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Air France Plane Cleared at JFK Airport Following Threat; Iraqi Photographer Goes From Weddings to Memorials; Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign Takes Southern Swing; The 2 Sides of Life in North Korea; Obama Pays Tribute to Soldiers at Arlington. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired May 25, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00] TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's -- you know, so we -- there's not a lot of discussion about what are they doing leading the police on this kind of a chase.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Tom Fuentes, thanks so much.

In what has become a sign of the times in Iraq, a Baghdad wedding photographer makes his living creating memorials. The widespread human impact of the ISIS threat, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Wolf Blitzer.

We have new details about our top story. The FBI now saying that an Air France plane has been cleared at JFK Airport after being escorted there by two F-15 fighter jets. A series of threatening calls had been made today against several airline flights and that included this Air France flight 22. None of those threats proven to be legitimate so far, but when the pilots of this Air France flight didn't respond to U.S. authorities, the two jets were scrambled to escort the plane to JFK Airport. The FBI now saying that passengers were taken off the plane, no incidents or hazards were reported on board by either the passengers or the crew.

[13:34:51] ISIS fighters are inching closer to Baghdad. And despite victories in towns barely an hour's drive from Iraq's capital, some in Baghdad say the city isn't in danger of falling. But, of course, as you can imagine, residents there are very much on edge. And in a country that is weary from years of war and bloodshed, the story of one photographer may say it best, his livelihood used to be weddings and now it's documenting the dead.

Arwa Damon has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shop promotes its expertise in encapsulating joyous moments. But it's been two months since such a job has come through. Okem Husain (ph) tells us pulling up the bulk of the business, immortalizing the dead. OKEM HUSAIN (ph), PHOTOGRAPHER IN IRAQ: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: Since the occupation, until now, but essentially now after ISIS came into Iraq and into Nineveh and now into Anbar, Okem Husain (ph) says, demand is increasing. He rarely knows the details of how or where they died, but the toughest are those who leave children behind. The knowledge and responsibility that this is what they will have to remember, a loving parent.

"It's painful seeing a father and his son," Husain (ph) says, "and the wife comes in with a photograph and he's a martyr, it's depressing. You feel like there isn't any hope."

(on camera): Okem Husain (ph) was just telling us that he, like so many other Iraqis, has grown used to death, brought on by violence that few can really understand. This country has been suffering, arguably, for decades, but the type of terror brought on by an organization like ISIS, that is unlike anything anyone has been through before.

(voice-over): Still, there is always the normalcy in a population used to living on edge, masking an overwhelming anxiety.

AHMED ALDOMA (ph), IRAQI RESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: "ISIS created a psychological and emotional state of fear within the population through its horrific actions that don't represent Islam in the least," says this Ahmed Aldoma (ph). "All you have to do now is say ISIS has entered and it will create panic and chaos."

Many believe Baghdad won't fall to ISIS, not because of the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, but, rather, because of Iraq's powerful neighbor, Iran.

ILAH HADDIK (ph), IRAQI RESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: "The security reality and the regional interests dictate that Iran be involved," retired officer Ilah Haddik (ph) explains.

And Iran is heavily involved, not just backing the popular mobilization units, a predominantly Shia military force, but also with its own set of advisors and other assets on the ground. And those units are active on the front lines in Sunni Anbar Province and around Ramadi.

None of it an ideal situation given Iraq's penchants for sectarian violence, but it's the nation's only option, especially when it comes to protecting the capital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Great report there by Arwa Damon, who is joining us live now from Baghdad.

And you're there on the ground, Arwa. We've been hearing from experts this hour that they think ISIS won't pose a real threat to Baghdad, but what are you hearing? I guess I wonder how many people worry it might there in Baghdad.

DAMON: Well, as you saw in that report, Brianna, it's quite complicated when it comes to whether or not ISIS can take over the capital. Militarily speaking, the way it did take over Mosul, that is probably not going to happen. Simply put, Iran won't allow it. But at the same time, that doesn't mean that ISIS does not continue to maintain the capacity to instill that fear amongst the population or carry out the types of attacks that we have been seeing, really wreaking havoc on Iraq for well over a decade in terms of car bombs, suicide bombs. People in Baghdad are worried about that. They're worried that they will continue to be targeted as they try to go through their daily lives.

At the end of the day, ISIS does not need to enter Baghdad to instill fear. It can do so by launching a series of attacks that could potentially stir up, once again, Iraq's sectarian tensions.

KEILAR: Arwa Damon, for us in Baghdad, thank for your report.

As if the race for the White House wasn't crowded enough, more candidates may be ready to run, but can they knock off the top contenders? We'll be talking about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:43:07] KEILAR: Continuing the mantra of taking nothing for granted, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign will make a southern swing this week. Mrs. Clinton, Secretary Clinton, I should say, and former President Bill Clinton, started the week at a Memorial Day parade near their home in Chappaqua, New York. And this is interesting because it was their first public appearance together since she announced her run for the White House. On Wednesday, the Clinton campaign heads to South Carolina, the site of the fourth Democratic primary in 2008. She was really taken out there in the primary by Barack Obama, earning less than half the vote of the future president.

And joining me now to talk about this, CNN politics reporter, Sara Murray.

Let's talk about South Carolina because she's heading there now. President Obama really took her out in 2008. So, could Bernie Sanders, could Martin O'Malley, who we expect to be in the race very soon, could they threaten her there?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: When you look at the poll numbers in South Carolina, her lead is just commanding there. It is hard to envision a situation where they would be able to take her out. It's still early. Who knows? Maybe they could have a moment. Maybe people could get Clinton fatigue. Like you said the bigger point, the broader point, is to say we didn't take any of these states for granted. We showed up in South Carolina, we campaigned there just like we did in New Hampshire and Iowa. KEILAR: Would she be better off going to Iowa again or is this just

she has to put her in perfunctory Nevada visit and perfunctory South Carolina visit.

MURRAY: It does feel like a perfunctory visit. A Democrat has not won South Carolina in the general election since 1976 when it was Jimmy Carter. The odds she's going to be able to take this state in the general are low, no matter what Republican she's up against. I do think this is a way to go there to kind of touch and feel with the primary voters, having a series of women's events. I'm sure she will do our women empowerment chat, and say I've been to all of these early primary states and I'm not treating this like a coronation and I'm not taking any state for granted.

[13:45:04] KEILAR: I'm going in every place that a regular candidate should be going. So she goes -- she'll be heading to Florida. What does Florida look like for her in the general election, let's say?

MURRAY: It makes more sense to be campaigning in Florida. Anything you do in the primaries can still pay dividends in the general. In the general election, Florida is one of the most hotly contested states. It's one of the biggest prizes. And it makes sense to spend a ton of time in Florida, especially if you're Hillary Clinton and not facing a whole lot of competition in terms of your primary opponent. So why not go there and see voters, why not show how you're a little different than the person they might have seen in 2008.

KEILAR: Let's talk about the Republican field. Getting a little bigger this week, although, it seems like a drop in a bucket of candidates, doesn't it? Rick Santorum, George Pataki, on the Republican side, and then you have Martin O'Malley. That's pretty big because he is a Democrat and it's a limited field, the newest Democratic challenger. But does it change anything?

MURRAY: This is when we needed more Republican candidates, right?

KEILAR: Yeah.

MURRAY: I think the reality for these folks, especially on the Republican side, if you look at Rick Santorum and George Pataki, and then look at the threshold to get on the debate stage, they need those moments if they are going to have a shot in the dark here. And right now, the way that FOX News is framing their debate, they're probably not going to get on stage. So you know, Rick Santorum had his run in Iowa last time around. I feel like when I've been in Iowa people have not been as excited about him this time. He would need a debate moment to catch fire. If not, he's not going to get this. Martin O'Malley, on the other hand, is a little different story. Obviously, he doesn't have a ton of name recognition. He doesn't have poll numbers anywhere near what you're seeing for Hillary Clinton. But we saw what happened with Barack Obama in 2012 when he hit the first debate and had not been up against anyone in the primary. It was terrible. He sort of crashed. I think there is a virtue to having some Democratic opponent to go up against, even if it's someone to spar with in the debates, if you're Hillary Clinton, to practice.

KEILAR: You never know. It could be an unpredictable situation. I'm waiting for it. We'll see.

Sara Murray, thanks so much.

Coming up, an exclusive look at a side of North Korea that very few see, the privileged few who live well while others merely survive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:54] KEILAR: North Korea is one of the poorest, most repressive countries in the world, but you'd never know it by looking at the people favored by leader Kim Jong-Un. They live in the other North Korea, with its brand new water park, dolphin show, and other vanity projects.

CNN's Will Ripley takes an exclusive inside look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The North Koreans took us here to show us their dolphins, but the audience really got our attention.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY: This is the kind of unscripted emotion we rarely see in North Korea.

(MUSIC)

RIPLEY: Government propaganda shows over-the-top adulation for the supreme leader.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY: But these smiles, these belly laughs are real.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY: Especially when our CNN photo journalist was pulled on stage.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY: This dolphinarium, just one stop on our government-guided sightseeing tour, showing all the perks for Pyongyang's elite. Their lives drastically different from millions of North Koreans we're not allowed to see, living in poor, rural areas, tending fields by hand. Experts say as many as half the population, hungry.

(CROSSTALK)

RIPLEY: But when it wants to, North Korea and its young leader will spend millions on vanity projects, building extravagant amenities, like this horse riding club.

(SINGING)

RIPLEY: No expense spared in this brand new orphanage. Kids get regular visits from Kim Jong-Un, a man they call father, but the orphanage is half empty.

(SINGING)

RIPLEY: Most North Koreans in the capital live in drab housing blocks assigned by the government. We're shown only the newest, best neighborhoods, like these apartments for elite North Korean scientists. They even have their own vacation resort. The government prepared to spend lavishly to reward key personnel.

(on camera): That's you right there.

(voice-over): More special perks for those who train the elite. Senior professors at Pyongyang's most prestigious university get these free luxury apartments.

(on camera): How does this compare to some of your friends' and family members' homes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): This is much better.

RIPLEY: But even the best homes need solar panels, back-up power during regular outages.

We also visited the supreme leader's lavish new water park, a gift for his people, featuring a life-size statue of his late father Kim Jong- Il, which must be revered like a religious artifact.

(on camera): Everyone who enters the water park first pays their respects to the late leader Kim Jong-Il who died in 2011.

Park goers have nothing but praise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I want more foreigners to come here because I want them to be captivated by the great personality of our supreme leader, Marshall Kim Jong-Un.

RIPLEY (voice-over): These luxuries you'll only find in the show- piece capital, home to the most trusted, loyal citizens, proudly displayed as symbols of national greatness as millions of peoples' struggles are kept hidden from the world.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: It is, of course, Memorial Day. That means it's the day that we honor the sacrifices of soldiers. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:58:00] KEILAR: President Obama marking this Memorial Day as the first in 14 years that the U.S. is not engaged in a major ground war. At Arlington National Cemetery, the president placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And he paid tribute to those who they've their lives for the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The values that drive our brave men and women in uniform remain constant, honor, courage, selflessness. Those values lived in the hearts of everyday heroes who risked everything for us in every American war, men and women who now rest forever in these quiet fields and across our land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: For this Memorial Day, more than 228,000 flags are placed at grave sites at Arlington National Cemetery. It's a job carried out by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.

(TAPS)

KEILAR: I'm Brianna Keilar here in Washington.

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

And for our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.