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New Day Saturday

U.K. Police Make Significant Arrest In London Subway Attack; U.K. Terror Threat Level Raised To Critical After Attack; Ex-Cop Speaks Out After Being Acquitted Of Murder; Protests Erupt After Ex- Cop Acquitted Of Murder; Mueller Given Copies Of Russian-Linked Facebook Ads; Hurricane Jose May Threaten Northeast Next Week; Investigations Underway After FL Nursing Home Deaths; Trump To Address World Leaders At U.N. Next Week. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 16, 2017 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: -- an arrest that just happened in the last hour?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not being told the identity of this individual. We are being told that this individual is 18-years-old. He's a male. He was arrested in the Port of Dover, which is about 75 miles southeast of the British capital, and importantly it is a major exit point from the United Kingdom to travel across the channel over to France and to the European mainland. For now, police, as I was saying before, are staying rather tight-lipped on this person's identity, and indeed on their role in this attack yesterday. They're not saying whether this is the person who planted the bomb that they suspect planted the bomb on the tube in Parsons Green, and they're probably also deciding to keep some of the elements of this investigation secret at the moment to maintain the element of surprise if this individual, it seems, or any individuals are working as part of a wider network.

That's something that we've seen traditionally in the case of investigations following Manchester, following also London Bridge as well. But as you pointed out, despite the arrest having been made and it being deemed significant here, the threat level does remain at critical, at least for the moment. And we know that the government is going to be holding an emergency meeting with counterterrorism officials and also the metropolitan police later on this afternoon to be briefed on the situation. We'll see whether the threat level is maintained at critical from there. In the past, it stayed at critical for about two to three days after these sorts of attacks.

The British transport network is, obviously, a point of concern and has been for years across the capital. Remember that this is a place, London home to nine million people. There are about 400 kilometers worth of tracks and train stations that people have to police. And the transport police have said today that they have stepped up their efforts putting more officers on trains, at train stations like this, although the crew that was here earlier today in Parsons Green has now departed. And we're also going to see the army stepping up its efforts to try and maintain security at major sporting events, landmarks across the British capital so that the police can be freed up for this fast-moving investigation. A manhunt, still underway it seems and they're urgently trying to determine whether or not this individual is part of a smaller network or a wider network and what their role was, Christi.

PAUL: Have you noticed a difference in the number of people who are utilizing in that train service and that subway service, especially now it is the weekend, but come Monday, any indication that there will be some hesitation?

SANTOS: Well, the authorities were really under pressure here to find out who the perpetrator was behind this attack because, obviously, thankfully, nobody lost their lives in this attack and the injuries that were sustained were largely burned -- they were not life-changing and very serious injuries. Although we know that the number of injuries has now risen by one to 30, just in the last hour, Christi. So, that means that, obviously, there is somebody -- or has been somebody on the loose over the last 24 hours and that's a big point of concern for people in communities like this, which rely upon tube stations like this one behind me to get to work on a day-to-day basis.

We're less than 48 hours away from the morning -- Monday morning, rush hour commuters, you point out. And a lot of people will be asking themselves, will I be safe on a network like this? This is why we're seeing the authorities, yet again, for a fifth time this year across the British capital, step up their efforts of policing the transport network. But as I said, it is vital to the U.K. There's also a sense of resilience among commuters across the British capital to keep calm and carry on commuting. Christi.

PAUL: All right. Nina dos Santos, thank you so much. Good to hear from you today.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The other big story we're following, new from overnight, a former St. Louis police officer is now speaking for the first time after being acquitted in the shooting death of a man in 2011. Jason Stockley, says it feels like a burden has been lifted.

PAUL: Now, that order sparked outrage across the city. Most demonstrators marched peacefully through the streets. They did so for hours, calling for justice in the death of Anthony Lamar-Smith. They even were blocking traffic at one point.

BLACKWELL: Now, some protesters, so frustrated, so angry with the decision. You see here, they set fire to the American flag. The mayor's house was pelted with paint and rocks. Nine officers, one state trooper, injured as well and at least 23 people were arrested. The dash-cam video captured the moment that former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley shot and killed Smith.

PAUL: The video was at the center of this high-profile murder trial, where prosecutors argued Stockley planted evidence. But as CNN's Randi Kaye report, the judge didn't agree.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDY KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're watching the final moments of a man's life. It's December 2011, and motorist Anthony Lamar Smith is being chased by St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley and his partner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit him right now.

[07:05:13] KAYE: The officer suspected he'd been involved in a drug deal. The officers would later say when they approached Smith, he jumped in his car and drove off, hitting the police cruiser and knocking officer Stockley sideways. The officer, fires several shots, saying he feared for his life and the safety of others. The high- speed chase tops 80 miles per hour. During the pursuit, Stockley is heard saying, going to kill this blank, don't you know it. It's difficult to hear on the dash cam video, but court documents say that's what he said. The chase ends with a crash which Smith survives, but when officers approach, an internal report says Stockley ordered Smith to show his hands and that he thought he saw Smith reach for a handgun. Officer Stockley, fires four shots. Anthony Smith is struck in the chest and died at the scene.

KAYE: An internal report says, Officer Stockley entered Smith's car to locate the weapon and render it safe and removed the ammunition from a silver revolver. According to the criminal complaint, forensic analysis revealed that only Officer Stockley's DNA was on the gun he said belonged to Smith. Officer Jason Stockley is relieved of his duties and charged with first-degree murder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all knew what it was when it happened. There couldn't have been any doubt about it. I knew that it was murder from the beginning.

KAYE: Stockley's murder trial started last month. The key question, whether or not the motorist Smith had a gun at the time of the shooting. Prosecutors argued that the ex-officer may have planted the revolver in the car to justify the shooting. Even though multiple cameras captured the incident, the gun was never seen. Still, in his not guilty ruling, Judge Timothy Wilson said the gun would have been too large for Stockley to hide and then plant.

The judge said he'd reviewed the video footage enumerable times and that just because Smith's fingerprints weren't on the gun didn't mean the driver didn't touch the gun. Judge Wilson was left to determine whether the killing was the intentional or lawful use of deadly force by an officer acting in self-defense. Randy Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And as we said, that former officer is talking this morning and says if anyone is looking for someone to blame they shouldn't look at him. He spoke exclusively to the St. Louis post dispatch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JASON STOCKLEY, FORMER POLICE OFFICER IN ST. LOUIS: I did not murder Anthony Lamar-Smith. I did not plant a gun. As I testified at trial, and to a homicide on the day of, it was an imminent threat to my life. I had to. It's -- taking a life is the most significant thing that one can do and it's not something that is done lightly, and it's not something that should ever be celebrated and it's just a horrible experience altogether. But sometimes it's necessary. This is a completely reactionary event. If he takes off in a car, we follow. He turns left, we turn left. And unfortunately, you're reacting in those few seconds and you have to make decisions based on limited information and limited time and they're the most important decisions you'll ever make because it could be your last, and it's very stressful.

And in the end, regardless of what happens, nobody wins. I do not remember stating that I was -- that we or I are going to kill this (BLEEP), don't you know it. The first time that I heard that was when I met with the FBI. And I gave them the same answer that I'm giving you now, which was, I don't recall saying it, but I never denied it. I can tell you with absolute certainty that there was no plan to murder Anthony Smith during a high-speed vehicle pursuit. It's just not the case. And I wish that I could tell you exactly what that was and what it meant, whether it was just heat of the moment or whether it was part of a larger conversation. I really don't -- I just don't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about this. With us now, Wesley Lowery, CNN Contributor, and Washington Post Reporter; he was reporting on police shootings, one of Pulitzer Prize. And Tom Fuentes, CNN's Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and former FBI Assistant Director. Gentlemen, good morning to you.

[07:10:03] WESLEY LOWERY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND WASHINGTON POST REPORTER: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Tom, let me start with you. And Stockley there told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that I know everyone wants to blame someone, but I'm just not the guy. He also adds that he did nothing wrong. You agree?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST AND FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Well, I think we don't know all the details of it unless you watched every minute of the trial. I don't -- what I think is, the officer shouldn't be making any public comments right at this point until, you know, the emotions of this die down. But, you know, not having watched the whole trial, not having seen any of the evidence and especially, in this case, the judge as he said, agonized and watched that video multiple times and could not see direct evidence which proved that the officer put the gun there.

Now, that doesn't mean that you know, there isn't some other evidence out there, but you would think it's all brought to the trial and they just don't have anything that actually definitively says that officer had that gun, owned that gun, planted the gun. You could see something in the video that shows that he had the gun, and to think that's where the judge is making the decision that, you know, from that standpoint he can't see the direct evidence of the officer doing it. BLACKWELL: So, Wes, for the people who are protesting overnight and

for Smith's family, this is open and shut. For them, it's clear, when you look at the different elements here. Explain the chasm here that we're seeing from the reality of what we're seeing from the case and the reality for the people there who are protesting.

LOWERY: Of course. I mean, part of this is that there's a beyond a reasonable doubt standard in this case, right? And the reality is, you're going to have a prosecutor who's suggesting that there's evidence to suggest that, you know, Officer Stockley, you know, planted this gun or the shooting didn't need to happen. But it's very hard essentially to prove a negative -- if someone says they are afraid, which is the standard for use of deadly force, right, that he was in fear of his life, how do you disprove that someone was in fear for their life?

One of the only ways you can do that, specifically at the police officer, is to somehow prove that the threat they said existed did not exist. And so, if you have an open question of whether or not there was a gun in the car, which there is. There's allegation that there was not -- that it was planted versus his version which he says, no, it was always there. You have to essentially definitively prove the gun was not there in order to meet the standard you would need, you know, to potentially convict him. And so, what's difficult here is here you do have a case where you have an officer at the moment saying clearly incendiary things to the ears of many people say, hey, there's your premeditation and there's your motive.

And then, you have an allegation from prosecutors, not from the civil rights attorneys, not from the families, but from law enforcement, prosecutor saying, hey, this guy planted a gun. And so, there is a question here for a lot of people whether it be activists, whether it'd be protesters or just be residents of St. Louis and elsewhere where they say what else do we need, right? And so, you have this point where you have what to the public looks like a clear crime versus to what in the court of law really meets the legal standard to convict somebody.

BLACKWELL: And I think that you made this important point when you tweeted out again something, you tweeted a few months ago that our legal system is not constructed for the charging and conviction of police officers who kill people no matter the circumstances. And I want, Tom, to kind of explore that, respond to that. Do you agree with Wesley there?

FUENTES: Well, I think we have a situation now where if a White police officer shoots a Black man, you know, one part of the community is going to say he's automatically guilty. He has to be found guilty. If he's not, there's no justice and, you know, a riot can ensue and that's OK. And by a riot, I don't mean peaceful protesters. That's fine. That's everybody's right. But I'm talking about when bricks fly and 20 officers are injured trying to keep the peace. Well, that's not a peaceful protest anymore.

On the other hand, I'm not here going to tell you every time an officer shoots somebody that it's automatically justified because officers are automatically right. I'm saying that it can be one way or the other, and I'm going to assume that many of the people in that street protesting didn't hear all the facts or don't know it. They have an opinion already formed but if the officer is found not guilty, justice was not met and we just don't know that. And you have a judge trying to agonize over his decision and make that decision that he didn't think the case was proven beyond a reasonable doubt as Mr. Lowery said.

BLACKWELL: Wes, the inverse of that is instead of assuming, as Tom did there, and Tom, don't let me put words in your mouth, correct me if I'm wrong, in saying that there are people who assume that if a White officer kills a Black person who's unarmed then he's automatically guilty. What frustrates so many is that the opposite is so rare, that if an officer indeed kills a person who was then convicted, there aren't many examples of that, Wes, or am I wrong there?

LOWERY: There are almost no examples of that. You know, that -- again, removed from any individual case in aggregate, right? You have almost a thousand fatal police shootings a year that results in about a dozen charges a year, right? One percent or are less than one percent, and then almost no convictions, right? And so, it's so -- again, removing it from a context of the specific shooting, what you have is people who have seen time and time again, a case, you know, whether it'd be Walter Scott being shot in the back after the officer clearly gave a testimony about things that did not happen, you know, said that he was about to be tazed by this man and had to shoot and kill him. And then the video showed that that was not true whether it be castile, where, again, you get one version from the officer and something else has happened.

[07:15:43] And so, they think what you see is a compounding frustration and concern and this open question about: is there any circumstance under which an officer can be charged and convicted of a shooting? And what we've seen again, in aggregate, in numbers, not in anecdote, not emotion is that, no, there's a very high legal standard that shootings, that we can watch them on video. We can look at the evidence and pour over it, but in most cases, we, you know, have a legal system that provides broad latitude to our police officers. In part, because we know we put, then, in some positions, and that very often policing doesn't look pretty, but there is certainly, I think, a chasm between what the public views often as acceptable and what the letter of the law is.

BLACKWELL: All right. Wesley Lowery, Tom Fuentes, still so much to explore here. Thank you so much for being part of the conversation.

FUENTES: Thank you.

LOWERY: Thank you.

PAUL: Well, Facebook has handed over copies of certain ads to Special Counsel Robert Mueller -- ads that could be linked to Russia. What exactly are they trying to get at here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:20:51] PAUL: So, Facebook has given Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team copies of Russian-linked ads. The ads were posted on the social networking site during the 2016 election. Mueller's team also had detailed information about the accounts that bought the ads and the way American Facebook users were targeted. Melissa Quin, Breaking News Reporter at the Washington Examiner with us now, as well as Daniel Littman a Political Reporter and Co-Author of the Politico Playbook. Thank you, both, so much for being with us. Melissa, I want to start with you. What are they trying to get at here?

MELISSA QUIN, REPORTER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, I think what they're trying to, really, figure out is exactly the role that Facebook played as part of Russia's campaign and attempts to interfere in the 2016 election. I mean, these revelations were quite striking. We have seen this shift in the narrative in Facebook over the last few months starting with Mark Zuckerberg who initially called claims that Facebook played any Russia meddle in campaign crazy. Then, Facebook came out and said that they didn't believe that any advertisement or purchase by any Russia actors.

And now, just last week, we've learned that, in fact, that's not the case. In fact, 3,000 advertisements were purchased by 470 fake Facebook pages that were indeed tied back to Russia. So, this is just a shifting narrative that we've seen from Facebook emerge over the last few months. And I think Robert Mueller as well as congressional investigators really just want to know Facebook's role in this whole Russian meddling scandal.

PAUL: Daniel, Senator Mark Warner called Facebook's review of the ads the tip of the iceberg. Facebook refused to give this information to House and Senate Intelligence Committee, but Senator Warner is saying that he believes Facebook, Twitter, and other social media may be called by the committees for some level of public hearings. Do you think that will happen?

DANIEL LITTMAN, POLITICAL REPORTER AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE POLITICO PLAYBOOK: I think there's a lot of pressure by the Senate to really haul these people up to Congress and say, you know, do you guys have too much power and insolent scene what Americans see in their news feeds? And you saw that I think there's been a shift in the narrative, you know, during the Obama years. The tech companies were treated like gods in D.C. They had this amazing power to connect people.

And now, the fact that they were not doing enough vetting of who was buying their ads, you saw a couple days ago, you know, their stories about how you can target people who anti-Semites, who are racists. And so, clearly, they aren't -- they're just accepting money and they're not really looking at who's buying these ads. And those Russian ads could've affected 10 million -- could've had 10 million impressions. So, clearly a lot of people, you know, seeing this fake news.

PAUL: OK. I want to move on really quickly here to these visitor logs at Mar-a-Lago that was requested by a group called CREW. They're a nonprofit legal watchdog group dedicating to holding public officials accountable, they say. The government did turn over a list of that 22 people that was only from the Japanese prime minister's trip there to Mar-a-Lago. Should these, should these be released?

QUIN: Absolutely. I think the -- President Trump has come out, he's spent almost every single weekend since his presidency either Bedminster, New Jersey, where he has this weekend or down in Florida at Mar-a-Lago. The American people have a right to know, exactly, who is interacting with the president of the United States. Exactly who has access to the president and some of his top advisors, particularly when it's taxpayer dollars that are funding President Trump and aide's trips down to Texas or up to New Jersey. And the fact that Mar-a-Lago doesn't want to release the information doesn't feel like it's subject to the disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act, I think should raise questions for the American people of exactly who is down at the president's properties.

PAUL: Daniel, the executive director of CREW said this: "The government seriously misrepresented their intentions to both us and the court. This was spitting in the eye of transparency. We will be fighting this in court." How far do you think this is going to go?

LITTMAN: You know, it could go as far as the Supreme Court. Because you have people who are company lobbyists, who want to influence the president. They're now buying more memberships at Mar-a-Lago, which has raised visitor fees or membership fees, and you also have the issue of transparency at the White House. They don't release White House visitor logs, so you don't know who's going in to see the president and get his ear and maybe change policies. And so, clearly, there doesn't seem to be a lot of transparency with parts of this administration, and I think that's a question that American -- the American people want to know. You know, don't we want to find out who is, you know, has the ear of the president?

[07:25:32] PAUL: Well, and we should point out for fairness, CREW did file four lawsuits against President Obama's administration. And in '09, that administration agreed to regularly release the White House visitor logs. So, this isn't starting with President Trump, this is something that has been ongoing. But Melissa Quin and Daniel Littman, we appreciate you both being here. Thank you.

LITTMAN: Thank you.

QUIN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Well, first Harvey, then Irma, now, what is Jose going to do? Another hurricane getting closer to the U.S. mainland. We'll bring you the latest forecast after the break.

PAUL: Also, new questions about a tragedy at a Florida nursing home after hurricane Irma -- eight people died. There's a criminal investigation that's open now. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:25] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: 7:30 on this Saturday morning. So grateful to have you with us, as always. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell, good morning.

PAUL: We want to give you some new details this morning on the London terror attack. U.K. police have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the blast on an underground train and British leaders are going to have a security meeting on the attack later today.

BLACKWELL: That would include police and intelligence chiefs, and this morning, the subway station is open again. But, the UK terror threat is up to critical, this the highest level, meaning another attack is imminent and an increased security presence is there expected around the city today as well. Now, the number of people who were injured -- that number has been increased this morning to 30, of course, this is from that homemade bomb that went off on that train.

PAUL: We know, and you've been seeing the pictures of the South recovering from these two deadly hurricanes we've been watching. The U.S. is facing yet another threat, Hurricane Jose slowly churning toward the east coast. Thought we were going to get off easy with this one.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Didn't think it was going to get that close.

BLACKWELL: Well, now part of the east coast is within the cone of uncertainty, and that uncertainty is the important part. Will it make U.S. landfall is the question everyone wants an answer to? CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar live in the CNN Weather Center tracking Jose. Of course, you don't have an answer to that because it's still days out, but it's a possibility more than it was a few days ago.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, and just as you said, that uncertainty really is the key word there, but the point is, that in that uncertainty range, we do still have cities like New York and Boston to consider. The thing that has happened since the overnight as you're waking up this morning, Hurricane Jose has strengthened a bit. Winds now up to 80 miles per hour, gusting up to around 100 miles per hour.

In the short term, the storm is expected to move a little bit further West and then head off to the North. The National Hurricane Center says as early as today, they could start issuing tropical storm watches if they did likely going to be around North Carolina. That would be the first State to really pick up some of the energy from those outer bands of the storm. As it continues up to the north, however, now we start to factor in places like New York and Boston as well. Especially say by around Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Now, when we're talking about parallel with New York, the track has actually shifted about 20 miles west. That may not seem like a lot, but that's enough to really continue them into that track of uncertainty.

Here's a look at the model comparison, the red circle being the American model, the blue being the European model. At this point, both of them still have pretty dissent chances for cities like Boston and Nantucket, but ultimately, it's not just those places that will have impacts from this storm. Really, from Maine all the way down towards Florida, rip currents are going to be a huge thing, so a lot of folks maybe trying to go out, you've got some fall break with the schools, maybe trying to take the chance to go out to some of the beaches. Please keep in mind that this is going to be a big risk up and down the entire east coast regardless, Victor and Christi, of whether or not we actually end up getting landfall from Jose, this will still be a big threat.

PAUL: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Well, investigators want to know who knew what and when as part of this probe now into the eight deaths at a Florida nursing home after Hurricane Irma.

PAUL: Yes, there is a criminal investigation open. Big questions linger. For instance, who knew the air conditioner wasn't working properly and how quickly were the proper channels notified? Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The video only 34 seconds long but speaks volumes about what was happening inside the rehabilitation center at Hollywood Hills. In the hallway, a woman sits on a gurney entirely naked. The person who shot the video says the same woman was clothed in a gown when she saw her on Monday but had grown so uncomfortably hot by Tuesday, she stripped off all of her clothing seeking relief from the heat.

The woman who shot the video did not want to appear on camera but wanted others to see the conditions at the facility after Hurricane Irma knocked out its air conditioning. In the video, her 89-year-old parents, Gabriel and Lydia Geraldo, both were hospitalized after being evacuated from the facility Wednesday. Lydia has since been discharged, Gabriel remains in the hospital with a urinary tract infection, his daughter says he got because he was dehydrated.

The person who shot the video says she was at the facility Monday and the air conditioner was already off. The video was shot Tuesday night just hours before the center was evacuated. It shows her father who suffers from Alzheimer's with a fan next to his bed, her mother in a second bed. Their second-floor window open and the curtains lifted up to allow as much air in as possible.

[07:35:12] In the hallway, a large fan is seen in effort to keep air moving in the facility. A spokesperson for the rehabilitation center says they contacted Florida Power & Light and state emergency officials immediately after losing air conditioning. The spokesperson says the facility had adequate staffing and followed protocol throughout the crisis. The spokesperson also said water and ice were provided for residents and that disrobing resident is not protocol for staying cool. Florida's agency for healthcare administration that regulates the facility told CNN at no time did the facility report that conditions had become dangerous or that the health and safety of their patients was at risk. Miguel Marquez, CNN Hollywood, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, still to come, what will President Trump say to the UN this week? Of course, North Korea is on the table and there are lots of world leaders wondering what is the President going to say? After criticizing the organization for some time now, we'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:50] BLACKWELL: Welcome back, 20 minutes till the top of the hour now. President Trump will address world leaders at the United Nations next week.

PAUL: Yes, the first time he's going to address the U.N. since blasting the body as a, quote underperformer, which has a lot of people wondering, what are we going to expect here? CNN's Richard Roth reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The flags are up. It's time for another United Nation's 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 UNITED NATIONS: For those who don't have our back, we're taking names.

ROTH: 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, ECFR, ASSOCIATE POLICY FELLOW: This general assembly is about one man, Donald Trump, and the big question is will Trump insult the U.N., or will he try to make friends with the U.N.?

RICHARD: Trump, a New Your real estate mogul has not always embraced the U.N. Nearly five years ago he tweeted, "The cheap 12-inch square marble tiles behind the 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: 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: President Trump will speak to the entire world for the first time from here at the General Assembly Rostrum. The leader, who vowed 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. Libya'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: U.S. Presidents are usually more measured in tone.

HALEY: I think you're going to 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: 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, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS: Most dangerous crisis we faces 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: 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)

BLACKWELL: All right, joining me now to discuss more is Ambassador James Jeffery, he's a former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey and is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us this morning.

JAMES JEFFREY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ & TURKEY: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: Let's start there on North Korea, you said that the threats against North Korea will not slow Kim or their nuclear program. The President said despite the lauding from the Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, that the sanctions passed Monday are not a big deal and they might not have any impact, undercutting the State Department. Is there any indication that there is something that will slow Kim and this nuclear program? JEFFREY: We've tried for 25 years, mainly negotiations, sanctions, threats, and he's very close to having the capability to strike with nuclear weapon the United States within a year. That's why Trump's National Security Advisor General McMaster has said that we have to stop kicking the can down the road, the can has stopped. The problem is, the only way you can move China and Russia to take really effective sanctions against North Korea is to push them to the point where they fear that there may be a war, and that's a very dangerous strategy, but again, we've run out of other alternatives. So Trump is going to try to mobilize the international community behind a very hard line against North Korea as a major part of his appearance up in New York.

[07:45:15] BLACKWELL: So let's talk about that, you said making China believe that there's a possibility of a war. We heard from the National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster yesterday saying that there are military options but the U.S. would prefer not to use those. Also, we heard from Ambassador Haley, saying that she has no problem kicking it over to Defense Secretary Mattis because he has options. Is the U.S. any closer even infinitesimally closer to a military option than it was a month ago, six months ago, a year ago?

JEFFREY: Absolutely, it still has a way to go because military options with North Korea are extremely dangerous. It has nuclear -- deployable nuclear weapons right now. The only reason people are talking about that is because they don't have another alternative. And down the road, you have to weigh something as bad as a military option against what happens if you don't.

Getting into a war with North Korea when it can strike the United States is worse than a war right now and the United States being driven from the Western Pacific because we're held at risk and North Korea can unite under its military terms, the Peninsula is also an unthinkable option. So, that's why people are talking about this.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk about the President's previous classifications and characterizations of the U.N., tweeting this as President-Elect, "The United Nations has such great potential, but right now, it's just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad." that December of 2016 after the election. What is the definition of success for this President who's been so critical of the United Nations?

JEFFREY: First of all, he's got a real agenda, North Korea is part of it. Containing Iran and its march through the region which has reached the critical mass right now, it's what Bibi Netanyahu who will talk to him about, that's also important. And in both of these areas, he needs the U.N., he needs the U.N. for sanctions against North Korea, and of course, he's just extended the American participation in the U.N.-brokered nuclear deal with Iran. So, the U.N. is central both in terms of technical pressure points against these problems, but also, it's a venue for him to talk to leaders around the world to convince them that the international order is under threat and they need to rally behind the United States and the international community.

BLACKWELL: All right, and that's James Jeffrey. Thank you so much for being part of the conversation.

JEFFREY: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Quick break, we'll be back.

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[07:52:08] BLACKWELL: Two top executives are out at Equifax after the massive data breach effective immediately. The security breach exposed the data of millions of Americans. And now, the maker of the hacked software says, Equifax could have prevented the leak.

PAUL: Now, they practically discovered the security flaw back in March, two months before the hack, and provided Equifax with a patch, it claims Equifax did not install quote, in a timely manner. No comment from Equifax yet, but here's Alison Kosik with a little bit better look at how we can protect ourselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No matter if you're freaking out or not worried at all, there are five things you can do to protect your credit and your wallet right now. First, check all three of your credit reports, you get a free look each year from each credit reporting agency. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion look for any new requests for credit or other suspicious activity. They may take a while to show up, and it won't show you if someone has accessed your bank accounts.

Second, put a fraud alert on your credit report, just contact one agency to do this, they have to contact the other two. Also, keep a close eye on your bank accounts and credit card statements. Experts say in most cases, theft happens over time. So, get in the habit of checking your statements and accounts online.

Fourth, sign up for free credit monitoring. If you go to the Equifax Web site, you can sign up there. It's free for a year and will alert you of any moves on your credit report. Finally, if you're really worried, you can freeze your credit. This is an extreme step that may carry a fee. A freeze blocked by anyone from accessing your credit reports without your permission. But it also makes it more difficult for you to open a credit card or take out a loan.

The other thing working against you, many consumers are rushing to do all of these same things. So, be patient with each of this steps, many of the agencies are flooded with requests and are having a hard time keeping up with demand. Bottom line, hackers may have your information and it's up to you to protect yourself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All right, so you want to mix up your fitness routine? Have you heard about Spikeboarding? Well, that's what they're talking about in this week's "STAYING WELL".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I'm Spikeboarding, I get that looks and

comments from a lot of people. People say, oh, that's really cool, or what is that? It takes that motion of cross-country skiing and turns it into something you can do on a board with wheels, kind of like a long skateboard. You're carrying a single spike and you're using that to thrust yourself ahead. A lot of strength is required but it's not something that hits or impacts when you -- when you do it.

You feel the winds kind of blowing through, it's fun and it's free. When I was a kid, I used to skateboard, so I felt comfortable. I'm 53 years old, I started kind of piling up injuries, I have shoulder injuries from jujitsu and my back really needed something that wasn't as high impact to like the kicking that I was doing against heavy bags.

[07:55:02] Spikeboarding was one of the few things I found that didn't aggravate my back, and in fact, did the same things like kickboxing did in strengthening. So, when I first did it, I couldn't go up even one minute up a hill, it was that hard. But then, over a period of months, you build up. The idea of getting out the end day and going out in the sun, I look forward to it. It allows me to keep my body in shapes, so I can hopefully play with my grandchildren someday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: "STAYING WELL" brought to you by Aleve, all day strong, all day long. And by Tempur-Pedic. If it's not a Tempur-Pedic, it's a compromise. Find your exclusive retailer at tempurpedic.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLACKWELL: And this morning, we're beginning with the breaking news. Right now, British leaders, police, and intelligence chiefs are meeting. It's a security meeting to discuss the London terror attack. An 18-year-old man is now in custody in connection with the underground train blast, and U.K. police are calling it a significant arrest.

PAUL: This morning, the subway station is opened again but the U.K. terror threat is still --