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Mexico Offers Reward for Information on Escaped Drug Kingpin; Will Iran Deal Be Completed?; Greek PM and Parliament in Showdown over Debt Deal; Man Arrested in Boston for ISIS Plot; Iraqi Forces Launch New Offense Near Baghdad; Malala Yousafzai Says Will Never Stop Fighting for Rights of Children; Japan Braces for Typhoon. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 13, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:19] MAX FOSTER, CNNI HOST: A new reward and a new warning, Mexico reacts after an embarrassing prison break by a dangerous drug lord.

ZAIN ASHER, CNNI HOST: A deal could be imminent in the Iran nuclear negotiations. We'll get you the latest on the talk from Vienna.

FOSTER: And we are live in Monroeville, Alabama. The birth place of activist Finch "to kill a mocking bird." The excitement and surprise over the new Harper Lee book.

ASHER: Want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Zain Asher.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Mexico is offering a $3.8 million reward for information leading to the capture of Joaquin Guzman, after his elaborate prison escape on Saturday. Officials released this recent photo of the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo. It shows that he had shaved head and face.

ASHER: Mexico's interior minister says that Guzman was actually wearing a monitoring bracelet and was under 24-hour surveillance when he escaped. Of course, that makes it all the more embarrassing that he did manage to escape. Now El Chapo heads the Sinaloa cartel.

And CNN's Jean Casarez reports his organization's multi-billion dollar operations have a very broad reach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Known as one of the world's most notorious drug king pens, an all-out manhunt in Mexico now ongoing for Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, believed to be the mastermind of the Sinaloa cartel. And his organization's influence is strong. According to law enforcement, it stretches far into the United States.

This video from 2013 shows a tunnel, allegedly built by the cartel from Tijuana to San Diego, one of several discovered since 2010, used for smuggling illegal drugs to sell on American streets. According to the U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, authorities seized eight tons of marijuana and 325 pounds of cocaine through that tunnel.

LAURA DUFFY, U.S. ATTORNEY: We warned the cartels directly. If you build them, we're going to find them. And when we find them, we're going to destroy them.

CASAREZ: But that isn't stopping the Sinaloa cartel. The department of justice describes it as one of the world's most prolific violent and powerful drug cartels, stretching their illegal business operations to states all over the country. Mexican cartels have a presence in more than 1200 U.S. cities.

DUNCAN WOOD, DIRECTOR, MEXICO INSTITUTE, WILSON CENTER: They get in through multiple different channels, they get in through small planes, they get in through tunnels under the border, they get in through cargo ships, and it's very difficult to actually stop the flow of illegal substances into a country when demand is so high for it.

CASAREZ: Even as El Chapo sat in prison, drugs still flowed into the U.S., $50 million of heroin was seized in New York, linked to Sinaloa and that was just in May. It was the largest DEA heroin seizure in New York State, fourth largest in the U.S.

U.S. officials say in 2014 El Chapo alone was responsible for 25 percent of the illegal drugs entering the United States, which primarily comes through a porous Mexican border.

WOOD: It tends to be smaller organizations at the local level that receive the drugs, and then distribute them and then send back the profits to Mexico.

CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Interior minister says prison officials must have conspired with El Chapo to help him break out.

ASHER: It's certainly very suspicious. Now, 49 people we know are being questioned. And actually, the director of the prison where El Chapo escaped has now been fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL ANGEL OSORIO CHONG, MEXICAN INTERIOR MINISTER (though translator): He must have been able to count on the complicity of the staff or officials of the prison. If his facts were to be confirmed, this would constitute an act of corruption, a lack of loyalty and treason to the people of Mexico and to members of the federal forces who with dedication and commitments, risk their lives to capture him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Joining me now from New York is CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos. Thank you very much for joining us, Danny. We've had the first

update, then, on the investigation. What was interesting about it for you?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What I would expect here is that the Mexican government is going to go back to some of the informants, and this was discussed during the press conference, that they're going to go whack do some of their original resources.

And last year in 2014, the Mexican government and the U.S. government through wire taps, informants and even cell phones seized from informants were able to gather considerable intelligence, especially in light of the fact that organized crime has not given up such good intelligence in Mexico. And with that intelligence, they were able to secure the capture of this defendant.

So I would expect that that's what was meant by that statement. They're going to return to those assets, return to those informants and see if they can get any Intel that will lead them to guess his next steps and where he might go.

[01:05:031] FOSTER: They described how officials must have been involved in this, must be complicit in this somehow. But it was all the suspects are being questioned right now. It sounds like really tough interrogation as well. Because we heard that the interior minister describes as treason anyone who was involved in this.

CEVALLOS: Well, they're not telling us anything we didn't already notice in some degree. You don't get a large tunnel with a motor vehicle on a track, usually, if you are just a prisoner operating alone. So we've long suspected since this came out that there was some conspiracy, some involvement, some official hand in this. The question is, to what extent. Certainly, from a construction perspective, it appears there was substantial infrastructure built for this escape. And that does not happen upon the acts of one man, not even two or three. The corruption in this case, likely, extends pretty far and pretty far up and down.

FOSTER: It's an incredible story just what happened in the prison, but now it's about the response, isn't it, absolute race against time. We know that they've set up checkpoints in the area, they bolstered the borders with the U.S. and Guatemala, for example, they've also put out this Interpol alert as well. How long do you think they've got before he really goes dark?

CEVALLOS: It's hard to say. I mean, this is somebody who would be able to go to virtually any Latin-American country, it's not confined to within Mexico. And we really can't ascertain the level of popular support, and by that, I mean support among people in other states, in Mexico, or even abroad.

And, given how elaborate this escape appeared to be, it's safe to assume that his future plans for staying out on the outside are equally as elaborate. I mean, we know from the way he lived in 2014 that he lived in multiple places in Mazak land (ph). And I'm familiar with the actual condominium building where he was apprehended in Mazak land (ph). And to build tunnels in that part of the city is no small feat. This is hardly a village. This is buildings, tall high rises, lots of concrete. The idea that somebody would have elaborate tunnel system in this area, not only demonstrates resources in terms of money but human resources in terms of those who would, can, and probably will help him.

FOSTER: OK. Danny, thank you very much, indeed.

We'll wait to see how the investigation unfolds from here. Thank you.

The search thus continue.

All eyes, meanwhile, on Vienna and Tehran right now as we await a possible deal on Iran's nuclear weapons program.

ASHER: And a diplomatic sources tell us it could be a done deal with in hours from now. The last stumbling block appears to be the arms embargo against Iran.

FOSTER: One Iranian official says getting this deal done depends on whether the negotiators want it badly enough.

CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson has more details for you now from Vienna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Monday started relatively optimistically. The belief was that a deal could be achieved relatively quick and perhaps the first indications we have that it wasn't going to be possible and the Chinese foreign minister (INAUDIBLE) Wang Yi before he went Chili said no deal is perfect and that if there were to be further negotiations they cannot and should not go on for a long time. And perhaps that was the indication that the day wasn't going to go so well, his indication there clearly that not everyone was going to get what they wanted from the deal.

But it began to become clear that there were two or three issues that were still sticking, still remaining to be resolved. They were an arms embargo that had been put in place on Iran through a U.N. Security Council resolution that was called into place for the sole purpose of bringing Iran to the negotiating table here. The Iranians have been saying they wanted the arms embargo lifted.

Now once there is a deal signed here, it goes quickly to the U.N. security council for another resolution to be framed. And the Iranian expectation was that they would get language in that new resolution that would see the arms embargo being lifted. That was a move too far for the United States. Also, the question of what is known here as PMD, Possible Military Dimensions. Has Iran used these nuclear technology to try to develop a weapon?

These have been issue and have been going on for some time and it seemed through Monday, that they weren't going to be resolved. Late into the night the talks have continued and are continuing towards this resolution of a deal. It seemed close early Monday, not so much by the end of the day.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Vienna, Austria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:10:15] ASHER: And we are waiting for word on a possible deal. If one does happen from Vienna, we will bring it to you live.

Now, here's a quick timeline on recent diplomacy on Iran as nuclear program.

Let's break it down. Between 2006 and 2010, the U.S. Security Council concerned Iran - were concerned that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. They passed six different resolutions targeting the country's nuclear program.

FOSTER: November 24th, 2013. The five U.N. Security Council members, Germany and Iran agreed to an interim deal essentially Iran's nuclear program and easing some sanctions so that a long-term agreement could be negotiated.

ASHER: Now, a year after that, some progress but no agreement. Talks were extended another seven months with a deadline set for the end of March.

FOSTER: On April 2nd, the U.S. and other world powers reached an agreement for the basis of a deal with Iran and aimed to reach a formal agreement by June 30th.

ASHER: And talks continued through June, and now we are still waiting on that final agreement.

FOSTER: So close.

ASHER: Yes. The goal post has moved several times. But perhaps in the coming hours we will get something.

FOSTER: (INAUDIBLE), they say something is coming out. It does look very festive (ph).

ASHER: There is one last sticking point remains, and that is the arms embargo issue with Iran. So we will see what happens with that.

FOSTER: More deadlines in terms of Greece. The Greek prime minister is facing a showdown with lawmakers over bailout deal (INAUDIBLE). Alexis Tsipras agreed on Monday to tough new reforms including pension cuts and higher taxes in exchange for a bailout of as much as $96 billion.

ASHER: And Mr. Tsipras he isn't out of the woods just yet. His next challenge is the fact that he has to convince parliament, the Greek parliament, to put base reform into law and pass them by Wednesday. Time is running out.

CNN's Isa Soares looks at how the news is being received at home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dazed and confused, Greeks woke up to a new reality with even more austerity and tougher reforms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is no good. This is left system for the people nothing.

SOARES: It's a stark contrast to the celebrations in Athens more than a week ago after a national referendum. Greeks voted no to an EU deal with even less austerity than today's agreement and even harder pill to swallow for many who had hoped for a different outcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had the same medicine two times before and failed spectacularly.

SOARES: Even before a deal was finally reached in Brussels, there was indignation in Athens and anger towards Germany's hard line blaring headlines, monster bailout, the Greece in Auschwitz.

For some, the latest deal was just too much. All these reforms could happen five years ago when people had some more money, now we're dry.

SOARES: As the details of the deadline trickled in, the mood went from shock to outrage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people of Greece already has already lose a lot of their rights all of that years that past. Now they lose everything.

SOARES: Some Athenians we spoke to are just resigned to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this deal was necessary in order to void chaos in Greece and (INAUDIBLE). It was almost the best possible under the circumstances.

SOARES: Now its leader is racing against time. Alexis Tsipras has only 48 hours to convince parliament to push these measures through or the banks will run out of cash.

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, GREECE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I have the feeling, the confidence and the hope that the 35 billion euro development package which we managed, along with the debt restructuring and the secure financing for the next three years will create the feeling among markets and investors that a Grexit (ph) is a thing of the past.

SOARES: No Grexit, but banks are still closed at least through Wednesday, and no sign of capital controls being lifted.

All this is adding pressure on the Greek people who are emotionally and financially drained by this crisis. They may not like the terms of this deal as the rally behind he shows, but even Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister who has fought every step of the way, acknowledges that this is the best possible outcome.

Isa Soares, CNN, Athens, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: I want to take you to the United States now where there has been a pretty remarkable story. A teenager has been found alive after surviving a plane crash in Washington State.

[01:15:02] FOSTER: Unbelievable. Well, sources say the 16 year old girl was flying in a small plane with her grandparents when it crashed on Saturday night. The girl told officials the plane flew into some clouds and then into the side of a mountain. She was able to get out and walk for two days through the woods, following the path of a creek that lead her to a liking trail.

ASHER: Two days, just incredible, by herself. And then she eventually came to a highway where a passing driver picked her up. Officials believe her grandparents did not survive the crash.

FOSTER: Now, New York City has just settled a multi-million dollar claim with the states of a man who died after a scuffle with a police officer.

ASHER: During an argument with the officer last July, Eric garner was wrestled to the ground. You see this video right here, they are pushing him on the ground. And then they held him in what was described as a chokehold. Garner repeatedly said while in that position, he said "I can't breathe. I can't breathe."

FOSTER: He died a short time later. Cell phone video that captured the confrontation went viral. The U.S. comptroller announced that the city will pay Garner's estate $5.9 million for damages related to his death.

Just ahead, the Trump factor. He is (INAUDIBLE) figure of course. And he's now drawing criticism from Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.

ASHER: And bookworms, the joys as the sequel to a classic novel goes on sale. We are live in Monroeville, Alabama, the hometown of author Harper Lee. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:25] ASHER: Welcome back, everyone.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has officially, yet another one, entered the Republican race for president. Walker announced his run on twitter on Monday. Later in the day he hosted an event attended by thousands just outside the city of Milwaukee. And he says he's ready to roll up his sleeves and fight. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My record shows that I know how to fight and win. Now more than ever. America needs a president who will fight and win for America! (APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Walker is the 15th declared GOP presidential candidate and has emerged as a formidable opponent to former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

FOSTER: Race is open. Donald Trump, of course, is one of those 15 Republicans who have officially thrown their hat into the race.

ASHER: That's right. The billionaire is getting backlash over his immigration rhetoric. But as this past weekend showed, he is certainly, in Trump style, not backing down.

Athena Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The silent majority is back.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump, far from being silent, is get being louder, drawing thousands in Phoenix, Arizona over the weekend with his bold rhetoric and sharing an unusual proposal to stop illegal immigration.

TRUMP: We charge Mexico $100,000 for every person they send over.

JONES: Offer enough more tough talk on the issue.

TRUMP: I respect Mexico, greatly, as a country. But the problem that we have is that their leaders are much smarter, sharper and more cunning than our leaders, and they're killing us at the border. And they're killing us in trade.

JONES: His speech interrupted by protesters.

TRUMP: I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here. I think so.

JONES: Trump also pointed to the recent prison break of Mexican cartel head Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, tweeting kingpins like him use the boarder unimpeded for the drug trade. Prominent conservatives challenging Trump's claims.

Rupert Murdoch who owns FOX News tweeting Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rates than native born. Trump, wrong.

And Republican presidential rivals saying he's hurting the party's chances in 2016.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he has hijack the debate. I think he's a wrecking ball for the future of the Republican Party with the Hispanic community and we need to push back.

JONES: With Democrats blasting his statements before the Hispanic group today.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one, not Donald Trump, not anyone else will be successful in dividing us based on race or our country of origin.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have just one word for Mr. Trump, Basta! Enough!

JONES: A Trump's adviser pushing back at the criticism.

MICHAEL COHEN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: He sparked a conversation about really immigration reform, and that's something that I don't think the Republican Party was prepared at this time for.

JONES: Right now, that conversation is having an outsized impact on the race for the White House. Even providing fodder to comedians, prompting a joke from David Letterman, playing off the 1980s film "three Amigos."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump has pissed off so many Mexicans that he's starring in a movie called "No Amigos."

(LAUGHTER)

ASHER: Also in the U.S., it has taken 55 years that Harper Lee has a new book on store shelves. The book only the second novel to be published by the reclusive author.

FOSTER: They said a watchman was found by Lee's attorney in a safe- deposit box last year. It is a sequel to Lee's1960 Pulitzer prizewinning American classic "to kill a mockingbird" which tackled U.S. base relations. And NATO became a critically acclaimed film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You decline inside of his skin, walk around in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Now in the U.S., it is just past midnight in Monroeville, Alabama. That is Harper Lee's hometown. It is also home to a bookstore known as old curiosities and bookshop where copies of "go set a watchman" just went on sale.

Now, this is what it looks like right now. These are live pictures. You see people cueing up there at the books right there.

CNN's Ed Lavandera, he is joining me now on the phone.

So Ed, you are in Harper Lee's hometown. I imagine there is so much anticipation. I can see the crowds on the screen, gathering to buy this boat "go set a watchman." I'm just curious what the reaction has been from the people you've spoken to about how Atticus Finch's character has been recast.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, you know, there are so many people who kind of see this novel shrouded in mystery, in intrigue. They've read some of the initial reviews that have already been published, which suggests that Atticus Finch, this beloved character that has been portrayed as this hero of this small Alabama town, Atticus Finch. They have monuments and statues and pictures dedicated to Atticus Finch throughout this small town in southern Alabama.

And many people say they're surprised by the twist and character development of Atticus Finch. According to this initial reviews of the book, Atticus Finch is not this beloved sympathetic character who was this the bastion of morality, but instead, a bigot and a segregationist. And that has a lot of people surprised by this development. Some people you talked to are worried about what it means for the way "to kill a mockingbird", the beloved classic, will be seen from here on out, if at all, this will change the way that that novel is held.

So, you know, it's incredible the reaction that we're seeing here tonight. Several hundred people, close to 300 people out for this release in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, population of about 6,000 people. And the bookstore that you are seeing here tonight says that it has sold 7,000 books on pre-order sales alone.

[01:26:50] ASHER: Seven thousand books on pre-order sales alone. There you are in Monroeville, Alabama, the hometown of Harper Lee.

And we're looking at live pictures of people ling up to buy "go set a watchman," Harper Lee's second book after "to kill a mocking bird."

OK. Ed Lavandera live of us there in Alabama. Appreciate that. Thank you.

FOSTER: The thing is, if you've written one of the big classic books of all time, how do you live up to it.

ASHER: How do you compete?

FOSTER: It is amazing story, isn't it?

ASHER: (INAUDIBLE)

FOSTER: The U.S. arrests another alleged ISIS sympathizer, meanwhile. The son of a Boston police captain no less. We will tell you police suspected of plotting.

ASHER: And President Barack Obama says the U.S. is a country of second chances, as he makes a move that will change the lives of 46 men and women. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:30:15] MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Asher. Let's give you your headlines.

Mexico is offering a $3.8 million reward for information leading to the capture of Joaquin Guzman after his elaborate escape on Saturday. This photo was released of the notorious drug lord known as el Chapo. Guzman was wearing a monitoring bracelet and was under 24-hour surveillance when he escaped.

FOSTER: We could be hours away from an Iranian nuclear deal. Diplomats in Vienna say the negotiators are very close to an agreement but the main sticking point has been an arms embargo against Iran.

ASHER: And Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until Wednesday to convince lawmakers to pass a series of new laws after reaching a bailout deal with European creditors. Greece agreed Monday to more austerity and economic reforms in exchange for a bailout worth as much as $96 billion.

FOSTER: A man in the U.S. state of Massachusetts is charged with plotting to bomb crowded places like schools for ISIS. Sources say his father, a Boston police captain, turned him in.

ASHER: And he apparently partially constructed devices in his home.

U.S. justice correspondent, Evan Perez, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The FBI describes a chilling plan to carry out terrorist attacks inspired by the Boston Marathon bombings. Alexander Sicilo (ph) was arrested in July after obtaining four or five firearms. He's the son of a Boston police officer who officials say turned him in. The FBI says he's a Muslim convert who in recent months became obsessed with ISIS. According to the FBI, an undercover informant recorded conversations in which he planned various attacks. He wanted to use assault rifles and bombs to attack a university campus, targeting college dorms and a crowded cafeteria. His plan included pressure cooker bombs like those used in Boston. They would be packed with nails and ball bearings. He also allegedly wanted to carry out executions of students and broadcast them on the Internet. According to the FBI, when they searched his apartment, he already had several partially constructed Molotov cocktails.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Iraqi forces and Shia militia fighters are attacking ISIS on several fronts. In Anbar Province, they launched a major new offensive in the province west of Baghdad.

ASHER: Military sources say the insurgents are putting up a lot of resistance around Fallujah with car bombs and rocket fire. ISIS continues to hold Ramadi and many other towns and villages throughout the province.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Near Ramadi, 29 airstrikes struck nearly 70 areas where ISIS has been staging fighters and weapons. It comes as Iraq says it has begun operations to recapture Anbar Province west of Baghdad, the stronghold in Iraq. U.S. officials say full-blown combat has yet to begin, and it's not clear how much ISIS weaponry airstrikes have really hit.

Shia militias are already moving east towards Fallujah, an attempt to freeze ISIS in place. If it works, the plan calls for Iraqi forces to move west towards Ramadi from the air base. But two months after Iraqi forces ran from Ramadi, ISIS threatens their ability to get it back.

COL. CEDRIC LAUGHTON, U.S. AIR FORCE, RETIRED: First and foremost, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, these are basically car bombs and truck bombs, and those could wreak huge havoc on militia forces and Iraqi regular forces that would go into a place like Ramadi.

[01:35:07] STARR: And in the not-so-friendly skies over the capital, Raqqa, Syria, the U.S.-led coalition found they had unwelcome company. On Saturday, for the first time, the coalition says Syrian war planes conducted airstrikes over Raqqa at the same time coalition war planes were bombing bridges four miles away. The worry that air campaign just got even more dangerous.

LAUGHTON: Since there's no coordinates, the risk of a crash or some other incident, including firing on each other, could definitely occur, and that is one of the biggest issues that we would have flying over Syria.

STARR: Raqqa is very much in the U.S. cross hairs. The working theory is Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, may be nearby. U.S. sources tell CNN they are also trying to confirm a top leader of an al Qaeda affiliate was killed in a recent strike in Syria.

(on camera): Behind the scenes, the U.S. has been very heavily involved in that war plan for Ramadi, Iraq. U.S. officials say getting Ramadi back is a must-win for the Iraqis, but there is a very long road ahead.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Nigeria's president has shaken up his country's military, with Boko Haram carrying out other attacks. Six weeks after his inauguration, he replaced all the military chiefs from the previous administration and appointed new ones. The president campaigned on promises to improve security and fight the terror group. In the last several weeks, more than 500 people have been killed across northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram is most active.

Max?

FOSTER: The Pentagon could soon release its ban on transgender people serving in the military. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called current regulations outdated. A defense source says the White House has been pushing the Pentagon to lift the ban. But other officials have said more time is needed to study medical and legal issues. The human rights campaign hailed the decision.

ASHER: And we are going to take a quick break.

When we come back, Malala Yousafzai's mission to education girls takes her to the Middle East. How the girl that survived a Taliban assassination is attempting to help Syrian refugees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:45] FOSTER: Welcome back. U.S. President Obama has moved to reform the criminal justice system. He's commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years, 14 of them had been sentenced to life for non-violent drug offenses. So their punishments didn't fit the crime. And if they'd been sentenced under today's laws, nearly all of them would have already served their time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Mr. Obama went on to say that those men and women deserved a second chance. Most of the prisoners will be released in November.

FOSTER: Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, says she will never stop fighting for the rights of children and she is now an adult. She celebrated her 18th birthday at Syria refugee camp in Lebanon, calling on leaders there and around the world for failing the Syrian people.

ASHER: Her words are not going unnoticed. They're inspiring one young woman to join the fight for young girls and education.

Here's our Jomana Karadsheh with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A special day for Malala. The world's youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate turned 18 on Sunday and chose to celebrate here with refugees here in Lebanon where she opened an all-girls school. The project by the Lebanese, provided by the Malala Fund, will provide secondary education for 200 Syrian girls.

The female activist dedicated this day to a plight of people she feels have been ignored.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: I have a message for this region and the whole world. You are failing Syrian children, especially Syrian children. This is a heart-breaking tragedy. The world's worst refugee crisis in decades.

KARADSHEH: Malala's visit comes as the United Nations marked another milestone. Four million Syrian refugees are now in other countries, at least two million are children and more than 700,000 are out of school according to UNICEF.

YOUSAFZAI: So it's tragic, and most of these children do not get education. And they will be a generation lost, which is what we want to protect these children from. We believe education is the only way we can protect these children from the negative side.

KARADSHEH: On Monday, she visited a refugee camp to which her fund has just donated $250,000 to the girls' school programming.

Malala says she focused on education to fight the rising phenomenon of child brides among Syrian refugees.

YOUSAFZAI: We want to prevent girls from getting married at a very early age. School is a good opportunity. They can go and get the education. What I want is education for every child. It would be very good if you could help us. Child marriage is happening at very early age.

KARADSHEH: Malala found a partner in this campaign, a 16 year old who describes Malala as her role model. After the girls met last year, the girl, known as the Syrian Malala, spends her days going door to door at the camp, convincing parents to send their children to school.

"After meeting someone like Malala, I felt more empowered to encourage girls to learn," she says.

The two girls share a childhood touched by war and violence. Now both in their own way try to help save what could be a generation lost.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Police in Belfast, Northern Ireland, clashed on Monday with marches in the annual Orange Order parade. Crowds confronted police when they were barred from entering an area known as a flash point for past violence sparked by religious difference. They threw bricks and bottles at the police. Several were injured. The Orange Order parade commemorates 325-year-old victory of Protestant King William III over his Catholic rival, James II. [01:45:21] FOSTER: Let's turn to weather. Dangerous storms continue

to pound the U.S. Midwest while Japan is bracing for potentially the strongest typhoon they've seen in more than a decade.

Our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, joins us.

Pedram, we know this typhoon is likely going to strengthen over the warm waters, but how much of a danger is it going to be to people who live there and their property?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is an area, they're used to volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, but when it comes to typhoons, really 2004 is the last time we've seen anything this impressive. The typhoon sits at a category 2 equivalent. It's about the size of the country of Mexico. It's a pretty impressive symmetry. I haven't seen a category two look this impressive in quite some time. We think Thursday night into Friday morning in southern Japan. This could be a category three. It easily could be in the 200 KPH range. The concern with this is not just the tremendous winds and the rainfall, but look at the wave height forecast models here, taking the waves up to 15 meters or five stories high over the open waters. We expect it will drop on the order of one third of that when it gets closer to land, but significant damage to coastal communities ahead of this system between Thursday night and Friday morning and the rainfall will come in as a wall of water when it comes to this particular tropical feature moving in toward that region.

Want to take you in towards the Midwestern United States. Incredible temperatures over the past 24 hours, and over the next 24 hours, Memphis, high temperature will be 93, feels like, 106. We had 112, 114 in a few areas. How about that, 112 degrees below zero, the cold spot on our planet. They checked in with the curiosity on Mars. It's colder than Antarctica. We have reports of over 300 wind-related damages over the past 24 hours, and now the line of weather moves in toward the southeastern U.S. for Tuesday afternoon. So we'll follow all of this here on CNN.

ASHER: Pedram Javaheri, I appreciate that.

I was trying to find the Georgia heat index, but I think you were covering it your body.

(LAUGHTER)

JAVAHERI: About 100.

ASHER: Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

ASHER: Thank you, Pedram.

FOSTER: Despite what his daughters believe, there is no evidence that blues legend, B.B. King, was poisoned to death.

ASHER: A coroner in Las Vegas revealed his findings, showing that the 89-year-old performer died from Alzheimer's disease. His daughters accused his close associate of killing him while in home hospice care.

FOSTER: Plus, a look at the dwarf planet, the Horizon completing a nine-year journey to Pluto. Hear what scientists are saying about this big moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:52:33] ASHER: Welcome back, everyone. Tuesday caps off a journey more than nine years in the making.

FOSTER: What a journey.

ASHER: The new Horizon spacecraft will make its closest approach to Pluto, passing within 12,000 kilometers of the surface. That means absolutely so much to mankind, doesn't it?

FOSTER: It does. Also to space geeks. It's already beaming back images of Pluto, what one NASA astronomer calls it mind-blowing. The mission will complete what NASA calls the big classical solar system, and they say the final moments can be dangerous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED NASA SCIENTIST: We've also been very honest, that we're flying into the unknown. This is the risk that you take with all kinds of exploration, and new Horizons will be out of touch for those hours of approach. Though I don't lose sleep over this, the fact it, tomorrow there's going to be an a little bit of drama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: There was a scare earlier this month when they lost contact, but it's now performing pretty well.

FOSTER: Good news. It's amazing it can travel that far, go to sleep and wake up and work.

ASHER: Nine years that journey, in the making.

FOSTER: If all goes as planned, we should get images of this fly by on Wednesday. And we'll certainly be bringing that.

ASHER: The new Horizon's probe had to travel almost five billion kilometers from earth to reach Pluto. But that's not the furtherest distance.

FOSTER: No, that goes to Voyager I. It's first man made object to leave the solar system and it's currently in interstellar space.

ASHER: And the Voyager 1 is a probe. Voyager 2 is the second.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

ASHER: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. FOSTER: Yes, still working it out.

All parents watching, do you ever wonder what you look like through your baby's eyes?

ASHER: This story is so sweet. More than 21 million people have now watched a very viral video of a baby overjoyed with what she sees once she puts on her glasses for the first time.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kids and glasses are cute, but it's not often you get to watch a baby see her parents clearly for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MOTHER OF PIPE: How are you?

MOOS: "So that's what you look like," Piper must have been thinking wearing her new pink glasses as she went from eyeing her mom --

ANDREW VERDUSCO, FATHER OF PIPE: Hi.

[01:55:12] MOOS: -- to eyeing her dad. And now millions are eyeing this video, touched, though maybe not as touched as her dad, Andrew Verdusco was.

ANDREW VERDUSCO: It took me a while to hold a tear in.

MOOS: Her parents got worried when Piper seemed to be having an issue with crawling. A pediatrician sent them to an eye doctor who found her to be extremely far sighted.

(on camera): Everyone wants to know how do they determine a baby's prescription when a baby can't read an eye chart, can't answer that often tricky question -- which is better? This or this?

(voice-over): Optometrists joke about the challenges of treating children.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: You can't just tape them to the instruments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the same as the adult exam.

MOOS: But by dilating a child's eyes and shinning a light into them through various lenses, it's possible for eye doctors to come up with a rough prescription.

And organization called Infant See offer such exams for free for kids under the age of 1 nationwide.

As for Piper --

ANDREW VERDUSCO: She's actually starting to crawl now but we definitely see a huge difference.

MOOS: If only they can get her to keep her glass on.

Mom? Dad? Mom? Dad? No wonder everyone's making goo goo eyes over this kid.

Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right, thank you so much for watching us, everyone. I'm Zain Asher.

FOSTER: And I'm Max Foster.

Errol Barnett and Rosemary Church will be up next with more CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

ASHER: There they are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)