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U.S., Russian Prepare Arguments on Syria at U.N.; France, England Say Assad Cannot be Part of any Syrian Political Transition; Iran President Holding Saudi Arabia Responsible for Hajj Stampede; Pope Wraps Up U.S. Visit, Vows to Hold Clergy Accountable for Sexual Abuse; Supermoon, Rare Celestial Event Has Some in Wonder, Others in Fear; Protest Rallies Planned in Hong Kong to Mark Anniversary of Pro- Democracy Movement; Ben Carson Stands By Comments on Muslims Running for President; Polls Show Presidential Front Runners Losing Steam; Typhoon Dujuan Predicted to Hit Taiwan; Prime Minister Wants a Digital India. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 28, 2015 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:09] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Front and center. U.S. and Russian leaders prepare to make their arguments for action on Syria at the United Nations.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: On his final day in America, a papal apology. The pope vows to hold clergy responsible for sexual abuse to account.

CHURCH: And a celestial treat. One of the biggest, boldest moons in years draws ohs and ahs from star gazers everywhere.

Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for kicking off your week with us. We're here for the next two hours. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

CHURCH: A number of the world's top leaders will be meeting in just a few hours from now at the United Nations. But one of them, President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, seems to be taking the lead in the Syrian crisis. Putin is calling for collective action against the ISIS militants. He says U.S. efforts to end the Syrian war are simply not working and a new strategy is needed.

BARNETT: And all of this is happening as we're learning that Russia will be getting intelligence about ISIS in Iraq from the Iraqi military. Iran and Syria will get that same intelligence as well.

CHURCH: And for more on what we can expect from the Russian president, let's turn to senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance. He joins us now live from Moscow.

So, Matthew, let's look at the optics of this. Russia's President Putin appearing to spearhead the agenda on Syria. What's he doing here, and what are his likely intentions?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he really is spearheading, as you put it, that agenda. He's really in the driving seat of this diplomatic initiative now because not only is he backing the government in Syria but he's putting military forces in place on the ground in that country to back up that diplomatic push as well. So it has put him front and center and has put the Kremlin front and center of any diplomatic initiative to try and resolve the Syrian crisis. Now, Vladimir Putin, Russia have a number of reasons why they might be interested in backing up Bashar al Assad. He's their long-standing ally. Russia has strong and important economic and military ties to Syria.

But the line that the Kremlin is pushing, and Vladimir Putin said this again in his interview with CBS over the weekend, is that this is part of a broader fight against international terrorism, and he called on other countries to join with Russia in that battle. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): We support the legitimate government of Syria. And it's my deep belief that any actions to the contrary in order to destroy the legitimate government will create a situation which you can witness now in the other countries of the region or in other regions. And there's no other solution to the Syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and rendering them help in fighting terrorism. But at the same time urging them to engage in positive dialogue with the rational opposition and conduct reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: All right, so fighting international terrorism. That's how flood myrrh put Vladimir Putin, casting his diplomatic initiative. But a more critical analysis is it may well be to do with that but a more critical analysis is to say look, Syria is a battleground in Russia's wider campaign to increase and to maintain its influence in the world. And in a sense that objective is already being achieved by the Kremlin because as I say, Vladimir Putin as he prepares to speak at the U.N. General Assembly is front and center of that diplomatic initiative over Syria.

CHURCH: Yeah, he is, Matthew. So how is the United States responding to Russia calling the shots here?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, I expect they're little bit on the back foot. I mean, of course on the United States policy, according to Vladimir Putin and to other observers as well has been a failure in Syria. The spread of Islamic State continues unabated, it seemed, even though there's a coalition now, of course, led by the United States carrying out air strikes against that rebel group, the Islamic State.

There's also indications we've had from Christiane Amanpour's interview earlier with Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian leader, saying there is coordination on the ground -- or not on the ground, but diplomatically between these various countries, including Russia and the United States and the European Union. That is something, though, that has been rejected by Washington.

In fact, John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, saying there should be much more coordination if any kind of attempt to get rid of Islamic State is going to succeed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The critical thing is that all of the efforts need to be coordinated. This is not yet coordinated. I think we have concerns about how we're going to go forward. But that's precisely what we're meeting on to talk about now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:21] CHANCE: So not coordinated yet, but John Kerry indicating that that's what they're going to be working on now. So raising the possibility that we could see greater cooperation and coordination between Russia and the United States over this issue of Syria and the Islamic State.

CHURCH: We'll see if that happens.

And Matthew Chance reporting there live from Moscow. Thanks so much.

BARNETT: And there are more developments in the region. France has launched its first air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria. President Francois Hollande says the strikes destroyed a training camp. France's foreign minister further says Bashar al Assad cannot be part of any political transition in Syria because he is, quote, "guilty of the current chaos."

CHURCH: And British Prime Minister David Cameron says al Assad can't be part of Syria's future, but a spokeswoman says the prime minister would be willing to discuss the option of Assad playing a role in a transitional Syrian government.

BARNETT: Our John Defterios joins us now from Abu Dhabi to talk about the Iranian role in all of this.

And, John, you wonder what the risks and benefits are for Iran in striking this deal, this agreement with Iraq, Syria and Russia.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Indeed, Errol. Those who are concerned, especially Saudi Arabia, are seeing this coalition forming rather quickly. It includes right now, and it's expanding, Iran, Syria, Russia, and the last 24 hours Iraq as Matthew was suggesting here, sharing intelligence with the other three that I was talking about. Since the July 14th nuclear agreement Iran has come out of the shadows, if you will, to have a larger voice or a louder voice in the negotiations. But the reality is all the efforts over the last couple of years have not borne fruit. We've seen the Syrian refugee crisis accelerate with nearly 5 million Syrians now leaving the country. This has also reached the soil of the Europeans as well. And more than 220,000 people killed in combat in Syria.

So the president of Iran is calling for a new formula. He told our Christiane Amanpour it's not time for a regime change but time to bring all the parties together. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Everyone has accepted that President Assad must remain so that we can combat the terrorists. However, as soon as this movement reaches the various levels of success and starts driving out terrorists on a step-by-step basis, then other plans must be put into actions so as to hear the voices of the opposition as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: Again, Errol, the regional concern here is that as Iran starts to exert more influence that the voices of the opposition will not be heard. That influence is not -- its limit is not only to Syria, of course, but to the Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip. But particularly right now in the last six months in Yemen, as we see a fight being played out between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar on one side and Iran on the other.

BARNETT: But, John, what Rouhani is suggesting there is almost a two- step approach. On the first work with the al Assad government to target terrorists and then talk about a transition. But the truth is ISIS and any group opposed to the government like the opposition are considered terrorists by al Assad. So isn't that in and of itself difficult or even impossible to achieve, the elimination of, quote, "terrorists"?

DEFTERIOS: No doubt. This is going to be the major challenge. But I would think, Errol, many believe, and this is the timing of the U.N. General Assembly every year that we perhaps have reached the inflection point with the Syrian crisis reaching into Europe and all the deaths we've seen over the last four a half years. There's a new strategy beginning to take hold. We should watch very carefully over the next 24 to 48 hours. This is part of the discussion between President Obama and President Putin today. Can you form a broader discussion about Syria? The formula being talked about right now is the P-5 Plus One, something that was successful with Iran. But they're talking about an even broader coalition to bring a Middle East stalwart, Saudi Arabia and Turkey representing the Sunnis on one side and Iran joining the table representing the Shias on the others. This is where it gets complex and of course more difficult now as we see an expanding coalition with Iran, Syria, Russia and even Iraq as I suggested, in the last 24 hours.

BARNETT: But it's making this, the first day of the U.N. G.A., that much more interesting. We'll all be watching closely.

Our emerging markets editor, John Defterios, live for us in Abu Dhabi.

John, thanks.

CHURCH: And separately, President Rouhani is holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the stampede at the hajj near Mecca.

[02:10:04] BARNETT: Nearly 800 people died in this incident, with at least 155 Iranians among them. More than 300 people are missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROUHANI (through translation): Saudi Arabian government must respond, must be held to account for this lack of responsibility and safety that has led to the tragic killing of so many pilgrims from so many countries. But from many political channels, we will pursue this very issue until we get satisfactory answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Saudi foreign minister is accusing Iran of exploiting the tragedy.

BARNETT: That's right. That foreign minister said this wasn't a situation in which to play politics and Iranian leaders should wait for the results of the investigation.

You can see all of Christiane Amanpour's one-on-one interview with the Iranian president tonight at 7:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Berlin, for those of you watching CNN International.

CHURCH: Pope Francis should be arriving in Rome in about two hours from now after completing his first trip to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: He left Pennsylvania Sunday night with a rousing send-off that included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. The pope said his heart was full of gratitude and hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Earlier on Sunday, Pope Francis led an outdoor mass for thousands of Catholics, where he told the crowd to show affection and compassion for others. And that was something he did as the first pope to visit a U.S. prison. Pope Francis blessed more than -- or I should say 100 inmates there.

CHURCH: He also met privately with five people sexually abused as children, some at the hands of clergy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translation): God weeps for the sexual abuse of children. These cannot be maintained in secret, and I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Father Timothy Kesicki, he is the president of the Jesuit Conference of the United States and Canada. He joins me now.

And, of course, we know, Father, the pope has wrapped up his trip to the United States. How pleased do you think the Vatican would be right now with how things went?

FATHER TIMOTHY KESICKI, PRESIDENT, JESUIT CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: Well, it was a brilliant success. In one sense you have a superstar pope visiting a superpower. Sometimes when two personalities like that mix you don't know how well they're going to mix. But it was a perfect visit. I think everyone in Rome would be very pleased with the visit.

CHURCH: Now, it's interesting. The pope said he was overwhelmed by shame at the sexual violation of children by his clergy. Did that surprise you, how far was willing to go on that issue? But then, of course, on the other side of the coin, some of the victims, they want to see more concrete action here.

KESICKI: Yes. It would have surprised me if he hadn't said it. And so he said it. And he had this beautiful imagery. He said God weeps, as if to say God is judging us. There's always a desire for the church to do more. And he has done so much, particularly in Rome, his commission, his holding bishops to greater accountability. And so I think his visit was to meet these victims, these survivors of abuse, and hopefully what he heard from them will help him to keep this effort on the front burner.

CHURCH: What concrete action do you think he might ensure is taken?

KESICKI: I think the holding of those responsible to accountability is what most victims are looking for from the pope. Particularly if a major superior or a bishop has had activity in a diocese that should have been addressed, that action is taken so that it's not just at the level of those who have committed these crimes but those who oversaw what happened.

CHURCH: And so far, what do you see as Pope Francis's legacy, and what do you think we can expect to see from him in the weeks, the months, the years perhaps ahead?

KESICKI: Well, his greatest gift is his personal touch and making this very large 2,000-year-old institution accessible even to the poor, and then his mission to go to the peripheries. He lights up when he's with the poor and the disenfranchised because it's there that he feels that we will hear and come to know the voice and the face of God. So he has tremendous popular appeal but I don't think he seeks popularity. Rather he really wants to invite people to live the gospel, which is what he has given his life to.

CHURCH: Father Timothy Kesicki, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it. KESICKI: Of course.

CHURCH: He has personal appeal but doesn't seek popularity. And it's true, he is fearless in going out front and making some changes that upset people within the church.

[02:15:] BARNETT: Yeah.

CHURCH: As well as outside. It's quite extraordinary.

BARNETT: But if you saw what he did throughout the U.S. and even when he was in Cuba, I mean, he helped broker peace in Colombia, had the speaker of the House step down. I mean, he had transformative change just during his trip. So people do listen to the pope. They listen to what he says.

CHURCH: Well, Spanish separatists celebrating a victory. They have won a majority of seats in the parliamentary election in Catalonia. The Together for Yes alliance wants to break away from Spain within 18 months. But the Spanish constitution doesn't allow secession.

BARNETT: Now, this will likely be a big issue in the general election in December. Spain's prime minister is opposed to independence for Catalonia.

CHURCH: Still to come, a rare celestial event had some in wonder and others in fear. Coming up, a live report on the supermoon lunar eclipse.

BARNETT: Very cool.

Plus, demonstrators in Hong Kong take to the streets to mark the anniversary of protests that nearly shut the city down. Stay with us here on CNN NEWSROOM.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Monday morning to you. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, CNN "Weather Watch."

(WEATHER REPORT)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:12] BARNETT: Take a look at your televisions. If you missed the rare supermoon lunar eclipse, then watch this time lapse. It shows the moon rising while the sun's setting in the place I lived for a while, the U.S. State of Arizona.

CHURCH: Look how gorgeous that is. Just as rare as that moment is, the opportunity to see a supermoon lunar eclipse in the first place, the last one taking place back in 1982. CNN's Paul Vercammen joins us now from the Griffith Observatory in Los

Angeles with more on this rare occurrence.

Those pictures were just amazing. So the main event is over now, of course. How did this all play out? And what did people think of this heavenly display?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the last of them have just gotten off this hill, and they're still basking in the afterglow. It was somewhat cloudy here in Los Angeles. And the moon actually rose in eclipse and it would go behind the clouds and be behind for a little while and come back out. But for the thousands of people who were up here, it was a spectacular event. Many people sharing telescopes as well.

And I thought it would be interesting to kind of hear what this whole moment was like through a child's eyes. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It was kind of very exciting. And at first, it kind of looked like it was a bowl and a red liquid was being poured into it. And it was very exciting because a lot of people think that it's exciting when things glow. And after a while it started to go away, and then it came back. And it started to just glow white. And then it went away again and it came back, and now it's just like a little sliver of white on it. And it was really cool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And there you have it. Rather articulate, I would say. And I imagine she would be wide-eyed and somewhat bleary-eyed when school resumes this morning -- Rosemary?

CHURCH: But it's all she's going to be talking about all day at school.

And Paul, we understand there was a little bit of howling at the moon and some suggestions this could perhaps mark the end of the world, but we are still here, at this point at least. What was that all about?

VERCAMMEN: Well, certainly. There are some people who believe that the tetrad, the series of four supermoon eclipses, portended doom and gloom, and some of them say that, for example, the rise of ISIS started after the first of these eclipses.

But on this hill, on this night with this crowd, all of them very much laser focused on the astronomy, there was none of that. And in fact, there was romance. Love was in the air. We saw a couple become engaged tonight. The groom-to-be surprising the bride-to-be. And they were ecstatic. They sort of wove it all together. We had a supermoon eclipse and a couple who now are getting ready for the rest of their future and their life together. So they certainly were not adhering to those doomsday prognostications -- Rosemary?

CHURCH: Indeed. And we saw those pictures. She was very excited there.

Paul Vercammen with that live report from Los Angeles. Many thanks to you.

BARNETT: Now to some other stories we're following for you. Protest rallies are planned across Hong Kong today to mark the anniversary of the pro-democracy movement that shut down parts of the city for months.

CHURCH: One year ago, tens of thousands of protesters faced off with police demanding universal suffrage. On Sunday, a much smaller crowd marked the anniversary near the city's business district, holding yellow umbrellas, which, of course, became a symbol of their cause.

BARNETT: Our Kristi Lu Stout looks at what the movement accomplished and where things stand now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

KRISTI LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An outbreak of violence that shocked Hong Kong and the world.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT: Tensions erupting as police unleashed tear gas on peaceful pro-democracy protesters, with our journalists caught in the chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Breaking the truce here. We're now going to be enveloped in tear gas.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT: But from these clashes came umbrella movement, so named for the umbrellas used to shield protesters from the tear gas and pepper spray.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT: Hundreds of thousands occupied Hong Kong's financial district and elsewhere to demand true universal suffrage, one person, one vote, without interference from Beijing.

(on camera): It has been one year since that massive crowd took over this eight-lane highway, effectively shutting down a key part of the city for 79 days. And today, many people are asking after all the passion and protests, what has been achieved.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT (voice-over): After public opinion turned, the protesters were cleared off the streets. Hong Kong's embattled leader, C.Y. Leung, remains in charge and while Democrats rejected a Beijing-backed proposal for limited democracy, the no vote maintained the status quo. The umbrella movement's call for democracy was eventually denied. Yet, student protest leaders still believe it was not all for nothing.

[02:25:21]NATHAN LAW, STUDENT PROTEST LEADER (through translation): I'm not pessimistic, nor do I feel bad about it when I see how things have come down. I think everyone is preparing. Waiting for the right reasons to take to the streets again.

STOUT: Joshua Wong, the teenage face of the pro-democracy movement, has shifted his focus to the year 2047, when Hong Kong's semi- autonomous status expires, leaving its future an open question. He has taken his campaign message beyond Hong Kong, speaking in Washington, D.C., last week.

After the street protest ended, most of the demonstrators returned to their classes or their jobs, but life is not the same for many of them. Protest leaders, including Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, are involved in legal proceedings on charges of unlawful assembly, and many dare not to travel into mainland China. There are also growing concerns that Beijing is increasingly asserting its authority over Hong Kong.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT: Despite the pressure and scrutiny, Hong Kong's young activists say they are still pushing for change.

As student union leader, Nathan Law, is focusing on maintaining academic freedom.

LAW: Once academic freedom is jeopardized, political power can control our thoughts, and it will be very hard to fight for democracy.

STOUT: Although democracy remains elusive in this Chinese city, the umbrella movement did achieve one thing, the political awakening of an entire generation, many who won't give up their fight to determine their political fate.

(SHOUTING)

STOUT: Kristi Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A Republican contender for U.S. president is defending comments he made about having a Muslim in the White House. Hear what Ben Carson told CNN about his stance, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:33] BARNETT: A warm welcome back to our viewers in the states and those of you watching from around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. It is, of course, time to check the main stories we have been following this hour.

Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, is set to address the U.N. General assembly later today for the first time in a decade. He's expected to call for collective action on Syria and the country's war-torn President Bashar al Assad.

BARNETT: Pope Francis has ended his first trip to the U.S. and is now on his way back to the Vatican. Sunday, in Philadelphia, he met with adults who had been sexually abused as children either by clergy, family or teachers. The pope said, "God weeps for victims like them and those responsible for abuse would be held accountable."

CHURCH: And a rare event occurred Sunday in the skies. A supermoon lunar eclipse was visible across much of the earth. It happens when the sun, moon, and earth line up in a particular combination, producing a total lunar eclipse of supermoon size. The last supermoon eclipse occurred back in 1982.

In the 2016 U.S. presidential race the front-runners of both parties are facing some fierce competition in the latest polls.

BARNETT: Take a look at this. It's the new NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" national poll. And it shows Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, losing more ground now to Bernie Sanders. This is a big shift for Clinton, who held a 60-point lead over Sanders back in June. Her lead now just down to seven points.

CHURCH: And on the Republican side, Donald Trump and Ben Carson are virtually tied. Trump has 21 percent support but Carson is at 20 percent, within the poll's margin of error.

Ben Carson is standing by the comments he made voicing concern over Muslims running for U.S. president. Last week, he said he would not advocate putting a Muslim in charge of the U.S. He received some backlash for that.

BARNETT: But now he says he's open to electing Muslims to public office, that is, if they renounce Sharia Law.

Here's what he told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: You said last week, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: I would advocate that people go back and look at the transcript.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, MEET THE PRESS: Should a president's faith matter? Should your faith matter to voters?

CARSON: I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then, of course, it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem.

TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution?

CARSON: No, I don't. I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: He asked you about Islam, if you thought Islam was conducive to the Constitution. And you said Muslims -- that you would be a problem with a Muslim being president.

CARSON: I would have problems with somebody who embraced all the doctrines associated with Islam. If they're not willing to reject, you know, Sharia and all the portions of it that are talked about in the Koran. If they're not willing to reject that and subject that to American values and the Constitution, then, of course, I wouldn't. And I would ask you, would you be willing to do that? Would you be willing to advocate for somebody who would not do that? Probably not.

TAPPER: I don't assume that, because somebody's Muslim, that they would put their religion ahead of the U.S. Constitution. And in fact, the U.S. Constitution itself has no religious test.

CARSON: Yeah, except that I have already said before that that anybody from any religion, from any background, if they are -- I told you what the criteria were for -- I told Chuck Todd what the criteria were for. So he's asking this out of that context.

TAPPER: You don't think that, in any way, you said anything that could have been said more clearly about Muslims?

CARSON: I made it very clear.

TAPPER: Because you seem to be singling out Muslims as individuals who automatically, as a knee-jerk, would put their religion ahead of the country, and I think that that offended a lot of people, including a lot of patriotic Muslims.

CARSON: I think the statement stands. Is it possible that maybe the media thinks that it's a bigger deal than the American people do?

[02:35:15] TAPPER: I think --

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON: Because the American people, the majority of them, agree, and they understand exactly what I'm saying.

TAPPER: I think I've seen -- I've heard from a lot of people, who don't think that Muslims can be patriotic, who agree with you. And I don't know that if I were running for president I would want the support of people like that.

CARSON: Of course, Muslims can be patriotic -- I have a -- I've worked with Muslims. I've trained Muslims. I've operated on Muslims. There are a lost Muslims who are very patriotic, good Americans. And they gladly admit, at least privately, that they don't accept Sharia or the doctrines. And they understand that Islam is a system of living, and it includes the way that you relate to the government, and you cannot, unless you specifically deny that portion of Islam, be a Muslim in good standing. Now, if that is the case, if you're not willing to reject that, then how in the world can you possibly be the president of the United States?

TAPPER: You are saying that there is something specific about being a Muslim, that you have to reject Islam in order to be a president.

CARSON: Well, you have to -- you have to reject the tenets of Islam. Yes, you have to.

TAPPER: And that's different from an Orthodox Jew or a devout Christian --

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON: If there's a devout Christian who's running, and they refuse to reject the ideals of our Constitution or if they want to establish a theocracy, I cannot advocate for them.

TAPPER: I guess the point is you seem to be suggesting that Muslim Americans automatically want a theocracy, and I just don't know any Muslim Americans -- and I know plenty -- who feel that way, even if they are observant Muslims.

CARSON: OK. In terms of the tenets of Islam, are you familiar with them?

TAPPER: I'm familiar --

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON: The corpus juris from the authoritative group of the people who make the rules that goes back to the 10th century A.D.

TAPPER: I'm familiar with extremist interpretations of plenty of religions.

CARSON: I'm not talking about extremist interpretations. I'm talking about what is required. And you have to make a specific declaration and decision to reject the portions of it.

TAPPER: What portions of it?

CARSON: The portions of it that tell you how you treat women. The portions of it that indicate that the caphir (ph), who are the people who are not believers, are subject to different rules, that they can dominated --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: I think one of the things is you are a member of a church that there's a lot of misinformation about, the Seventh Day Adventist Church. You're an African-American. You know what it's like for people to make false assumptions about you. And you seem to be doing the same thing with Muslims.

CARSON: In which way am I making a false assumption?

TAPPER: You're assuming that Muslim Americans put their religion ahead of the country.

CARSON: I'm assuming that if you accept all the tenets of Islam that you will have a very difficult time abiding under the Constitution of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This interview is over.

TAPPER: OK.

CARSON: Thank you.

TAPPER: Thank you, Dr. Carson. I appreciate it.

CARSON: All right. OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Larry Sabato joins us now from Charlottesville, Virginia. He's the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and can speak about what's happening on the Republican side right now.

Larry, what do you make of Ben Carson's explanation that he's really just uncomfortable with a person who accepts the tenets of Islam leading the country? He seems to be missing what offends people in the first place because this is still intolerant, isn't it?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Of course. It's absurd. And he seems very confused about the Constitution. There's an old saying in politics, "When you're in a hole, stop digging." And Dr. Carson continues to dig. He simply can't seem to stop talking about Muslims and whether they should be president or in high office at all. And what I think he's really demonstrating is that, much like Donald Trump, he is a flavor of the season, the early season. He's very unlikely to be the Republican nominee for president.

BARNETT: You say that, but we've watched as Donald Trump has, you know, not behaved like a typical candidate and still risen in the polls. The other interesting development here is Ben Carson's poll numbers, at 20 percent, he is now essentially tied with Donald Trump at 21 percent. That means this Muslim in the White House controversy has only helped him. What should we make of that as we assess the Republican field and Republican voters?

[02:40:11] SABATO: Well, first of all, Trump has actually declined about 10 percent. He's on the down escalator. And I think you're going to see that continue. Ben Carson has increased support, in part, because he has drawn from Donald Trump. But we need to remember one thing. Donald Trump is at around 20 percent of Republicans and Ben Carson is around 20 percent of Republicans. What does that mean? It actually translates to approximately 8 percent. That's 8 percent of the American electorate. And they have very low ceilings. That is, they can't go much above 25 percent or 30 percent at most. And I think they will be well below that by the time the primaries actually begin.

BARNETT: I want to quickly ask you a question for you on the Democratic side. Hillary Clinton leading, by far, in the polls. However, when combined with Joe Biden, she loses support. The e-mail controversy has continued to dog her as well. Do you think she has to be more concerned with e-mails or Biden?

SABATO: Well, of course, one is a product of the other. We don't know for sure whether Joe Biden is running or not. Although, I have to say, people close to him have been hinting that he is closer to running than he was. And part of the reason why he's closer is because Hillary Clinton continues this massive slide in the polls. Every time a new poll is taken, she drops another 5 or 10 percentage points, and this is with Democrats, forget about the general election. So she has real difficulties. It isn't just the e-mails. It's the way she has responded to the e-mails. It's brought up that image that the Clintons developed in the 1990s of being very secretive and not on the level, not telling people what is really going on and what they really think.

BARNETT: All right. Good to get your insight on this.

Larry Sabato, the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, joining us from Charlottesville. Thanks a lot.

SABATO: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, had a speech interrupted when part of the stage collapsed around her. Take a look.

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BARNETT: Yikes. You see how close that was to her. She was talking to a crowd in San Antonio, Texas. This is on Sunday. When the backdrop came crashing down. Fiorina, though, was not hurt, and being a trouper, she went on to deliver her speech.

CHURCH: A little too close for comfort there.

BARNETT: Yeah.

Taiwan readies itself for another typhoon, the second one to hit island in two months. We'll bring you the latest on Dujuan after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:45:57] CHURCH: We are tracking a powerful typhoon expected to make landfall soon in Taiwan.

BARNETT: Typhoon Dujuan is predicted to hit the island's east coast by Monday evening, local time. This will be the second typhoon to hit the country since August.

CHURCH: So let's get the latest on the storm's track, and we turn to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, who has all of that.

Pedram, tell us what's happening there.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. This is a category 4 equivalent storm system and a healthy category 4 at that and the concern with this is of course the densely populate nature of where it's impacting but we've laid down the 16 named storms we've had so far this season since January 1. We've also had 12 typhoons, six super typhoons. Certainly it's been active. But for 20 million people in the path you when you take the metro population of Taipei, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, has an area of interest. The potential for the storm system as it nears Taiwan the next six hours for landfall. Going it late groundwork, tell you what we're talking about with the landscape of this region. The typhoon itself, the cloud field 1,000 kilometers across. The eye of the storm about 100 kilometers across. If you're watching this from California this storm system, at least the field of the eye there would take you from, say, Hollywood, California all the way to San Bernardino. That's how large a feature we're talking about in the eye of the storm system. The track of landfall by around 6:00 p.m. local time in Taiwan, which is inside the next six hours, and beyond that, within 24 hours, it crosses over portions of the Taiwan Strait and impacts areas of Fujian Province later on by Tuesday morning. Of course that is major interest there with the millions of people in its path. But want to bring in the terrain because when you think about the island of Taiwan it is one of the most densely populated islands when it comes to tall mountains in the world. We're talking about 300 mountains roughly that are rising to 3,000 meters in height or about 10,000 feet in height. The storm system as it interest rackets with the mountains will squeeze out moisture. The mountaintops will try to shred this storm apart. But it is so strong it could still maintain typhoon status when it emerges over the Taiwan Strait. The rainfall being shredded apart, somewhere on the order of a half a meter or 20 inches in the forecast, mainly in some of the isolated mountain communities. This is a life-threatening landslide situation as far as the amount of rain that could come down over this region. Of course, for Taipei, we're talking about 300 millimeters, which is about a month's worth of rainfall. And in Taipei, of course, 6.9 million people in the metro. You bring in the skyline, at least some of the buildings -- the tallest building right there, the Taipei 101, seventh-tallest building in the world, built to withstand winds of about 216 kilometers per hour. When you get up to the top of these buildings, you're increasing the winds even on the order of something that is about, say, 30 percent more of the winds you that would see typically at the ground level because there's less friction to go around. But here as we close in, guys, Monday, 9:30 GMT, that's when the peak winds around Taipei could be around 126 kilometers per hour. And above 100 kilometer per-hour winds remain in the forecast throughout Monday night into Tuesday morning. So certainly, a dangerous night for a lot of people across this region of Asia -- Guys?

BARNETT: We'll be watching it closely. I know you will be, too.

Pedram, thanks.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

CHURCH: Thanks for that.

Well, India's prime minister says social media has changed his life. Narendra Modi meets with Facebook's CEO and opens up about the Internet challenges facing his country. We're back with that in just a moment.

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[02:50:33] KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.

Jordan Spieth finished off a season to remember by winning the tour championship by four shots on Sunday. And the victory means the 22- year-old Texan becomes the youngest player to win the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. It was Spieth's fifth victory of the year, which includes two majors, as his nearest challenger, the Swede Henrik Stenson, never really threatened. And what's more, Spieth will now return to the number-one spot in the world rankings when they come out.

It was a busy day at the Rugby World Cup with three big wins across stadiums in England. Australia literally got the ball rolling, running in 11 tries against Uruguay in the biggest win of the World Cup so far, a 65-3 victory. Then a score off the pluck United States, final score 39-16. And Ireland finished off the set of games easily defeating Romania, 44-10.

And Slovakia's Peter Sargen has won gold in the men's elite race at the Road Cycling World Championships in Richmond in Virginia. The 25- year-old made his move on the penultimate climb in the course. In fact, he built such a lead on silver medalist, Michael Matthews, of Australia, that he was able to ride hands-free across the line. Sargen says it was his biggest win of his career.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

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BARNETT: Welcome back. India's prime minister says social media has changed his life. Narendra Modi sat down with Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a tow-hall style meeting in California on Sunday. CHURCH: Yeah, Modi has more than -- get this -- 15 million Twitter

followers and 30 million likes on his Facebook page. Zuckerberg says Modi is setting an example for how world leaders should connect with their citizens.

BARNETT: Let's bring in our New Delhi bureau chief now, Ravi Agrawal, for more on this.

Ravi, the Indian prime minister telling Zuckerberg that social media changed his life. But it was the fact that he teared up as he was telling this story that most people are remembering. Tell us about that exchange.

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Errol. Mr. Modi was talking about how social media changed his life because he didn't go to a very good school in India and he has often talked about how he learned things about the world and about history, by wandering India. He's now also saying he learned a lot about the world through social media. Right after that when Mark Zuckerberg asked him to talk about his mother, that's when Modi really got emotional. He teared up a little bit, choked up a little bit and talked about how his father was no more but he had a very tough childhood because his mother was bringing him up. He talked about growing up very poor and how proud his mother would be now that he is prime minister of India.

BARNETT: The unfortunate part, though, is while that's a feel-good moment of the event, a billion people in India won't have the opportunity to have that experience because they don't even have access to the Internet. How did Modi address that issue, if at all? Because this wasn't exactly a grilling he went through. Some observers of this event describe it more as a pr event for both parties. But that's a serious issue, access to the Internet.

AGRAWAL: That's right. And you can see why some critics would call it a pr event. After all, there Modi got to talk about his pet issues, got to talk about doing business in India. For Facebook this was a bit of a coup to get to speak to India. Remember, India is Facebook's number-two market. It has more than 100 million users here. So for both parties this was win-win.

But to your point about how India has one billion people without the Internet. India is far behind the curve. Most people who are discovering the Internet now are discovering it not on P.C.s. They're discovering it on cheap Smartphones. That's where a lot of the growth in Internet usage has come from in the last two to three years. One number I've heard is, in 2010, India had 100 million Internet users. It now has about 300 million Internet users. So there's a lot of room to grow. But really when people talk about digital India they talk about, you know, every Indian having access to the Internet. That is many years away, and a lot of infrastructure in terms of pipes, in terms of broadband, as well as devices before we can get to that point. And Mr. Modi knows that all too well.

[02:56:01] CHURCH: It's a good point. The same is true in the African continent. With no infrastructure in the ground, many are jumping on the web on their old Nokia Smartphones. So if someone's trying to invent the next app, consider those in the developing world as well.

Ravi Agrawal live for us in New Delhi. Ravi, thanks.

CHURCH: It's a good point.

We're going to take a very short break.

I want to thank you for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett.

Only one more hour to go for the both of us. We're back after this short break. Please do stay with us.

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