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U.S. Embassy In Cuba To Close; Second Arrest Made In London; President Trump's First U.N. General Assembly; Protests In St. Louis; The 69th Emmy Awards In Los Angeles. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired September 17, 2017 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[16:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening now in the NEWSROOM.

Was the President's fire and fury remark an empty threat?

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: It was not an empty threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to make sure all options are under development to ensure that this regime cannot threaten the world with a nuclear weapon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If our diplomatic efforts fail, though, our military option will be the only one left.

WHITFIELD: The diplomatic pressure intensifies against North Korea.

HALEY: If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed.

WHITFIELD: And all eyes are on the U.S. President as he arrives in New York for his first United Nations general assembly.

Plus -

St. Louis is cleaning up after a second night of protests over the acquittal of a white policeman who shot a black motorist.

And three named storms now in the Atlantic. Maria is strengthening. And so far on a similar path to Irma just as residents of the Florida Keys return home.

CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. And thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. President Trump will be departing at any moment now from his New Jersey golf club to head to Manhattan. The stakes are high as he prepares to deliver his first speech at the United Nations general assembly on Tuesday. And going into the much anticipated gathering, the President's administration is ratcheting up the pressure and rhetoric on North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: I think we all know that basically if North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed. And we all know that. And none of us want that. None of us want war. But we also have to look at the fact that you are dealing with someone who is being reckless, irresponsible and is continuing to give threats not only to the United States, but to all of their allies. So something is going to have to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The President this morning alluded to recent sanctions placed on the rogue nation and took a swipe at the North Korean dictator in a tweet saying, I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night, asked him how rocket man is doing. Long gas lines is forming in North Korea, too bad.

We have team coverage of all of this. We begin with CNN White House correspondent Athena Jones, live from New Jersey near the President's golf club.

So Athena, let me begin with you. What does the White House hope to accomplish at the U.N. general assembly this week?

ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Well, this is a chance for the President to spell out what will be his administration's approach to the global community. We have heard some of part of his national security team talk about how he plans to promote peace and prosperity and also focus on sovereignty.

Let's hear more from national security advisor H.R. McMaster, who gave a bit of a preview of what we could hear from the President on Tuesday, speaking this morning on FOX. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. H.R. MCMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Well, he thinks the speech is a tremendous opportunity obviously to reach so many world leaders at the same time and to emphasize really three themes. First is to protect the American people. The second is to promote American prosperity. And the third is really to help promote accountability and sovereignty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you heard that preview from General McMaster. We also heard from U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, who spoke to reporters on Friday a little bit about this speech. She said didn't read it and in the speech the President will hug the right people and slap the right people. We can probably expect him to have some harsh words for North Korea, given this latest missile launch, the second one to fly over a close U.S. ally, Japan, in less than a month. And this missile also went the furthest distance, so that's certainly going to be a big topic on the agenda.

And one more thing, Fred, this is a chance for not only the President to speak to a lot of world leaders gathered together. We are talking about 193 member nation. It is also a chance for the leaders of the world to take a measure of President Trump. And it will be interesting to see how much he focuses on this America first agenda. We have heard so much about while speaking before this summit, of a global organization that is geared towards trying to resolve global challenges together - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much.

So this morning, U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson making it clear if diplomatic efforts fail with North Korea, a military option may be the only one left.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Our strategy has been to undertake this peaceful pressure campaign we call it, enabled by the four no's, the four no's being that we do not seek regime change. We do not seek a regime collapse. We do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula and do not seek a reason to send our forces north of the demilitarized zone.

So the peaceful pressure campaign is built around in putting together the largest and strongest international coalition we can to send the same message to North Korea and to North Korea's neighbors, China and Russia, that this is the policy of the rest of the world. And you have seen that expressed tonight in two unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution to impose the strictest sanctions ever. All of that designed to bring North Korea to the table for constructive productive dialogue. If our diplomatic efforts fail, though, our military option will be the only one left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:05:30] WHITFIELD: All right, with us now, CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott.

So Elise, a lot of messaging coming from the White House this morning. Is there a red line that would prompt the administration to take military action?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I think the Trump administration has been pretty clear about what those red lines are. I mean, clearly, the option of taking military action against North Korea preemptively is something that nobody wants to do. It would be catastrophic in terms of killing you know, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of South Koreans. And you know, U.S. servicemen are in the area, too. But I mean, the Trump administration has made clear that two things,

should North Korea launch a missile toward the United States, toward the territory such as Guam, for instance, the U.S. would have no hesitation to take that missile out. And there would be military action as a result, or if North Korea had a nuclear weapon that it was able to pair, to marry on one of those intercontinental ballistic missiles that it could launch toward the you state, this is something that any U.S. President would not be able to tolerate. And then there could be some kind of preemptive military strike to take that out.

But again, Fred, the decision, you know, for any President to use military action anywhere clearly a very, you know, very heavy one to make, but there are certain scenarios under which the United States could not tolerate North Korea doing anything. So that's what I think these really tough messages towards North Korea are. They are as much as military deterrent as anything to say if you cross these red lines, this is not going to end well for you, because that will be suicidal, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. All very delicate.

Thanks so much, Elise Labott.

And of course Elise has an in-depth profile of the U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley. And you can read it in CNN's digital magazine. Just visit CNN.com/state.

All right. Joining me right now, Congressman Francis Rooney, a Republican from Florida.

Congressman, good to see you. You are supportive of the way the President has been handling North Korea, right? So do you believe that the President should continue this kind of fire and fury rhetoric especially when he speaks before the U.N.?

REP. FRANCIS ROONEY (R), FLORIDA: Well, I think that when you consider that three successive Presidents have engaged North Korea and have accomplished nothing, the approach of secretary Tillerson and the President to lay out those four no's, and then set the stage for hopefully not talking to Kim but putting him in a box, letting him decide what he is going to do, it should be a good strategy.

I mean, if I were President, I would say to Kim, I'm not going to talk to you. Talk to China if you want to talk to somebody. We are going to be ready to defend ourselves against you.

WHITFIELD: And when you say have accomplished nothing, do you mean in terms of North Korea abandoning any kind of missile test whatsoever?

ROONEY: Exactly. You know, they would misbehave. We would talk to them. We would have some kind of summit or a stop, and then things would go on about their way and they continue to nuclearize. I think it's time for a major league change in strategy here. And talking doesn't seem to work with the Kim family.

WHITFIELD: So do you believe that a military option is the only one left that diplomatic efforts have failed even as it pertains to this administration and that threatening military action and potentially following through on that really is the best or only option?

ROONEY: Well, I think the stronger we are with him in not speaking, in stiffening, if you will, driving him to China, increases the opportunity for China to help us find a diplomatic solution and not have to do something drastic.

WHITFIELD: So you do want to see diplomacy.

ROONEY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: You are just saying engaging others.

ROONEY: Absolutely. But I think when we try to do it from 5,000 miles away he laughs at us. And you know, the old thing in business if you want a deal, too bad, you are not going to get a good one.

WHITFIELD: What do you want the President, what do you want in the President's message this week, if not indirectly sending a message to North Korea, but on the global stage.

ROONEY: Well, I think the idea of peace, prosperity and reinforcement of sovereignty is pretty good principles to elaborate on. I mean, you know, the push for U.N. reform that evidently 120 countries have signed on to I think is more, is very important. We have seen so many instances of weakness and corruption in the U.N. And I hate to see the U.N. lose all respect.

[16:10:17] WHITFIELD: And will this be difficult for the President to deliver this message, and that his previous messages about the U.N. have been less than complimentary, yet now he will be speaking before the U.N. and hoping to have the ear of the member nations?

ROONEY: Well, I think he can take the high road in this message of peace, prosperity and sovereignty, but also I think he needs to hit them hard. I mean, look. Look at the $100 million that went to Al- Shabab that was supposed to go to Somalia? Or the fact that the WIPO pushed a patent for sodium cyanide for North Korea, you know, right under the nose of the U.N. governance authority. So this thing needs to be reformed to be accountable.

WHITFIELD: OK. And how will you measure success from the President's words?

ROONEY: Well, I think when we see some real reform measures to make sure that the peacekeeping missions of the U.N. don't misbehave. That they control their expenditures and don't let money go to terrorists, that they reformulate the human rights council, which is somewhat oxymoronic right now to turn it into a true defender of human rights, then I would feel a lot better about the U.N.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Francis Rooney, thanks so much for your time.

ROONEY: Thanks for having me on, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, the President's travel ban may

be just the first step. That's what H.R. McMaster is saying this morning. Why the White House is considering a new stricter ban.

And right now, we are waiting for the President to arrive at Trump tower, where he will be spending part of the day, ahead of his big debut on the international stage, and the United Nations this week. Right now still in New Jersey, on his way soon to Trump tower in Manhattan.

All that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:12] WHITFIELD: All right. The Trump administration considering a new stricter travel ban to replace its original executive order. Earlier today, national security adviser Henry McMaster, H.R. McMaster explained what the White House is looking at.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCMASTER: If you can't screen people effectively to know who is coming into your country, then you shouldn't allow people from that country to travel. So what the travel ban is, is a first step, a first step in better screening, better sharing of information, to encourage governments to meet the requirements that we have so that it allows us to protect our own people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will we see a new one?

MCMASTER: Well, this is something that we are looking is how to protect the American people better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That original ban of course has had its legality questioned and is up for Supreme Court hearing next month.

I want to discuss with my panel right now. Page Pate is a CNN legal analyst and constitutional attorney. Mustafa Tameez is Democratic strategist and former consultant for the department of homeland security. And Andre Bauer, CNN political commentator and former lieutenant governor of South Carolina. Good to see all of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Mustafa, you first. You know, what is your reaction when you hear that a stricter travel ban and more screening is something the White House might be proposing?

MUSTAFA TAMEEZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, just looks like that they are playing into ISIS' hands in terms of this narrative of clash of civilization. You know, when President Trump first came out with this, we all understood that this is not going to make us any safer. The real threat is home grown terrorists and we all know that. We have seen that in Europe and we have seen the United States. And this extremism only grows when there is this ISIS narrative of saying that you don't belong in the United States if you are a Muslim. You don't belong if you are a Muslim in Europe. And that's what we are seeing and that is what some of the recent terrorist threat in Europe.

WHITFIELD: And so, Page, I want to just -- does this come on the heels of the Supreme Court saying the Trump administration can at least maintain restrictions on refugees. And this was a ruling that just came really upholding a lower court ruling. And perhaps the White House is emboldened by that, thinking that the law may indeed be the Supreme Court might be on its side as it pertains to a tougher travel ban?

PAGE PATE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well it's possible. I think it's reading too much into the court's decision right now simply to let things go forward as the administration planned. The entire Supreme Court has not voted on the travel ban yet. They have not ruled on its legality.

But the concern I think initially with the first travel ban was how it was drafted. It was so poorly drafted and was clearly focused on religion. And I know they revised it once. And if now they are thinking about revising it again. And instead of focusing on religion, focusing on national security threats and being able to prove that this ban actually helps national security. They have a much better chance of having it survive any type of constitutional challenge.

WHITFIELD: And Andre, is this an effort to send a message to Trump supporters to his base, that this is something that he campaigned on, and this is something he will continue to propose and be behind?

ANDRE BAUER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sorry. This is an effort to make the American people safe. This is what the American people want. Get outside the beltway. People are concerned about their safety. And the number one job in my opinion of the President of the United States is to keep the people of this country safe first and foremost. And so, it's sad to me that politics keeps being played with this, when administrations before nobody challenged when the President was trying to do the right thing and protect its citizens. Now all of a sudden it's become the mantra of the Democratic Party to say, this is political and he is trying to keep certain people out.

No, it's saying we need more checks and balances to make sure those entering this country are in fact here for peaceful reasons. And so, we put lots of our home people out. We do certain things to make sure that we are safe as a country.

And if that's an inconvenience -- look, I'm an American citizen. I'm pre-checked, but I still have to go through security and it's an inconvenience to me. But as a citizen, I know when I get on a plane I'm much safer because of those inconveniences.

[16:20:21] WHITFIELD: So Mustafa, is it as simple as that? I mean, you know, doing the right thing? You were shaking your head.

TAMEEZ: Well look, I mean, I think most national security experts will tell you the real threat is homegrown terrorism. And that's where we really have to focus on. When the President says he wants to keep people out he is basically distracting us away from the real threat because he makes it sound like that people are coming from outside that are the threat.

At the same time he says the real threat is on the internet and we have to monitor the internet and counter violent extremism. Well, if you are telling people that there is a clash of civilization, which is what ISIS is saying, that there is, that Muslims cannot live within the west and we have to have Muslims out of the United States, then you are feeding into that narrative, and that's what creates the fight.

So it's easy to say the good guys wear white hats and bad guys wear black hats. But the world is more complicated than that. And these type of simple messaging that he is trying to do to his base creates extremism.

WHITFIELD: And so Page, didn't the lower court say, until you are able to prove to us that there are demonstrative examples from these states that the White House is proposing to ban, you know, will we be able to support this as a constitutional measure. Why wouldn't the Supreme Court be placing the same demands looking for that same kind of evidence?

PATE: Well, I think they will to a certain extent. Because no one really questions at the executive branch, the President has a lot of discretion when it comes to national security and to immigration. But that discretion has to be exercised within constitutional boundaries. It is not a question of convenience. It's a question of constitutionality. So if the focus is on national security, that better not just be a pretext. There better actually be a reason and some supporting evidence to say what I'm trying to do is going to make us safer and not just discriminate.

WHITFIELD: So Andre, do you believe that kind of supportive evidence is what the White House is focusing on, as it also proposes a wider, stricter ban?

BAUER: I believe early on the White House, when they put out their original travel ban, didn't expect what they got, but they got a little bit of a lesson. They learned from that lesson. They got better in the second one and hopefully they got it dialed in enough where it can meet the muster to pass the court system. But in the end, I don't think Donald Trump in his first few months of being in office is worried about getting reelected. I think he was doing what he thought was right to make this country safe.

Look. Donald Trump is a patriot. All of his life, he has been big on America. He thinks he is doing the right thing as do many folks like myself in making sure we make it tougher and we discourage folks that are coming here for the wrong reasons.

WHITFIELD: Mustafa?

TAMEEZ: Look, the world is far more complicated. It's easier to say just like President Trump discovered the health care was complicated. Counterterrorism is more complicated. So if he is going to be the commander in-chief, which he is, he needs to spend time in reading his briefings.

You know, you are not going to learn counterterrorism on twitter. You are going to learn it by actually reading your briefing books. And so I would suggest to people that support President Trump is to encourage him to spend the time to do that.

Look, I'm in Houston, Texas. I think President Trump did a good job during hurricane recovery, these early phases in Texas and in Florida, because he has paid attention to details and he learned from it. He needs to do the same thing in counterterrorism. He needs to spend the time to learn and pay attention, not just be caught up in sound bites in trying to look tough. Someone who straps a bomb around themselves and willing to explode it, they are not, you know, threatened by tough talk. We have to be disciplined and thoughtful and think of this as a long-term effort, not just in terms of a couple of tweets.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mustafa Tameez, Andre Bauer, Page Pate, thank you.

BAUER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, on the heels of Irma, another massive storm may be following its path. We will take a look at three new threats bearing down on parts of the Caribbean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:46] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. For the first time since hurricane Irma hit a week ago people who evacuated the lower Florida Keys were finally able to return home today. Cars began lining up late last night with residents anxious to see the damage done to their homes. More than 20,000 people are expected to come back over the next few weeks. One woman we talked to says the drive into her neighborhood was very emotional.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA RIESGO, FLORIDA KEYS RESIDENT: I have been coming here since I was a child. And having seen, you know, this place over and over, as we drive down, and see it now, it's heartbreaking. I cried pretty much all the way down, to be honest. It was difficult. Very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: As Florida Keys residents get a look at the damage from Irma, another storm is threatening to follow Irma's same destructive path potentially. We are keeping a close eye on tropical storm Maria which will likely strengthen into a hurricane sometime today.

Meteorologist Julie Martin joins us now.

So Maria is just one of three storms as you have right there churning. JULIE MARTIN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Fred. Like it or not, still

plenty of action in the tropics. We do have Maria, our tropical storm here which will likely become a hurricane possibly as early as 5:00. Jose our category one hurricane and then Lee, a tropical depression, which is really nothing to worry about. It is just sort of falling apart.

65-mile-per-hour storm right now is Maria. The hurricane hunters are in there and they have picked up on some higher wind speeds that would be a Category 1 hurricane strength. Again, we'll be waiting until 5:00 to figure out if that becomes a hurricane at that time.

Nonetheless, projected to intensify over the next several days, eventually as it approaches the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico becoming a major hurricane, a Category 3 storm and unfortunately taking a track very similar to Irma and that means a lot of those islands that were hit very hard in Irma are likely to be hit once again.

Taking a look at our spaghetti models here, forecast guidance again takes the track very eerily similar to Irma, eventually reaching Puerto Rico and then beyond. So we take a look at some of the factors here and why this storm is expected to intensify. Well, certainly going to be entering some warmer waters and that's one of the factors in terms of the fuel for hurricanes.

Now, as I mentioned the hurricane hunters are flying in as we speak, and they have picked up on winds as high as 74 miles per hour. They're using instruments to drop into the center of the storm. All of that information being fed back to the National Hurricane Center. So 5:00, we are expecting perhaps a different view of Maria and a stronger Maria.

Right now they've picked up winds anywhere from 66 to say 74 miles per hour -- 74 being the lowest threshold then for a Category 1 storm. But again, it's going to be encountering thus the warmer water. It will continue to strengthen. It's getting better organized, and unfortunately, looking at a lot of those hard-hit islands getting hit once again. Fred?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, that digital imagery very demonstrative. All right, thanks s much Julie Martin. Appreciate it.

Straight ahead, the future of the recently re-opened U.S. embassy in Cuba is in doubt after a string of mysterious reported attacks on U.S. diplomats and their families. That warning coming from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, next.

But first, every week we introduce you to people who are going above and beyond. We call them CNN heroes. Meet Mama Rosie, who helped care for orphaned children in South Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE MASHALE, CNN HERO: I've got a big heart for children and for people in this community Our center now has became a center of hope. All the children who are placed here they say that I got my house, I've got my home. There is a mother waiting for me. The basic things that we're giving them, it's the love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: If you know someone you think could be a CNN hero, visit our website and nominate the person today.

[16:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hi, welcome back. Injuries to U.S. diplomats from suspected sonic attacks in Cuba, now stirring discussions about the possible closing of the U.S. embassy in Havana. Here is U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this morning. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on Cuba, some senators have suggested closing down the embassy there. Should that happen?

REX TILLLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have it under evaluation. It's a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered. We've brought some of those people home. It's under review.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: So far, 21 Americans have suffered experiencing headaches, loss of balance and brain swelling even. Let's discuss this now CNN Havana-based correspondent Patrick Oppmann. So Patrick, exactly what has happened then dating as far back as November?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and U.S. officials tell us that the closing of the U.S. embassy here is hardly imminent but there is very real frustration among officials here in Havana and fr the State Department in Washington, D.C., that they don't have answers about what has happened and many U.S. diplomats as you've said, some 21 U.S. diplomats and families have been seriously affected by something that investigators still do not understand.

That somebody or someone have had access to a new type of weapon. A sonic weapon that emits a sound wave, sometimes audible, sometimes they're not, that has been used against diplomats in their homes here in Havana, sometimes late at night while they're asleep in bed. And the way it's worked is that they hear this loud sound that's been described as something like an alarm clock, something like insects very loud, like metal scraping across the floor, but if you left the room, it would stop, Fred.

And that they be exposed to this sound, this suspected sonic weapon has led to these very serious health symptoms. They've brought this up multiple times with the Cuban government. The Cuban government has allowed the FBI to come to the island, it's something very, very rare, to investigate. No devices were found and diplomats both U.S. and Canadian diplomats continue to complain about feeling these kinds symptoms, about this kind of harassing attacks.

Who is behind this? We still don't know. But certainly the United States feels that Cuba, who has denied involvement in these attacks, must know more. It's just impossible to believe that a foreign government could launch this kind of attack in Cuba without the Cuban government which has such tight control of this island without them knowing something.

[16:40:00] So very clearly here, the United States is not taking Cuba at its word, that they didn't have any involvement and they want answers, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So then Patrick, would it only be Cuba -- Cuban authorities who would actually investigate?

OPPMANN: Well, the FBI has been here. Canadian investigators have been here. They have not found much of anything. You can't operate here like you would in other foreign countries or certainly in the United States, if you are a U.S. FBI agent. You're very much constricted about what the Cuban government allows you to see and do. And we are told that the Cuban government has been cooperative up until a point but there's still no clearance over how these attacks were done, why they were done and by whom.

In the past, U.S. officials feel that this type of sophisticated weaponry must have come from a third country, it's not a capability to Cuba would have and of course, the why. Why does Cuba do this when it's obviously wrecking U.S./Cuban relations having a big impact? So, more questions than answers here, Fred, and certainly the United States is frustrated by the state of the investigation at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patrick Oppmann in Havana thanks so much.

All right, meantime, London police have made a second arrest now in connection with Friday's train explosion there. Investigators have also searched a house in a suburb west of London. An 18-year-old man who was arrested Saturday remains in custody. The terror threat level has now been downgraded from critical to severe, meaning a new attack is still considered highly likely.

Thirty people were injured when a bomb partially detonated on a train during rush hour Friday morning. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is following the story for us from London. So, are police sharing very much anything at all about the suspects?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's extraordinary how police in the past decade have managed to keep such tight a lid on what they learn in their investigations, but yes, we did know that 10 minutes to midnight, a 21-year-old was arrested in Hounslow in west London and that is the second arrest after an 18-year-old man was picked up in the southern port of Dover, the gateway really to mainland continental Europe/France.

The suggestion perhaps being that he was trying to escape the country. The area partially evacuated during that arrest. And as a result of these two arrests, well, there have been two addresses in the leafy (ph) suburbs of Surrey that have also been searched as well. Now, these two arrests appear to have given law enforcement officials here a greater degree of confidence that they're getting their hand on the sort of scope of this cell.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, leading law enforcement officials here saying it's clear that this wasn't a lone wolf. There was some sort of cell. But the fact they've chosen today to downgrade the threat level from critical where it suggests an attack is imminent to severe, which suggests it's highly likely, as you said, perhaps suggest and I am speculating it will perhaps suggest they have a better idea who was behind this only partially successful attack on the Parsons Green tube.

But Fred, you got to bear in mind there's a huge psychological impact on the attack on the transport infrastructure for many who use the tube for their daily journey into work. It hasn't been hit quite substantially since 2005, the 07/07 attacks. And so this have some psychological impact, but this city that's been enduring frankly five attacks in the last six months, the most sustained terror threats some say since the IRA bombing campaign of the 1970s. So, London here will be trying to go about business as normal but conscious of this enduring threat, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much from London.

All right, terror is going to be a big topic at the United Nation this is week with President Trump making his first speech in front of his international counterparts this way. CNN's Richard Roth reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENTS (voice-over): The flags are up. It's time for another United Nations general assembly global get-together. As always, the United States is the host country, a host with an edge from the very start of the year.

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N: For those that don't have our back, we're taking names.

ROTH (voice-over): Much of the world's big names will attend, none bigger than President Trump himself, whose name has been just up the street from the U.N. for years, at the Trump World Tower building.

RICHARD GOWAN, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNITVERSITY: This general assembly is about one man, Donald Trump, and the big question is, will Trump insult the U.N. r will he try to make friends with the U.N.?

ROTH (voice-over): Trump, a New York real estate mogul, has not always embraced the U.N. Nearly five years ago, he tweeted, the cheap 12 inch square marble tiles behind speaker at U.N. always bothered me. I will replace with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me. No one asked despite years of renovation at the U.N. After his election, Trump said the U.N. was a club where people liked to talk.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome to the White House.

ROTH (voice-over): Trump was more conciliatory when members of the U.N. Security Council visited the White House in April.

TRUMP: I have long felt the United Nations is an underperformer, but has tremendous potential.

ROTH (voice-over): President Trump will speak to the entire world for the first time from here at the general assembly rostrum, the leader who vowed --

[16:45:00] -- fire and fury if Kim Jong-un threatens the U.S., will be closer to North Koreans than he ever has been in his life. The North Korean delegation will be seated here in the front row, just 20 feet away from where President Trump speaks to the general assembly.

There have been some memorable speeches inside the general assembly. Linbya's Muammar Gaddafi tore a page of the U.N. charter. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez warned the devil in the form of George W. Bush had been in the chamber.

HUGO CHAVEZ, FORMER PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): -- and it smells of sulfur still today.

ROTH (voice-over): U.S. Presidents are usually more measured in tone.

HALEY: I think you'll have the president who did the bombing on Syria from the chemical weapons, the one that has gone against ISIS in both Syria and Iraq at record pace.

ROTH (voice-over): Other first-time speakers include President Emmanuel Macron of France. It is also the first U.N. General assembly for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATION SECRETARY-GENERAL: Most dangerous crisis we face today, the crisis related to the nuclear risk in relation to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

GOWAN: Donald Trump has made the U.N. unexpectedly relevant. We thought that Trump was going to trash the organization, but his single biggest foreign policy priority containing North Korea is being handled right here in the Security Council.

ROTH (voice-over): Trump will also call for more reform of the U.N., unclear if he again demands changing of the marble. Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And nine arrests made in St. Louis after a second night of protests and the city is facing more protests today. CNN's Ryan Young is there. Ryan?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) what you see behind us. Another protest have already started. They want to occupy the space in front of the police headquarters. Protesters say they will not stop until they get the justice they want. We'll see how the night pans out.

[16:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, protests happening right now in St. Louis for a third day after the acquittal of an ex-police officer. Last night's protests started peacefully with tensions boiled over after some demonstrators refused to disperse and actually confronted police directly. CNN's Ryan Young is live for us in St. Louis. So Ryan, how are things looking right now?

YOUNG: Well you know what, Fredricka, how much a difference an hour makes. If you look here, you can hear the people who are already starting to chant. This protest started about a half an hour ago and you can see the diverse mix of people once again. Look, this is how the protests have been going on during the early parts of the evening. It's been peaceful, it's been mixed.

They're right in front of the police department right now. The police officers are on either side, but they're not interacting at all with the protesters. This is just how it was last night. Then they will go for a march for a few minutes and everything was fine, but last night there was a small crew that stayed around and just after like 9:30, 10:00, that's when things changed.

In fact, look at this video that we shot last night, where chaos just broke out after people were throwing things at officers. There was so much restraint from the officers that we saw people throwing paint, urine, gasoline at officers and breaking windows at one point. There were dozens of arrests last night as police tried to get calm back in that business district.

But coming back now live you can see how large this crowd is, and the more we talked to people, the more they say they want the people inside that police department to understand they want real significant change here. And we talked about the ideas of how close this is to Ferguson. So many people are upset and feel like the wounds have not healed from that.

They want to make statements heard just about the change they want to see. As you look around you, you can see children out here, you can see people from all different neighborhoods and we heard more and more that people felt a little guilty but they didn't get more active after the last time something like this happened. They talked about the video and how they felt this was not the outcome that should happen with St. Louis.

And they're embarrassed by what's happened over the last 24 hours both because of the non-conviction and the idea that people are doing violence in the street. So, protesters have been actually saying, hey we want to keep this as calm as possible and do this the right way. But you can hear them and they're making their voices heard at this point.

WHITFIELD: And so Ryan, what about the response, if any, coming from say the mayor or even city aldermen or even the sheriff's office since, you know, these voices that are erupting and you just reported people want change but are they getting a response from those who might be able to legislate some change.

YOUNG: That's an interesting question because I was actually talking to some veteran civil rights leaders here and they were saying, look, this is great that you're marching in the street but are you going to vote? Are you going to make some changes in the office and how it's set up here in America? And the reason why nothing's happened in the three years is because people who come here don't necessarily go to the voting booth. So that's an interesting argument made by some people who have their hands on the issues.

We have not seen a lot of the civil leaders who are elected out here. At least they haven't made themselves available to talk to. What we have seen though is one of the most diverse collections of people who are angry about what's happening. In fact, I see more white people wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts than I see black people. So there is some sort of coordinated effort going on here. And they said they want to continue this through the week. We've heard they want to protest at least until Tuesday. S, we'll have to watch and see what's going on.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Young, thanks so much, in St. Louis. And we'll be right back.

[16:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the stars will be shining bright tonight when the best in television battle it out at the 69th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. The competition is pretty fierce. Here is a look at the nominees for the best lead actor in a drama series, Sterling K. Brown, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Spacey just to name a few. Among the heavy hitters in the lead dramatic actress category, Viola Davis, Robin Wright and Elisabeth Moss.

And in the numbers game, "SNL" and "West World" reigned supreme, tying for the most nominations, 22 actually in all. "Stranger Things" came in a close third with 19. And for the first time, Stephen Colbert will be the master of ceremonies. The late night show host has high expectations for tonight's show predicting it will be the most watched Emmy's in history.

And we'll have, of course, full red carpet coverage right here on CNN. All right, thanks so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more straight ahead in the "Newsroom" with boris sanchez.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Boris Sanchez in New York in for Ana Cabrera.

[17:00:00] We thank you so much for joining us. President Trump about to make his debut before the world body he's called weak and incompetent. We're talking of course about the United Nations.