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Pope Francis Travels to Latin America; Bloody Violence in Chicago over July 4th Weekend; Obama to Address Pentagon about Fighting ISIS; Joe Clancy on Secret Service Scandals; Negotiations Continue on Iran Nuclear Deal. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 06, 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] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Theologians say Francis is trying to breathe new life in the Catholic Church there. It's suffered a significant decline in numbers. During his week long visit, the pope will make stops in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Rosa Flores is in Quito, Ecuador.

Looks like an amazing response there, Rosa. Tell us about it.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is very emotional for the Ecuadorian people. The first Latin American pope makes the decision to come to Latin America but for the first time -- because the first time he was here back in 2013, that was the decision of Pope Benedict XVI. So this is showing that the pope, Pope Francis, has chosen these three countries as his first Latin American trip.

And it's by no mistake, Brianna, that he chose three of the countries with the highest poverty rates, with the largest indigenous population and given his recent encyclical, it all makes sense because his papal theology is to evangelize from the margins where people are hurting, where you find the poor, the elderly, the sick and all of those folks are included in his itinerary during his visit to Latin America and so during these masses where we're expecting him to speak in Spanish in his native tongue and to speak from the heart in these homilies.

We're also expecting him to make some of the points he made in his encyclical and a lot of these people in these countries on the margins will probably suffer climate change a lot quicker, a lot sooner than developed countries. So he's here as the leader of the Catholic church, as pontiff, but also as their fellow Latin American who is coming home to his home continent. And we've seen him embrace children, embrace women and we're going to see that continue throughout the day.

One other thing that I should point out, Brianna, is that his visit is all about inclusion. In these countries with large indigenous populations, some of these folks don't speak Spanish and so during the mass today, for example, we're expecting Bible readings that will be translated into these dialects. Chants that are native to these areas will be included. It's all part of the message of inclusion, Brianna, because like you said, when the number of faithful are dwindling, you have to bring them in somehow. If someone can, it's probably Pope Francis. KEILAR: Yeah, he sure can.

Rosa Flores, for us in Quito, Ecuador, thanks so much for your report.

The pope isn't done with his international travels for the year. In September, he will pay a visit to Cuba before heading to the U.S. with stops planned in Philadelphia, New York and Washington. The pope is expected to meet with President Obama and he's also expected to address Congress.

Coming up, a bloody holiday weekend in the nation's third-biggest city. At least seven people were shot to death in Chicago and dozens more wounded. How can the city stem this violence? We'll be speaking live with a Chicago couple whose young daughter was shot to death two years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:11] KEILAR: The nation's third-biggest city reeling from a holiday weekend of deadly shootings. IN just two days, at least seven people in Chicago were killed and more than 40 others were injured. Among the dead, 7-year-old Amari Brown, who was struck by a bullet while waiting to watch fireworks. Police say the intended target was Brown's father, a gang member, who has been arrested more than 40 times. The bloodshed has outraged the city and led to calls for justice.

With us now, from Chicago, to talk more about this, Nathanial and Cleopatra Pendleton. Their 15-year-old daughter, Hadiya, was shot and killed in Chicago two years ago.

You're daughter, in a way I feel Amari Brown, from this weekend, Nathaniel and Cleopatra, you're daughter put a face on this issue. You hear about a weekend like what we've both seen and it hasn't been long since, as you called her, Nathanial, the light of your life was taken from you. How do you react to seeing this happen two years after Hadiya was killed?

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: It's very unfortunate that we've been out here, much like other parents, talking about gun violence and the impact on our city and families and the lost lives, only to see that things are continuing to get worse.

KEILAR: And you -- Nathaniel, feel free to chime in on that. But also tell us about the foundation that you involved in to curb violence. You're really tried to take what happened and try to make sure this doesn't happen to other parents, that they are not sitting in the seats like you two.

NATHANIEL PENDLETON: Well, with the foundation we are trying to prevent kids from going down that same road. We have tried. We're still trying and we're not going to give up. We still have a long road to go. And that is evidently after this weekend we definitely see that we are -- our work is hardly done.

KEILAR: What are your goals moving forward, Cleopatra, reaching out with other families and young people? In the case of Padea, she was a bystander. Apparently, the gunman wasn't aiming for her. She wasn't the target. How do you reach out to people and try to change this when the killing is indiscriminate?

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON: Well, what is true is, much like many of the victims over this weekend, was not the intended target. And the issue is that that is the face of violence. The people that are dying are not part of the crime itself, you know, the other issue. You know, we need to figure out what to do because this issue of violence is going to stay. It's not going to decrease. Unfortunately, we're dealing with kids who are of the mind-set that having a gun and shooting someone is the way to go. When I was coming up, you know, if I have an issue with you, I may fight you, we may live and possibly have lunch. Today, it seems everyone's beef, it's so deep that everyone needs to die and it's unfortunate, because they don't understand the long-term effect it's having with families.

[13:40:43] NATHANIEL PENDLETON: One of our biggest struggles is keeping the guns out of the wrong hands. That seems to be one of the struggles we've had. Lobbying, to go with common-sense gun laws and, you know, we -- our fight is just beginning.

(CROSSTALK)

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON: Right, but there also needs to be other regulations put out there as well. There needs to be an accountability because the guns aren't just showing up. They are -- they're coming to our neighborhoods, people are acquiring them. Our future, our children are being lost hand over fist and it's unfortunate that, yeah, two years have gone past, but there's a lifetime of these have been stolen from us. And that's where my heart break comes in and that's why I desire to reach out to families. I'm not a first responder for that with various organizations that do that. But I'm someone that likes to talk to other mothers and comfort them, should they reach out to me as well.

KEILAR: Certainly. And I see, Nathaniel, the button of Hadiya on your shirt there.

You talk, Cleopatra, about the heart break.

But I will say I think even now in the nation when they think of your daughter for the years she had ahead of her. How do you cope with your daughter's death?

NATHANIEL PENDLETON: We go day by day. It's extremely hard. We have good days and very bad days.

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON: But there's not a day that goes by that we're not celebrating the life she had and celebrating her presence in our lives. I'm unapologetic in my attempt to live because we have to figure out how to live the life that -- the unplanned life we have now.

NATHANIEL PENDLETON: Especially with our 13-year-old son. We have to do things to make his life bright and shine in the memory of his sister.

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON: It's a big deal, but from day to day, hour to hour, you don't know what sort of emotional state you may find yourself in, but sacrificially, we put ourselves out here so that people can see that it is a chore dealing on this side of things. And hopefully, they will look at us, see our pain, and take a couple extra seconds to think about what it is they'll do and the impact it could have on their own families.

KEILAR: We hope that's the case.

Cleopatra, Nathaniel Pendleton, thank you for being with us. You have an important message and a personal one on this.

NATHANIEL PENDLETON: Thank you.

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, President Obama heads to the Pentagon to talk about the fight against ISIS. Our terrorism analysts will weigh in on the battle against the terror group and the president's strategy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:57] KEILAR: President Obama is getting ready to head to the Pentagon for an update on the fight against ISIS. He's meeting with the military leaders in the next hour. This is a meeting that comes after a major offensive over the weekend by coalition forces battling the terror group. The U.S.-led coalition forces unleashed a wave of air strikes against ISIS fighters in Syria as well as Iraq, and among them were 18 strikes in Raqqa, an ISIS stronghold in Syria.

With me to talk more about this we have our terrorism analysts, Phil Mudd and Paul Cruickshank.

I want to start with you, Phil, on this.

What do you expect from this meeting with President Obama at the Pentagon?

PHIL MUDD, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: If you look at what's happened over the past year, if you're an optimist -- and nobody in Washington on this issue appears to be -- you're saying the tempo is pretty high. There are a lot of air strikes going on over the weekend. We're worried about ISIS threats to Baghdad last year and going into this year. That doesn't look like it will happen. But if you step back for a moment I think the conversation with the president is pretty simple. We have military capability in the region but there are fundamental political questions. How do we ally with an Iraqi government that does not appear to willing to bring in Sunnis? Long- term problem that the Pentagon can't solve. What's our end game for Syria, finally, when it looks like a variety of forces, both ISIS and anti-ISIS, are making slow progress against Assad. What's the end game?

KEILAR: Because the whole reason is was able to take hold, the U.S. says, is because the Iraqi prime minister wasn't inclusive in his government. So what's the point of sort of a allying with Iraqi troops if the U.S. isn't getting a political solution they say is so important?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: What's the other alternative? They have to support the Iraqis here. They have to build the Sunni forces up, particularly in Anbar Province. ISIS have consolidated their control of Anbar in recent weeks in that take over of Ramadi. There's some consensus in Washington that you'll do much more to arm the Sunni tribes in Anbar and also to find ways to get their support, maybe briefcases full of dollars.

KEILAR: Briefcases full of dollars.

(LAUGHTER)

That's what it has come down to.

ISIS -- let's do a status check here. Has ISIS been weakened, do you think?

[13:50:13] CRUICKSHANK: I don't think ISIS has been significantly weakened. They have a strong position in Iraq. They still control Mosul and Syria. They also have a strong position and recently took control of Palmyra. And they are expanding into Egypt and Libya. The Europeans are concerned about Libya right now. Of course, that gunman in that beach attack just a few days ago in Tunisia is said, by the Tunisians, to have trained in Libya.

KEILAR: Phil, many say this is -- the U.S. has to do more. You don't buy that?

MUDD: No, I don't buy that. There's a confusion as to whether we want to support an Iraqi government. We don't want to see ISIS roll through bigger portions of Iraq. That's different rather than whether poses a threat to New York or Washington. I think people say we need to defeat ISIS and, therefore, we need to do more. I disagree. We don't need to defeat is. We need to contain them and I think we are doing OK.

KEILAR: We're unfortunately, going to have to leave it there.

MUDD: Thank you.

KEILAR: Paul, thank you so much.

Phil, really appreciate it.

In other news, is the optimism for a nuclear deal with Iran fading? What Secretary of State John Kerry said that has some people wondering.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:46] KEILAR: Joe Clancy, the head of the Secret Service, has only been on the job for less than a year but he's already faced several scandals that have erupted in his agency, including an incident where a man was able to jump the fence and enter the White House before being taken down.

CNN's Jim Acosta spoke with Clancy and asked him about the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: How did somebody jump that fence and get inside the White House. What is your short answer to that?

JOSEPH CLANCY, DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: Well, it should not have happened and it won't happen again. Again, we're --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: That won't happen again?

CLANCY: That won't happen again. Our people are very committed. I talk to the officers, the agents. I've been out to the field offices. This is not going to happen. We're committed to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You can see more of Jim Acosta's interview with Joe Clancy tonight on "The Situation Room" at 5:00 p.m. eastern.

A self-imposed deadline for a final nuclear deal with Iran is now just a day away. The U.S. and its Western allies are trying for an agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But after some progress, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Vienna that it could still go either way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: If we don't have a deal that -- if there's an unwillingness to move other things that are important, President Obama has always said be prepared to walk away. It's not what everybody wants. We want to get an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, is joining me now.

So you hear Secretary Kerry there. We're always trying to read the tea leaves on what they are saying. What do you think he means here?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a big flurry of activity over the weekend. On Friday, the Iran foreign minister came out with a big, fancy YouTube message saying we've never been so close to a deal and then there was some progress on sanctions over the weekend. There were a flurry of stories saying they are close, they are close. In fact, they are not close. There has been a lot of progress, but key issues still remain unresolved. Secretary Kerry was saying, was trying to lower expectations, saying we're moving ahead but it's very possible that we don't get a deal.

KEILAR: So what are the sticking points here? And are they just the same old sticking points? Have they made any incremental progress on some of these?

LABOTT: Well, they are making incremental progress on everything but some of the sticking points still remain and that's resolving lingering questions about Iran's weapons program and allowing international IAEA inspectors to get into some of those sites, the pace of Iran's development of nuclear technology. Also a one of the things, a new wrinkle is, now that they are coming to the end game here, they are starting to look at how would you put a U.N. Security Council resolution that spells all of this out, and the Iranians are saying if we have a new U.N. Security Council resolution that gets rid of all old ones, we want to end the arms embargo. The closer they get, it's the farther they are apart. At the end of the day, key decisions have to be made on both sides.

KEILAR: What about the issue of sanctions and how quickly those would go away, if they would be phased out? Of course, Iran would hope that it would be gone the day after the agreement comes to be.

LABOTT: Some are going to be suspended right away but it's all in the wording here, right? That's why this is taking so long because everything is down to words. I think that Iran knows that everything is not going to be lifted right away but the U.S. and its partners also know that they are going to have to show Iran some benefits. Right now I think that there is going to be some suspension and then phased out, but it's all about getting an agreement that gets everything that the U.S. and its partners want in this agreement but also giving something to Iran and making sure that Iran can save face here and show that it's not capitulating. So that's the art of diplomacy, finding the right words to spell out which they all know they are going to have to come down to.

KEILAR: And for both sides, swallow in a way, a bitter pill, perhaps. If this deadline, it they miss it, what happens?

LABOTT: I think it's clear that they are going to miss it.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Does tomorrow matter?

LABOTT: It doesn't really matter that they make tomorrow's deadline.

KEILAR: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

LABOTT: The real deadline is Thursday, which is July 9th, which is when Congress gets the deal. If they get it by Thursday, then Congress only gets a 30-day period to review. If not, it goes to 60 days. But you heard Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, say, look, take your time, make sure it's a good deal. KEILAR: All right, Elise Labott, thank you so much for your report.

That's it for me. "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.