLEY: Twice a month, without fail, its tenants and its customers participate in a lockdown drill, practicing how to shelter in back rooms of stores to try to prevent casualties in an attack.

REYNOLDS: If something bad should happen here, we don't want our response to start with law enforcement will be here and they will protect you. We want to know what can be done until law enforcement get here.

CONLEY: Even with heightened security and awareness of your surroundings may be your best defense. TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: For the average American citizen, you go to the grocery store. You go to the gas station. You go to the shopping mall. You go it a movie theater. You take walks in your neighborhood.

Any one of those situations could make you vulnerable if other people or another person is out there determined to conduct an attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY: Now, Tom Fuentes also went on to say that you could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another security analyst that we talked to, they said the only thing the public can do is really strengthen our resolve.

BLACKWELL: Hey, Margaret, we're using this term soft target. I want to make sure everyone knows what we're talking about. So, take a couple of seconds and clear up for us the difference between a soft target and a hard target.

CONLEY: Victor, a hard target is something that the average person doesn't have access to. Things like military bases or the White House or the airport when you go through that security clearance check, all those long lines and once you're in there, that's a hard target area.

The soft target area is the outside part of the airport, where you're checking in. Anyone can answer that area. So, it's places like that and malls and the movie theaters and groceries stores.

PAUL: Sure.

BLACKWELL: And places a lot of people will be on a weekend -- movie theater, mall, supermarket.

PAUL: Margaret Conley, thank you so much. We appreciate the report.

BLACKWELL: Well, this morning massive evacuations are under way in China as a powerful storm approaches. It's typhoon Usagi. It's expected to make landfall within just a few hours. It's packing winds above 100 miles per hour.

Usagi has been downgraded from a super typhoon, equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. But officials still warn that strong winds and heavy rain could cause flooding and landslides. According to China's state news, more than 50,000 disaster relief personnel have been deployed.

Well, closer to home, summer is coming to an end.

PAUL: Woo-hoo! I love it!

BLACKWELL: Yes, I can't really say that I'm not sad to see it go. It wasn't really that bad, but I'm so excited for fall.

We have a few hours until it's official, but a lot of the country, a lot of communities are starting to feel that autumn chill.

PAUL: Yes, but I know a lot of you are waking up this morning, I can see rain and thunderstorms.

What is that about?

Alexandra Steele, help them out there.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And that's the delivery of the one-two fall punch.

Hi, everyone. Good morning to you, guys.

All right. Look, around 4:00 this afternoon fall officially comes into town, wherever you maybe. But what we're seeing is this cold front passing through the country. And as it does, cooler, drier air you behind it, thus the taste of fall for many of you.

In Upstate New York, in northern New England, and maybe the Berkshires, down to the Appalachians.

So, there is the front clearly delineated with the clouds and showers. You can see New York City out of it already. It's east of you, Boston, the Cape, still the rain with you.

But again, quickly moving to the east and behind it cooler, drier air. A little bit of a breeze we'll see throughout the afternoon. From Norfolk South, maybe you're in the outer banks, you're kind of holding on to the last vestiges of clouds and showers with this. And here along the Gulf Coast, rain showers. Jacksonville in and out of the weather all day.

So, the big picture, of course, there is the cool air behind the front. Pretty beautiful around much of the country for first day of fall. In the Northwest though, showers and storms coming in and also in the Intermountain West, the line of showers.

Here's the difference between yesterday and tomorrow. So, quite a difference about 10 degrees in Boston, even more. New York, Pittsburgh, Washington, as well. So, a first peek of fall. A little bit of chill in the Northeast, a frosty morning.

But, guys, it bodes well for beautiful, clear foliage. That's what we need. Very cool nights. Frostless nights but sunny, dry days.

PAUL: Love it. Alexander Steele, thank you.

STEELE: Sure.

PAUL: All righty. Still to come, President Obama is speaking out about the violence this weekend in Chicago. And now his new push for stricter gun control.

BLACKWELL: Also, a new interview with Hillary Clinton has a lot of people asking, all right, does this now mean these going to launch another bid for the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Thirteen minutes past the hour right now.

And later this morning, President Obama is going to speak at a memorial for victim of the Navy Yard shooting in Washington. Now, last night, he addressed the recent shooting in his hometown of Chicago.

BLACKWELL: And the president and first lady were at a Congressional Black Caucus foundation gala. That's in D.C.

Now, the president used the opportunity to renew his call for stricter gun control measures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fought a good fight earlier this year. We came up short. And that means with we got to get back up and go back at it because as long as there are those who fight to make it as easy as possible for dangerous people to get their hands on guns, then we've got to work as hard as possible for the sake of our children. We've got to be ones who are willing to do more work to make it harder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The president also blasted Republicans for, as he called it, governing by crisis over the possible government shutdown and attempt to defund Obamacare.

PAUL: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton back in the spotlight with a new interview in "New York Magazine." And even though it's still a few years, obviously, until the next presidential primary, a lot of people are talking about another run -- perhaps?

BLACKWELL: Yes. It seems like she stepped out of the spotlight just for like a couple of days and now she's back in.

PAUL: I know.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Erin McPike is live from Washington with us for this.

Erin, every time we hear from her, there are people in the room are asking, so is this the pseudo announcement? Are we going to hear it now? And now, we're waiting for that result, or the content of this article.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Victor, I'm sure we're not going to hear that she's running in this interview that is posting just here in about 45 minutes at 9:00 on "New York Magazine's" Web site. But it's never too early to start speculating.

Of course, just several years ago she said absolutely not she wasn't going to run again in 2016. But now we're not so sure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): Here is a fun political parlor game -- will Hillary Clinton run for president in 2016? Well, here she is laughing it off through the years.

In 2011.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: No. No.

MCPIKE: Then, 2012.

H. CLINTON: You know, I've said I really don't believe that that's something I will do again.

MCPIKE: And finally this year to CNN.

H. CLINTON: I have absolutely no plans to run.

MCPIKE: Of course, plans change. Not everyone believes these denials and she's crushing the competition in full including a poll released earlier this week that shows 65 percent of Democratic voters would pick her to be the party's next presidential nominee. Even her husband says he doesn't know her plans.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: These polls don't mean much. We're a long way ahead. I think she'd be the first to tell that you there's no such thing as a done deal ever.

H. CLINTON: It would be a probably good idea to just find out how tired I am.

MCPIKE: That was right as she was leaving the State Department after decades of public service and circling the globe. But that down time didn't last long.

H. CLINTON: I reject that. I think they are in effect propping up the regime at a time when we should be working on a political transition.

Thank you all.

MCPIKE: There's no question she's keeping the guessing game alive.

Here she is granting her first interview since stepping down and secretary of state to "New York Magazine".

STU ROTHER: I think there's no reason for her to call attention to her mulling over a presidential run. I think most of us do this for a living. Figured she was doing that. And there's no need to go on the record.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MCPIKE: And if you haven't seen enough of her, well, on Wednesday, she'll be in New York speaking again on behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative and, of course, we at CNN will be covering that, too -- Victor and Christie.

PAUL: All right. Hey, Erin McPike, thank you so much. Good to see you this morning.

BLACKWELL: So flying hamburgers --

PAUL: You're setting up me (ph).

BLACKWELL: -- chickens, Elvis impersonators. Listen, this is a real summer competition. It is a lot of fun. I'll tell you what is going on here in a moment.

PAUL: But if you're shopping for a fur coat people, whatever you do, do not go to West Hollywood. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BRESAK)

BLACKWELL: Twenty-one minutes after the hour now. Good to have you on NEW DAY SUNDAY.

The only fur coats that you'll find in West Hollywood these days will be on living, breathing animals, that's because the city has enacted this fur ban. You can't sell anything that is made of fur, went into effect this weekend.

PAUL: Yes. As he said, it applies to anything. We're not just talking about coats, but shoes, you know, boots, gloves. The city's mayor is a huge animal rights supporter, and he introduced this measure and voters passed it two years ago.

BLACKWELL: "Reuters" reports 83-year-old billionaire George Soros is once again a married man. The investor tied the knot for the third time this weekend. He married a 42-year-old Tamiko Bolton, a health care and education consultant. Now, the wedding was a small family affair at Soros' not so small estate in Bedford, New York.

PAUL: All right. You know summer is over, officially ended yesterday. Cooler temperatures. Changing leaves. This is what it's all about it.

BLACKWELL: I love it. But summer went out with a bang or it was more like a splash at yesterday's annual flugtag competition. I say it again, flugtag.

PAUL: Very nice.

BLACKWELL: And this is real. People have taken time to build these, these homemade flying craft. We can't call them a machine. They go off a 30 foot ramp into the waters below. Some are shaped like hamburgers. Some like chickens. Here, take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: In National Red Bull Flugtag, the only rules are: one pilot over 18 years of age, four people to help in the takeoff, a max wing span of 28 feet, max weight 400 pounds, and it has to be completely human powered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on!

BLACKWELL: The pilots launch their flying machines off a 30 foot ramp into the waters below. For some, success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a little wind. There it is. There it is.

BLACKWELL: And for others -- defeat.

The prizes vary from a team skydiving exertion to sporting and music event tickets.

What are the judges looking for? Well, first, distance.

Creativity.

And, of course, showmanship.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: You at least want to get off the platform. The team that actually flew backwards, that is disappointing.

PAUL: Yes, I know. I think it's just as fun to listen to everybody's reaction. Oh, yes!

BLACKWELL: You know, I think it would be fun to just build one of those things. A couple of months in the summer.

PAUL: And then pay somebody else to do this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

It looks like a fun event to see all the people in the boats there.

Here's another serious question. We've been following the breaking news all morning. A lot of people are maybe heading out to the malls today. The question is, could a mall attack like the one in Kenya happen here at home? Just ahead, we're talking live with an expert about mall security across the U.S.

PAUL: Also, world leaders are gathering in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. And the one big issue on their plate is Syria. We're going to break down what could happen here. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAUL: Bottom of the hour right now. So, grab your coffee and your breakfast. Sit back and relax. We're going to let you know what's going on in the world. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.

We're going to start with five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Up first, the death toll at the mall in Kenya jumped to 59 this morning. CNN confirms between 10 and 15 terrorists were involved in the attack at Westgate Mall. Some are still inside. They've got about 30 hostages this morning. That's according to Kenyan and western diplomatic sources.

PAUL: Number two, more than 61 people are dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside of a church in Pakistan. A hospital official tells CNN more than 120 people were injured and witnesses say some of the victims are children. No group has claimed responsibility for that attack.

BLACKWELL: Number three, President Obama will speak at a memorial today for the victims of last week's Navy Yard shooting. The service will be held at the U.S. Marine barracks in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Twelve people were killed after a former navy reservist began shooting at random, it seems, inside the Navy Yard.

PAUL: And number four, Hong Kong is readying for a major storm this morning. Thousands of people have been evacuated as typhoon Usagi gets ready to slam China's coastline. Now, this storm is expected to make landfall within hour. (INAUDIBLE)

BLACKWELL: Five now, French officials found, look at this 1.3 tons of pure cocaine hidden inside 30 colorful suitcases traveling from Venezuela to France. Street value, $270 million.

PAUL: OK. I want to get more chilling details for you on that terror attack at a mall in Kenya. Earlier today, I talked to a "New York Times" photojournalist who witnessed that carnage.

BLACKWELL: Yes, his name is Tyler Hicks. And actually, he went into the mall after the shooting as people were filing out. He started there taking pictures of the scene.

Listen to this conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER HICKS, PHOTO JOURNALIST, NEW YORK TIMES (voice-over): I happen to be close by to Westgate Mall when the violence broke out yesterday. And as I approached the mall, I could see lots of people running away. And as I got closer, it was clear that there were people who had been shot. I saw people who have been shot in the stomach and the leg. Dozens of injuries streaming out among just terrified civilians. I continued to move along carefully along the front of the mall where I saw three men who had been killed just at the front entrance of the mall -- One of them still inside the car that he had been driving. And continue to proceed up and into an upper parking garage where I again saw more people streaming out. The police and army who were working there were desperately trying to get people evacuated out of the building.

I saw this as an opportunity to get inside to go against the flow of the people and into the mall and to see what was going on inside. And that's really where we got a real sense of how bad things were.

Even after being there an hour, hour and a half, two hours, people continued to suddenly come out of shops. They had barricaded themselves inside by locking the doors or by pulling the metal gates down in front of the store front windows. And that was, you know, every 15 or 20 minutes suddenly you would see you know 20, 30, 50, 100 people would come out of another place who are just terrified. You know they -- even though they could hear that there were people outside, they couldn't really tell who -- if that was the police or the army. They were just petrified and staying low which is really the right thing to do.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Can you imagine the people who are in these stores? They have lock themselves away hoping that it ends soon. Shopping malls, shopping centers, they're known as soft targets in security lingo.

PAUL: Big crowds inside large buildings basically but how do you secure them with the constant kind of in and out of traffic and of shoppers in a place that you're supposed to be able to just go.

BLACKWELL: Yes let's try to get some answers this morning from Robert McCrie. He is in Chicago, he's a professor of security management there at John J. College of Criminal Justice. Professor it's good to have you.

I want to first talk about the differences between what we've already talked about this morning, the Clackamas shooting in Oregon in 2012 and what we're seeing in Nairobi and the approach and how they're different -- if you could talk to us about that.

ROBERT MCCRIE, JOHN J. COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: There are enormous differences. The context is different. One is east Africa and the -- where there are Islamists, al-Shabaab seeking to overthrow the government and are losing in the process. And this is the United States of America. The -- the mall security issues are quite different.

In this country, you should shop until you drop but not drop from a bullet, but drop from exhaustion. It's still safe here.

PAUL: But is there any practical way, you know, to keep terrorists out of a mall if the whole point is, you know, open access for customers. Come on in and spend time with us. What practically can you do?

MCCRIE: Yes. Yes because -- but actually malls have limited accesses. We may have several of them but they are not infinite the way a downtown area is. Therefore access control can be alert. There can be the sense of watching people coming in who don't fit the profile of usual customers and then taking response to it.

But the thing to remember is that as a result of this, these horrific issues, these horrific pictures that "The New York Times" photographer has produced, it's going to create some pressure on mall security in this country as well to make sure that there are evacuation procedures that have been tested, that there are lockdown procedures that there is coordination with police and other special resources to keep the places safe.

BLACKWELL: So those are the responses after there is a shooter in the mall, whether this person is there for political reasons or mental health reasons. You're a professor of security management, I want you to look at just kind of the average mall in the U.S. and give me a tick through list of what you would change to keep that shooter out if there are things you can do.

MCCRIE: It's a matter of watching the exterior. Who comes into the store? What are their characteristics? Are they dressed differently? Do they -- do they act differently? And right at that point, we have good communications within malls. Security should be trained to deal with this very unlikely event. But we had mall shootings in this country as well. But they are -- they are rare. Nonetheless, malls have to be prepared for them.

BLACKWELL: All right. Robert McCrie, professor of security management at John J. College. You always have to be prepared. I think there's not so much we can do to keep the people out of the mall. Thank you so much for your insight this morning.

MCCRIE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: In a nearly unprecedented move, a college football game was such a crushing blowout.

PAUL: I feel so bad --

BLACKWELL: That team just said, you know what? We're just going to go ahead and just pack it up.

PAUL: Oh, no. Plus -- ok, tonight is the night, the Emmys. Who will walk away with gold? We have a preview of the big show for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: There it goes.

BLACKWELL: Yes, pictures here of a major demolition that happened a few minutes ago in Houston. I was waiting there because I was hoping we would hear it. But I don't know what that squeaky thing was. City landmark coming down -- this is the Macy's Department Store.

PAUL: Yes. You know, residents you grew up with this iconic ten-story building, they stopped by before the demolition. They took pictures. That thing is being replaced by the way by a new retail development.

BLACKWELL: It is now week four of the college football season and the biggest programs are hitting the midseason stride.

PAUL: Yes and not good news though if you're a fan of some of the smaller schools.

Joe Carter -- Carter is, has all highlights.

BLACKWELL: You always say that. Even when we're off camera and I appreciate that.

PAUL: Because I -- you know why because I say, Mr. Carter And he had no idea what I was talking about that's how old I am.

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: I didn't see the show. I'm sorry.

BLACKWELL: But you know it now though.

CARTER: Yes I do now.

BLACKWELL: Ok.

CARTER: I'm very well aware of Mr. Cartier.

I know when you talk about big schools going against little schools the first instinct is to feel sorry for little schools.

PAUL: Yes.

CARTER: Because they get beat up on. But remember, they get paid big, big money -- big money to go out there and get absolutely destroyed. You know the first few weeks, a lot of great matchups in college football. This week though, more of a chance for these national powers to more or less pad their stats and get an easy win.

I mean take this for example the Miami Hurricane, they set a school record for most points ever scored in a game for their university. They crushed Savannah State 77-7. And it was such a blowout that both teams, both head coaches decided to shorten the fourth quarter by three minutes and then just keep the clock running without stopping it.

And in the Ohio State game, the Buckeyes, they beat Florida A&M 76-0 -- 76-0 and their backup quarterback set a school record with six touchdown passes all of them came in the first half. It's Ohio State's most lopsided win since 1935.

And there is a theme to this hit. See in the Louisville game, they put 72 points on FIU, this win obviously very good for their quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. His four touchdown afternoon put him back in the Heisman conversation.

So basketball scores, more or less. And also real quick guys, in golf, Henrik Stenson starts the day as the lead in the tour championship. And what's being called the UFC fight of the year, John "Bones" Jones won last night but he was carried out on a stretcher. You can read a lot more about both of those things at BleacherReport.com. That's your update guys -- back to you.

PAUL: All righty thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you Joe.

CARTER: You bet.

BLACKWELL: World leaders are gathering at the United Nations general assembly this week big issue to discuss, of course, Syria. We're going to break down what could happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: 46 minutes past the hour and world leaders are going to come together this week at the United Nations General Assembly giving speeches, setting goals. But the General Assembly is also known for some pretty heated, awkward moments.

BLACKWELL: Yes, let's take this one -- last year when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a cartoon bomb to call for red line on Iran's nuclear program. How about 2011 when the delegates walked out of the General Assembly there during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiery speech against the U.S., Israel and Europe. And actually I think they walked out more than once in history on Ahmadinejad.

PAUL: Yes. So we want to get a preview of this year's General Assembly. And we have CNN's Ivan Watson for that. Ivan, good to see you -- what's on deck?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Hard to know what surprises the world's heads of state will have for us this coming week. But already the leaders are starting to pour in. I was walking down the street just a few blocks from our bureau yesterday and suddenly everybody around me was speaking Turkish because the Turkish president was arriving at his hotel -- lots of plain clothes and security officers from Turkey.

The main crisis that the world is still dealing with is, of course, the allegations that the Syrian government killed 1,400 of its own civilians with chemical weapons. And Moscow has been talking. The Russian foreign minister being quoted on his Web site in an interview accusing the U.S. of blackmail, arguing that the U.S. is threatening to pull out of a recent agreement between Russia and the U.S. on disarming Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons if Russia doesn't agree to sign on to a United Nations Security Council resolution that would -- threatening use of force if Syria doesn't completely comply with disarmament. So the Russians taking more stabs at the U.S. though Sergei Lavrov, that top Russian diplomat also suggested that Russia would be willing to send perhaps troops or military police to help protect any disarmament experts that eventually could get on the ground in Syria to remove that deadly arsenal of chemical weapons like sarin.

BLACKWELL: Well, there's another possibility -- possibility there could be a conversation between the new president of Iran and President Obama. We'll see if that happens.

Ivan Watson, thank you so much.

This week -- former President Bill Clinton caused a little bit of buzz when he told CNN he did not know if his wife plans to make another bid for the White House in 2016.

PAUL: Come on, he doesn't know if she's going to make a bid?

BLACKWELL: That's what he said.

PAUL: All right. Maybe she doesn't know is what he's trying to say. But people are certainly asking whether Hillary Clinton is, in fact, planning a run for president.

BLACKWELL: All right. Listen to what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said about her when she sat down with CNN anchor Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: She has by dint of her experience as a senator, as a secretary of state, as a first lady herself with participating the way she did. Certainly with all due respect to our President and I think he's magnificent and wonderful and a blessing to us, but certainly more prepared than President Obama, certainly more prepared than President Bush. Certainly more prepared than President Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Candy joins us now from Washington. Candy, in the latest CNN poll, Hillary Clinton has a 65 percent advantage against the other possible contenders? Which politician would walk away from that?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: Anyone that had been in the limelight and hasn't always been a kind limelight and one who, by the way, was seen as a sure bet the last time around and was beaten by a senator who had been a U.S. senator for two years.

So there were lots of cautionary tales. She's well aware of them. But there is that bold history, that whole -- you heard some of that enthusiasm from Nancy Pelosi. Because there is that first woman thing and if you looked around the landscape many people think she is the surest thing.

But again, she was a sure thing a while back. So there are lots of things to consider. She's in a different point in her life. She'll be 69 when she ran. And although, you know, 69 is a new 30 or something, it's still -- you know, when you look at other things in your life. So I think there are things to think about but I think the pull of history is pretty strong.

PAUL: All right.

BLACKWELL: Candy makes a good point. In 2007 we were doing Hillary-Rudy polls to determine who would have the advantage in the race in 2008. Candy Crowley, thank you.

CROWLEY: Thank guys.

PAUL: Stay here for "STATE OF THE UNION" by the way with Candy. It starts at the top of the hour, 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: And it's a big night in Hollywood. The Emmys are being handed out. We'll tell who you is battling to take home and coveted statue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Millions of fans will be watching the red carpet tonight for the fashions right before the 2013 Emmy awards.

(inaudible)

BLACKWELL: Anyway, yes. Me too.

The awards kick off at the Nokia Theater -- it's in Los Angeles.

PAUL: Yes. Well Kim Serafin is live from New York right now. She's the senior editor for "In Touch Weekly". Kim good to see you today -- I have to ask you, you know "Breaking Bad" is one of the most talked about series right now. But is that going to translate to a win tonight, do you think?

KIM SERAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": This is the show, obviously, that has all the buzz. This is what everyone is talking about. Plus it did benefit from the fact that it was starting the final episodes just as the ballots were going out for the Emmys. So even though people love "Homeland", even though there's a lot of other shows out there that could potentially get this. "House of Cards" obviously -- the whole Netflix affect -- people are talking about.

I think "Breaking Bad" right now just does have that momentum. I mean people are just talking about it everywhere.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And let's talk about the category for best actor because Kevin Spacey in "House of Cards" is phenomenal. Do you think that series is going to walk away with as many awards as it's been nominated for?

SERAFIN: You know, again, I really think there is that "Breaking Bad" juggernaut right now. I really think that this has the momentum so I really think Bryan Cranston does get it. Again, of course "Homeland" and I'm a huge "Homeland" fan, so you still have the Damien Lewis factor, he did win last year. But I think because people are talking about "Breaking Bad" so much, I really think that Bryan Cranston gets it.

But yes, Kevin Spacey -- and you know, he is a big movie star, nominated for an Emmy award. And I think the Emmys often like it when movie stars are nominated for Emmys. That could also play in Kevin Spacey's factor. Plus, he is also great in "House of Cards". And I think there are people that are saying maybe the academy kind of wants to send a message that TV is changing with "House of Cards", with this whole Netflix effect.

So this is a wild card though. I really do think Bryan Cranston still gets best actor.

PAUL: Ok. So as you talk about Netflix and making these major strides of having a couple of shows up for an Emmy -- first time ever, of course, do you really think "House of Cards" is it? Do you think that's going to walk away with the whole shebang? What would that mean if it did?

SERAFIN: Well, definitely it would show that the TV industry is changing. Although I think that's already been proven by the fact that it's gotten so many nominations. I think people know TV is changing. And I think you're seeing that effect in all of the nominated shows.

Really because "Breaking Bad" even, because of the people talking about it, I think part of it is because of the Netflix effect with that. A lot of people who didn't watch "Breaking Bad" initially caught up because it's available on Netflix. So in a way, if "House of Cards" loses to "Breaking Bad", it was almost their fault because they put "Breaking Bad" on Netflix so people were able to kind of catch up with that.

So I think TV changed. And I think this year's Emmy awards are showing that completely.

BLACKWELL: I have to ask you about Kerry Washington. I have not been shy --

PAUL: Because he just wants to talk about Kerry Washington.

BLACKWELL: I've not been shy about my love of "Scandal". I don't watch it on television but Thursday nights 10:00 eastern, I was always watching "Scandals". Do you think that history in some way, her being the first African-American woman to be nominated for outstanding lead actress in a drama in 16, 18 years, will history play a role in the votes for that award?

SERAFIN: You know, yes, obviously if she won she would be the first African-American to win best actress. But I also think she is so good in the show. You are not the only person that is gathered around your TV to watch "Scandal". Everyone loves this show. It is great. It's got that soapy nature but she is so good in it. You can't even imagine the show without Kerry Washington starring in it. So I do think she gets it, for sure. And yes, it will be a nice history making thing as well.

PAUL: Ok. And special -- I understand a special tribute to actor Cory Monteith tonight? Is that right?

SERAFIN: Well, yes. You know, they always have that "In Memoriam" segment. Every award show does it. But this year what they're doing, they're doing something different. They're kind of taking a few different people and giving them kind of elevated memorial segments -- Cory Monteith is one of the people who's getting this.

But there's a lot of people that have said is this really the right thing to do? Is he as deserving as some -- as James Gandolfini or Gary David Goldberg, some of the other people who are getting these elevated segments? And then you're leaving out people like Jack Klugman or a Larry Hagman -- people who were such icons in the industry.

Cory Monteith could have been an icon -- obviously he had great potential but is he as deserving? He definitely appeals to a younger audience though.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We'll be watching. Kim Serafin thank you.

PAUL: And thank you for sharing your time us with here this morning.

BLACKWELL: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts now.