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Airport Machete Attack In New Orleans; U.S. Urges Americans To Evacuate Yemen; Nuclear Negotiations Between U.S. And Iran Take Five; Tunisian Authorities Arrest More Than 20 Suspected Mlitants; Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired March 21, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. To that bill, well, it never took flight. The lawmakers killed it.

All right, that is going to do it for us. So much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitefield. Thanks for being with me today.

Poppy Harlow is next.

[15:00:24] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. 3:00 eastern and it is shaping up to be a busy Saturday. We are following several major stories this hour.

We expect a news conference any moment to take place at the New Orleans airport. We are hoping to get new information on the person who is accused of attacking a TSA agent last night with a machete and also with spray. We're going to bring you that live as soon as we have it.

Also, the U.S. is evacuating a last American troops station in Yemen. Our Jamana Karachi has the latest for us. She joins us from Baghdad.

I know it is the middle of the night there, Jamana. We will get to you in just a moment.

Also, we are going to talk about the Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations, what is the latest, Erin McPike will join us from the White House for that.

But let's begin with Jamana live for us in Baghdad with more on this. Really, it seems like, Jamana, a sudden U.S. troop withdrawal from Yemen. We have seen this sort of pairing down over the past few months because of security concerns there, embassy closing, et cetera, but what is it that led to this sort of final evacuation of all of the rest of the U.S. troops on the ground there?

JAMANA KARACHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sources in the region, Poppy, familiar with the situation say that the U.S. is now in the process of evacuating these hundred members of these special operations force from the al-Anad air base in Yemen. They are saying it's not a specific threat that has led to the decision, but rather the overall security situation in that country. As you mentioned, the situation there have been deteriorating over the

past few months. Of course, we saw the evacuation, the shutdown of the U.S. embassy last month. There's been a lot of concern about how this is going to impact the U.S. counterterrorism operations there. As we know, the U.S. has been actively targeting the leadership of one of Al-Qaeda's top franchises, the most dangerous in the world. Al- Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, AQAP, and the political situation there, the political crisis had been worsening, the security vacuum also there in the country, the U.S. has lost its ally in recent months, the government of the president (INAUDIBLE), though, with a close U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism there pushed out by the Shia rebels. And there's been a lot of concern about how the U.S. will continue this fight against terrorism there. And, of course, these groups, the extremist groups like AQAP consolidating their presence in the midst of this instability in the country.

And, Poppy, a lot of concern about the emergence also possibly of ISIS there with those recent attacks we saw on Friday reportedly claimed by ISIS.

HARLOW: Yes, I mean, more than 130 people killed in the attacks yesterday at those two mosques there in Yemen. ISIS saying it is us. But here's the thing. I mean, it was less than a year ago that President Obama really hailed the cooperation between the United States and Yemen in terms of fighting terrorism saying this strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. So what does this do now to the relationship between the U.S. and Yemen?

KARACHI: Well, the U.S. was relying there on an ally that no longer has much power. Of course, the president Haddi (ph) there pushed out now in the southern part of the country in the city (INAUDIBLE) there. So, it's really unclear what the U.S. is going to be doing. If you look at there is really no government in that country at this point in time. The rebels are in control of Sana'a, but that does not mean they are a U.S. ally. They are believed to be supported by Iran, one of their main slogans is death to America, Poppy.

So, a lot of concern about what this means with no partner on the ground to help the United States in this fight depending on drone strikes alone is obviously going to be an issue in the fight against terrorism there. And, of course, this is not only an issue in Yemen only, Poppy. If you look at the rest of the region, also, a lot of concern about what's going on in Libya, too. So this instability in those post revolution countries in 2011 is a real concern for the United States and, of course, the global terrorism threat there.

[15:04:53] HARLOW: It is, absolutely. And add to that what happened in Tunisia, what we've seen as the one sort of success story in forming a new government after the Arab spring, that coupled with Libya, coupled with Yemen, it's a complete, complete mess.

Thank you so much, Jamana. Appreciate it very much.

Well, nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have taken a short break, but a noticeable upbeat tone. Iran's president today saying a deal is possible by the end of the month, but did note that those final steps and details will still be difficult. That optimism echoed a short time later by U.S. secretary of state John Kerry who is now in London for meetings with other negotiating partners from Europe including Germany and France. He said quote "substantial progress has been made in recent months." But he did cautioned that time is clearly of the essence.

And Erin McPike joins me who is at the White House with the latest -- Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, you should see some pictures there of John Kerry as he is meeting with his British, French, and German counterparts and briefing them on the intensive talks he had with Iran earlier this week. But as he said this morning, there are still some significant gaps that do remain on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Good morning, everybody. I just to say -- we recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now. And they do not get any easier as time goes by. It is time to make hard decisions.

MCPIKE (voice-over): With the U.S. and Iran planning on resuming negotiation next week, John Kerry says they have made progress as they try to put the finishing touches on the outline of a potential nuclear deal.

KERRY: In the days ahead, we will stay at this. We have not yet reached the finish line. But make no mistake, we have the opportunity to try to get this right. It's a matter of political will.

MCPIKE: With the deadline just ten days away, Iran's foreign minister assessed that progress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is possible at any time. It depends on the political route to reach one.

MCPIKE: He warned on twitter it's time for the U.S. and its allies to give a little to get a deal done. Major differences remain in a last ditch effort President Obama made his own appeal to the Iranian people warning no deal would make their conditions under western sanctions even worse.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran's leaders have a choice between two paths. If they cannot agree to a reasonably deal, they will keep Iran on the path it's on today, a path that's isolated Iran and the Iranian people from so much of the world, caused so much hardship for Iranian families, and deprived so many young Iranians the jobs and opportunities they deserve.

MCPIKE: The allies and Iran are still working on such issues as how long a deal would last, a system for verifying Iran is complying with the measures put in place, and not secretly developing a nuclear weapon, and when the tough sanctions against them would end.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes, and I think with some justification, that we need to see the Iranians demonstrate some sustained commitment to implementing the agreement before we talk about removing all the sanctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Now there is still significant opposition on Capitol Hill, but the White House did get some relief this week when the Senate Republicans decided to kick back a vote on acquiring congressional approval on any kind of deal that President Obama can reach until mid- April after the frame work of a deal would be reached by the end of March, Poppy.

HARLOW: That seems like a really big deal to me, Erin. Just as the fact that Corker and other Republicans said, all right, we are going to hold off for at least three weeks to see where this thing goes. Any idea why sort of the change of heart there?

MCPIKE: Well, there are Democrats who were opposed to this deal too, Poppy. But they have not liked the way this came together. And Democrats are listening to the White House when they say that having a vote before this deal would reach would have a profoundly negative impact on getting anything done. So at this point in time, Congress did listened to the White House on this one.

HARLOW: So wow about the back and forth between Netanyahu and the White House this week? President Obama calling him two days after he won that key election, a lot of people say, why wait so long. Also, using the word reassess when talking about the U.S.-Israeli relationship. You just wonder how that might impact negotiations with Iran.

MCPIKE: Poppy, what we are seeing is that it's crystallizing this opposition because, of course, Netanyahu now feels like he has a mandate, and he's going to do everything he can to stand in the way of this kind of deal. And Republicans, especially a number of Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, support him on this one.

HARLOW: All right, Erin McPike at the White House, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Also, new developments to tell you about today in that deadly attack at the museum in Tunisia. Reuters are reporting that Tunisian authorities have now arrested more than 20 suspected militants. This, three days after a gunman opened fire in the Bardo museum. Twenty- three 23 were killed, most of them foreign tourists, 44 others were injured.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Tunisians gather for a memorial mass today lighting candles to remember those victims. In an audio message, ISIS has claimed responsibility for this horrific attack saying the bloodshed is quote "just the start." CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of that message. All right. Another story that we are continuing to follow out of New

Orleans. We told you about the airport attack on a TSA agent at New Orleans main airport late last night. We are expecting a press briefing to find out how the victim is doing and what we know about the suspect. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:13:50] HARLOW: All right. A live news conference just got underway at the New Orleans airport where that horrific attack took place last night. Let's listen in to Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS: I want to thank the public and passengers who immediately after this event did not panic. They have worked with us and the airport, as you know, a lot of the flights moved from concourse B to concourse C. And everything went about as well as it possibly could go under the most difficult of circumstances.

So with that, I'd like to turn it over to Jefferson Parrish, the sheriff's office on Newell Normand, who was here last night. He has been working throughout the night with all the team of the first responders, and then we'll follow that with the acting administrator -- Sheriff Norm.

[15:14:29] SHERIFF NEWELL NORMAND, JEFFERSON PARISH. Thank you, Mayor. I really appreciate your comments and all of the comments of all of the participating agencies here. The airport officials were second to none, not any panic, acted in a deliberate way, made the airport safe and secure and immediately put plans in place to move incoming and outbound flights to a different concourse to that we can shut down and work through our crime scene issues that we had on concourse B.

To Mayor Yani (ph), I thank you as well as the PD. They showed up on mass. We accomplished a lot of things last night that we would not have been able to accomplish without the counter police, assistance, as well as FBI, ATF, and state police and so many others, and obviously, the TSA.

So, not unlike other incidents like this around the country, there was a desire on the airport officials and my part to get as much information in the hands of the media as possible in a very short period of time. Based on some original witness statements, there were a few things that were mentioned in the first press conference last night that were actually factually incorrect, and I would like to try and address those first.

There was not a member of the traveling public who was actually had a bullet graze wound. That was a mistake. And there was a couple of members of the public that had some cuts and bruises, none of which from the perpetrator. And I think that's how that story took off is they saw folks with a bleeding thumb and arm or something like that, and it kind of took on a life of its own.

The TSA agent that we put out, everyone thought that she had gotten hit by the machete. The fact of the matter is that while trying to -- she was being chased by the perpetrator with the machete. He was probably within three to four feet of her as they were running up the exit ramp to the concourse. The run -- running towards the officer. The officer began to fire because he was gaining on her very quickly. Fired the first shot, we believe in this point in time, we're not certain, is the one that actually struck the TSA agent in the triceps of her right arm.

There were two other shots fired by the officer. The perp was actually hit three times. So right now, preliminarily, that what we believe is that the through and through wound on the TSA agent actually struck the perpetrator as well.

So those were a couple things that initially that we had from witness statements. And then there were a couple other things that we cleared very late last night. When we got an opportunity early on in the evening to see the security video, as I said earlier, he came down one of the lanes. He ducked under one of the ropes, got into the TSA pre- lane, got out of the TSA pre-lane, got in a regular lane, and approached the first TSA agent.

He had a bag in his hand. And we didn't know that at first and, in fact, all the witnesses, obviously so, being chased with wasp stray and a machete, never noticed the bag. Once we were able to determined in security videos that he had a bag, we cordon that area off. And within probably 12 to 15 or so minutes, we begin to smell a gas smell. So we immediately moved all of the passengers that were outside of concourse B across the terminal building to the other side and cordoned that area off and called for our bomb squad.

Almost simultaneously, we found his car. His car was parked on the upper ramp. Once we were able to determine that he was to longer a taxi cab driver, we were looking for a taxi. We began running plates in order to determine any other cars that were abandoned, and we came across his car on the ramp.

The bomb squad went into the car, found some smoke bombs that you use at New Year's Eve and Fourth of July in the car. We also found three tanks in the trunk of the car in a settling (ph) tank, Freon tank and oxygen tank. And we don't know at this time what the intended purpose of those being in the trunk of the car actually are.

We also began, as I said, simultaneously, to process the bag. And we noticed a liquid was leaking out of the bag. And once the bomb squad cleared the automobile, we then moved to the bag. What the bag revealed was six half pint mason jars with cloth wicks into a liquid that we now know to be gasoline, which you would commonly refer to as a Molotov cocktail.

He had a barbecue lighter in the bag. He also had a letter opener, plastic, and there was some crushed powdery material found near his body with green fuses or wicks which we determined preliminarily at this point in time to be smoke bombs that had been crushed.

Obviously, he has been unconscious. He's still alive. We very much want the opportunity to talk to him. We're not sure that that's actually going to happen. His family has been very cooperative. We have been able to determine that there is a mental illness component here that's presented. They've been very cooperative. Some of the witnesses that the media have interviewed about his demeanor, we've been able to validate, very calm, cool, collected, nothing out of the ordinary. No one in this point in time has any notion as to what may have triggered this behavior. And not unlike dealing with the mentally ill, sometimes you will never know what triggers some of this type of behavior.

So I want to thank his wife and his kids. You know, they have been very cooperative with us. In fact, we made special arrangements for them to go see him at the hospital, which is against our policy. But because of the level of cooperation, the nature of the situation, the family being so forthright in cooperating with us, we all felt it was the right thing to do. He is a Jehovah's Witness. And so there's certain types of medical care that he's refused at this point in time. We're in constant contact with the medical officials at the airport.

Lieutenant Sleeve (ph), my officer, is doing well. We never want to have to pull our gun. I have to say in the case of a fairly large man with a machete and a can of wasp spray running towards you and right on the agent's tail so to speak, she did an incredible job. She stood her ground. She exhibited deliberate leadership in every way, shape, and form one can think of, and ended up having, unfortunately, to fire three shots.

You know, when you get into situations like this, bad things happen and good things happen. Unfortunately, he's injured, but fortunately, he did not seriously hurt anybody.

I have to say in summation as it relates to all of this, all the folks at the check point did everything humanly possible they could do in my view to make sure that the traveling public was safe. None of these people are armed with anything, just their hands. That's it. He's wielding a machete this long and spraying folks to disable them with wasp spray in the face so that they don't confront him and they don't get an opportunity to fight or encounter with him.

But they stood their ground as much as they could. And in many cases, delayed certain things, and I think caused some confusion to where he headed back up this exit lane right into our officer.

Had he made it down the concourse, who knows. You know, nobody will ever know. And I'm sure someone's going to ask that question. We just don't know. And we don't know what his intent was because we have not really been able to debrief this particular subject.

So with that, I think we have some other folks and TSA administrator.

MEL CARAWAY, ACTING TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Thank you very much. Let me simply add my thanks, mayor, sheriff, and executive director (INAUDIBLE), and to the board as well.

Yesterday was an example of what heroism is really about. I am so proud of Carol and the work force we have here at this airport. It's an example of what focus-to-mission is really about to secure the traveling public.

You know, immediately after this incident occurred, members of TSA in the work force were back on duty doing their responsibility of securing the traveling public. That's focus to duty. It's because of the training with the members and partnership here at this airport that a lot of folks' lives were saved. They practice monthly about evacuation drills and that was helpful.

Carol made it very clear about what needed to occur at the check point. It was that bravery, which leads me to the third point of leadership. That's really what it really comes down to. Both from the law enforcement perspective, what officer Sleeve did was just instinct. It was the responsibility that all law enforcement officers have, and she reacted swiftly, forcefully, and commanded the situation.

What we don't talk about often, and I think the sheriff simply alluded to it, is what happens after the fact? The passengers here were taken care of. There may have been delays, but people got to the next point because we're focused upon what that mission truly is about. Officer Sleeve took care of the scene. FBI was here as well. I've had conversations with them, they are actively involved in this investigation as well. And as the investigation moves down the course there, there's certainly more information that will be provided to everyone involved.

But more importantly, I can't tell you enough about how proud I am of men and women here at New Orleans international airport. Thank you so very much for your officers and what they've done. I appreciate it so very much.

Officers, TSA on the line -- I mean, what is important is this uniform is what you see to represent most often federal government. This is what you see. And because of the work that they do, we all can be safe. It's the confidence that they provide to the traveling public that goes sight unseen. I'm so grateful for each and every one of them for the work they do.

Thank you, Mayor, for the opportunity.

[15:27:22] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to say that I was very impressed by the performance of the first responders last night. In February, the chief of police hosted a joint group of our act of shooter drill at the school encounter. And we got to watch how all the agencies came together, got on the same frequencies, all started working together, and that's clearly what we saw last night. When I got the call at about 8:05 from my emergency operations director, he told me you better get to the airport, there's have been an incident. By the time I got to the airport --

HARLOW: All right, we will keep an eye on this press conference for you from the New Orleans airport. But few of the headlines here, the airport is safe, secure, and fully operational after the bravery of that TSA agent, Carol, you saw there, was someone, a man mentally disturbed, tried to attack her with a machete, and luckily, she survived. We are going to take a quick break. We will have much more on the

story as it develops in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:57] HARLOW: Well, from the chaos and terror breaking out at the New Orleans airport last night with a man trying to attack a TSA agent with a machete has emerged a hero by the name of Carol. She just spoke at the press conference in New Orleans. Again, she survived this attack attempt. I want you to listen to what she had to say about going through it and protecting the people around her at the same time.

CAROL RICHEL, TSA OFFICER: Well, all I have to say is TSA spends a lot of time having us trained, and we trained and trained unbeknownst to a lot of people, so we are trained to how to react to different situations. When this all started happening coming down, it was second nature. You know, we -- we want to make sure the passengers are safe. And so we tell them, run, run, you got to get out of here, run. And with that, we know they are leaving. And we know we count on the ones there with the weapons to be able to protect us. And so I have to say officer Sleeve is my hero. She saved my life. The man was within inches of whacking me with machete, and she did saved my life and save probably a lot of others, not to mention a lot of injuries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you describe what happened? What did you see?

RICHEL: What I saw originally was one of the officers getting sprayed with the wasp spray. He took a bag and threw it at the guy, which is slowing him down enough that when he came through, and I was yelling for everybody to clear the check point, and then we all took off and ran towards her, and I was calling run, run for them to get away from him. And I was calling for the (INAUDIBLE) so she was there and alert, and she just -- she save a lot of people's lives.

This man was swinging very hard, very hard with that machete, and if he would made contact with anybody, it would have been terrible. And I just feel like our job as TSA is to protect the passengers, and I'm proud to say they were protected. I did not hear him say anything. I looked over the shoulder, and once I yelled for the check point to be cleared, I looked over my shoulder, and he was coming after me, and I ran as fast as I could. And thank God, you know, the officer was as close as she was because I wouldn't be here today.

Yes, I did. It's fine. It's the bullet went through here and here, and I was fortunate that it just -- it went through the triceps but hit no tendons. You know, did not hit the bone. I'll be fine. I'll be fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you realize how close?

[15:34:43] RICHEL: I did. Originally, I thought the machete hit me. I did not realize it was a bullet until I got to the hospital because I do better not looking at an injury -- and so I knew he was close, so I honestly thought he hit me, and she shot him. And once I got to the hospital, I saw the two holes and the two holes in the shirt, and so, you know, all else I can say is thank God she was there. Like I said, she my hero.

And I want to also thank my TSA family. My screening manager was there immediately. And when I went to the hospital, he made sure that somebody came there, one of my dear friends was there with me to get me home, another friend who was in Arkansas got a call from somebody here, and she sent her husband there to the hospital to make sure I was OK. We've had a very tight-knit group and a very great group. A lot of support.

CARAWAY: I had a chance to talk to quite a few of the officers this morning. And I come to find that Carol is very well respected throughout the work force here at TSA. And what really provided a great deal of motivation for the officers is the fact she's here today and came to see them, and that speaks volumes.

RICHEL: There were -- thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

HARLOW: All right. There you heard it, in her own words. Carol, the TSA agent who a mentally ill man tried to attack with a machete last night at the New Orleans airport is fine. She was actually grazed by a bullet coming from a police officer who was able to shoot and take down that suspect. She is calling that police officer her hero. The police officer also, a woman, hopefully the two of them get together.

Sashta Darlington joins me now. What an amazing story of survival, keeping all the people there, the passengers safe as well from this mentally ill man. We just listened to a long press conference from the mayor there of New Orleans, the sheriff of Jefferson Parish. What stood out to you in terms of new details about the attempted attack?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's interesting. They said that Richard White is still unconscious so they have not been able to interview him. But they said the family is cooperating, and that they immediately got access to the car, and what they barely was a revealing. Not only where these large tanks of gas that they still are not quite sure what they were going to be used for, but they found six Molotov cocktails, and that, of course, does not sound so good. So this was a man armed not only with a very large machete and insecticide, basically bug spray, but also these Molotov cocktails.

As soon as he is well enough, if he is well enough to interview, that will give us more details about his state of mind and what his motivations were. But I think the fact he had other weapons in the car lets us know straight away that this was not something that just set him off. He was planning something.

HARLOW: Intentions, they said they also had found a plastic letter opener, some smoke bombs. What they did say is that the family is cooperating, being very helpful, and the man is, indeed, mentally ill.

DARLINGTON: Exactly. And I think from the very beginning they said this looks like an isolated incident. We don't think we are talking about a case of national security. But with the suspect unconscious, it's going to be hard to get to the - the real core of this. What was the motivation? Especially because you've seen in reports of local media, he was such a nice man. He was such a quiet man. So where did this come from? And that's, of course, what we've all been asking.

I have seen reports, though, that his condition is improving. He underwent surgery, and he is improving. So there's a chance that we will hear from him why he was there and what he was going after.

HARLOW: And they want to know is potentially anyone else was working with him, does not look like it, but they want to know everything they can. But also, just to highlight there, the danger that TSA agents are in. This is not the first time. November 2013, a TSA agent attacked and killed at the Los Angeles airport. Remember, they are not armed.

DARLINGTON: Exactly.

HARLOW: So, we will be talking a lot more about the shots. And thank you very much. Many more details on this coming up here at the top of the hour, 4:00 p.m. eastern.

But we do want to get in some other news including this. He is taking heap from some and garnering applause from others about serving up straight talk with your coffee. Ahead, my conversation with the Starbucks' CEO on why he is working to get people talking about race relations in this country. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:26] HARLOW: An effort to talk about race relations in America over a cup of coffee sparked debate online and offline. This week, Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz, launched the race together campaign. Hoping to start a conversation about race where he say can voluntarily write race together on cups of coffee if they want. They also encouraged to talk about it in the source, the customer and with each other.

Some have taken at social media arguing the company overstepped its boundaries. Others say more CEOs should speak out like this.

Earlier this week, I spoke with Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, and I asked him why he took this on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD SCHULTZ, CEO, STARBUCKS: I was, like many of us in the country, watching the cultural divide and the racial issues in Ferguson and New York and Cleveland and most recently in Madison, Wisconsin, and as a result of that, I decided to have a series of town hall meetings internally at Starbucks. And all of the meetings, they were unscripted, but yet they were all the same, and that was people sharing their life experience and with great empathy, compassion, and understanding, I think we all had a better understanding coming out of those meetings what it was like to be that person of color, to be that person who is discriminated against. We all have unconscious bias, and perhaps through education and

understanding we would be able to move the country forward. We're not going to solve the race problem, but perhaps by leaning into it, we can have a positive effect on a national conversation.

HARLOW: You know, Howard, you were quoted in a "Time" magazine article recently saying people warned you not to touch this issue, that it was just too hot button an issue and not to go near it. So, I'm wondering if you can you tell us who advised you of that, and why did you go ahead with it?

SCHULTZ: Well, first off, this an issue I brought into the board room over the last few quarters. And to the board's credit, they understood that this is an issue of facing the country, not only people of color, but the entire country, and perhaps we could have a positive effect. But certainly there were friends of mine and certain people at Starbucks who felt that this is not an issue that we should engage in, and I rejected that. I rejected that because if we all individually and collectively continue to be a bystander on something that is dividing the nation, where is this headed?

HARLOW: Let me ask you this, Howard. I was thinking about it. You're 61 years old. So you were 11 years old when the march in Selma happened. I wonder, when was your first experience witnessing racism?

SCHULTZ: Well, I grew up in federally subsidized housing, the projects in Brooklyn. All the buildings in the projects were made up from a very diverse group of people, all lower class and lower middle class. So I learned at the very early get, getting along, I was color behind. I didn't see color. And I did not see race at an early age. And that imprinted me with the love of empathy and understanding of how to get along with all kinds of people. So I have not had personal experiences of discrimination.

HARLOW: Right.

SCHULTZ: But I'm not coming at this because something happened to me. I'm coming at this because I'm looking at the landscape of the country, the outrage that is going on in cities across the country. Ferguson is not an out liner. This is happening in many places. And how much are we going to absorb and take before we take some steps as citizens, as businesses, as newscasters to do something that is positive opposed to being reactive in saying this is the way things are.

[15:45:16] HARLOW: Some people say, good, talk about it, and some people say the coffee shop is not the place for this, and they feel like this is the conversation that I want to have with my barista? What's your response to some of that concern that people say maybe this is just to the platform for such sensitive and important discussions?

SCHULTZ: All we are saying is in view of how serious the problem is, we are asking ourselves what can we do given the assets we have and what we do every day to try and elevate the conversation in a voluntary way. But, again, it's -- that is a small piece of the puzzle. The big piece of the puzzle is we're creating real serious content to be a tool for people to take home, to read, to understand, and perhaps one person in every store will be better informed than as a result of that have more empathy and understanding and compassion to others. If we do that, then the company's successful.

But this is not about the stock price or PR or marketing. I think this is a bigger issue. And that is that companies, I believe, have a deeper responsibility today to their people in the communities we serve, and I'm trying to use our scale for good. That's the bottom line.

HARLOW: Let me show you our viewers this "Time" magazine cover you were recently on. It shows a box unchecked for 2016 candidate. You and Starbucks have taken a clear position, progressive position on gun control, on gay marriage, on jobs, on wages, on veterans, and now on racism. To many, this sounds like a position list for a future presidential candidate. I know I asked and I'm going to ask again. Are you considering at all a run for the White House?

SCHULTZ: I have no plans whatsoever to run for political office. I'm very happy in the job I have, and I think I can use the position in the platform I have for good, and that's what I'm trying to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: So we are going to keep talking about this after the break. The question is, will this campaign work? Yesterday, Starbucks launched a partnership with "USA Today." You might have seen it in your paper.

And in an op-ed this week, the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called a wonderful, but flawed plan. My conversation with him next.

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[15:49:34] HARLOW: Before the break you heard from Starbucks CEO Howard shuts discussing the campaign the company is launching this week encouraging the people across this country to have frank conversations about race relations. Time magazine columnist and NBA ledge end Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote this about the move. Quote "I'm in awe that he is willing to endure the snarky ridicule and lame coffee jokes from pundits as well at the inevitable death threats from clueless trolls, all with nothing personally or corporately to gain and a lot to lose.

But while I'm in awe of his Hutzbah (ph). I'm also shocked that he thinks this will actually work. Even though Howard Schultz's idea may be flawed. He is acting out of the desire to help realize the vision of America to save it from its own worst impulses."

Earlier I spoke with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Joining me now is the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author of "stealing the game' and a true legend when it comes to the game of basketball.

Thanks for being with me, sir. I appreciate it.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, AUTHOR, STEALING THE GAME: Happy to talk to you.

HARLOW: You're also a columnist for "Time." And this week you wrote a column as we just told our viewers about Starbucks race together campaign. You call this a noble goal, but a flawed plan. Why is that?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I think that, you know, a coffee shop might be an awkward place to start discussions about race. You know, some people might be put off by it. And most people in Starbucks are usually -- they're strangers to each other. And it's kind of hard to cobble together a decent discussion.

I think those types of discussions would be much better suited for schools, like a civics class, or you know, just a public awareness type of situation where you talk to kids and students and get them to understand about each other.

In my book "Stealing The Game" I talk about how sports works as a medium where people from different backgrounds can get together and find out about each other because they have this one thing in common, that being the sport that they all love. So you know, I guess people who love coffee might get to a point where they can talk about race. But it's kind of a haphazard thing.

HARLOW: But you know, it's interesting. I interviewed Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks this week about it. And he said, look, this is not going to solve the race problem. And we're not a perfect company. But he kept reiterating, I cannot stand by and watch this happen in our country.

In your op-ed you say this is putting morality above profit. Are you glad to see the start, even if it's not perhaps in your opinion the right place?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I'm thrilled to see him trying to use whatever means he has in an effort to get this discussion started. I mean, I absolutely admire him for going out on a limb like that and trying to get a discussion started. That he is that concerned and that aware of how much of a problem this can be. And I commend him for that. I just had a little bit of criticism having to do with the fact that it's kind of tough to get something up and going in a meaningful way in a coffee shop.

HARLOW: You write in your piece, "I'm in shock and awe, in awe that the company is trying it, shocked they think it will work."

You know CEOs of different companies. I'm wondering if you think more CEOs should come out and do something like this.

ABDUL-JABBAR: I think a whole lot more CEOs should try to figure out a way that they can get this conversation going and have it be meaningful. I think that anybody, any businessman who has a lot of employees, can really make some headway here because the workplace now is so diverse, men, women, people of all descriptions and backgrounds, I think that the workplace would be a good place to start these types of things.

HARLOW: You point in your piece to a Harvard study. And you write, "the majority of white Americans don't think racism is still a significant problem." Kareem, what do you think the one most significant thing is that could be done in this country, some way somehow, to change that, to change things for the better?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Just to get people informed as to how bad it can be. I was surprised to see how many people were unaware of the things that were going on in Ferguson that had been going on for decades. Just a total trampling on the rights of black citizens in and around the Ferguson area. It was outrageous. It had been going on for a long time. But it was tolerated because people weren't aware of it.

So by talking about these things, we can effect change. And we can get people to a point where they understand that something has to change there. No one would tolerate that on an ongoing basis if they had any means of changing it. And I think that just the fact that these facts have come out and they're undeniable, maybe we can do something about it and start the movement toward inequitable and a fair society where everybody gets equal protection under the law.

[15:55:09] HARLOW: I'm glad we're having this conversation across the country.

Thank you so much for coming on with us, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I appreciate it.

ABDUL-JABBAR: It's my pleasure, Poppy. Nice talking to you.

HARLOW: You as well. Thank you, sir.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Well, coming up next we're going to let you hear from a hero. A hero from TSA who someone attempted to attack with a machete. Last night she survived and protected others. Her story in her own words next.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:57: 59] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, Jesse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a very active child. I was barely four when I lost my vision in my left eye. The following years I was so angry. This was an irreversible change.

Twenty-five percent of children ages five to 17 have a vision problem. How can you fully embrace all the opportunities available if you can't see them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep looking right at the light for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our program provides free vision screenings to all school-aged children in Mali County. We actually use advanced technology which allows us to test in seconds. Had this device been around when I was four years old, it could have saved my vision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The castle was sparkling clean.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter loves books. So when I got the letter, we were caught off guard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She came from a background as did I had pretty severe conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's four years old. And because they caught it early we can help her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just seeing her today with glasses knowing that her vision is going to be completely fine because we caught it? That's what we do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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