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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Two White House Security Breaches in Two Days; Wife Begs ISIS to Free Husband; Jameis Winston Suits Up for Game; NY's Enormous Climate Change Demonstration; Case of Alabama Schoolgirl Used as Bait for Sexual Assault; CNN Hero Teaching Martial Art to Kids Suffering from Cancer; U.N. General Assembly Starts in New York; Garth Brooks Coming Back

Aired September 21, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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


CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: "Release my husband," a desperate plea from the wife of British hostage Allen Henning as fears of the terrorist group ISIS could make him their next target.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: An almost unbelievable breach of security and what's supposed to be the most protected home in the nation. How did a man with a knife barge through the front doors to the White House? This morning's scrutiny of the Secret Service and the changes they're making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: But did Roger Goodell get it wrong by not stepping down? Millions are tuning in for today's big games. And as they do, there are more calls for the NFL chief to bow out.

Early morning on a Sunday and so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. 6:00 here on the East Coast.

And this morning security is understandably tight at the White House because there have now been two -- two security breaches in two days. The Secret Service says a teenager identified as Kevin Carr tried to enter a barricaded area, the entrance there, to the White House yesterday. He was in his car. He's been arrested and charged with unlawful entry.

And we're now learning that the person who jumped the fence Friday night had been carrying a folding knife in his pocket.

PAUL: "The Washington Post" reports 42-year-old Omar Gonzalez is an Iraq war veteran. That's the one who ran across the lawn you see there. He served 18 years in the U.S. military including three tours in Iraq. Well, former Secret Service agent Daniel Bongino is joining us on the

phone from Washington.

Daniel, so glad to you have with us. Thanks for getting up with us here this morning. I know that there have been, you know, the fence jumpers in the past. But none of them actually got into the White House as Gonzalez did. Have they?

DANIEL BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: No. And that's why you heard the Secret Service director and their public spokesman say that the location of the arrest was what really had troubled them. To have -- to arrest someone inside the north portico with now what seems to be a weapon certainly makes the situation grave.

And as I said, I think on your show yesterday with you, Christi and Victor. This is a -- this is a really big deal. And the Secret Service does not try to put lipstick on these types of things. I think they're going to come out and do a very exhaustive review and hopefully we'll never see anything like this again.

BLACKWELL: So two breaches in two days. It is easy to jump to a conclusion that maybe there is some new variable, there's some new reason why this is happening and the possibility that they are connected. What likely are the agents doing now to determine if that's so?

BONGINO: Well, I don't think the two incidents are connected. Now I'll tell you why. The second incident, that's actually, you know, quite common. People showing up at the vehicle checkpoint locations. And the system did work in the second incident. Showed up, didn't want to leave. Was in the vehicle. Trapped. There is nowhere to go. Check the vehicle, no explosives and the person was then arrested.

So in the second incident, although it wasn't something they certainly wanted to happen, it worked as planned. I don't think they were related. Most of my contacts are telling me that they're not. But you have to remember, the White House was not built with security in mind at all. The White House was built as the people's house. It's an old building. It just wasn't built for.

The demands being placed upon it are really -- they're incredible. I mean, they have to keep open access to the president without putting him in some insulated iron box. And I think now we're seeing some of the ramifications of that with the fence in the front and North Lawn just not being designed to really keep people out. It's not very secure fence.

PAUL: You know, "The Washington Post" was reporting there weren't any guard dogs or canine teams released to chase that man down on the North Lawn and that that is standard procedure. Why do you think that didn't happen?

BONGINO: Yes, that's really got me a bit flummoxed here. I think a lot of security professionals from the Secret Service are started to wonder that as well. The dog -- keep in mind, we use a Belgian Malinois. And these dogs are -- when you get hit by the dog, if you were to make it across the fence and start running, you get hit by that Malinois. It's almost like getting hit by a car. And it's trained to knock you down.

Why it wasn't released, I don't know. And I think the Secret Service is wondering that same thing. Having spent five years working on that 18-acre complex, you know, that's almost a fail-safe. And keep in mind, it's one of many layers of security that seem to have failed us. If it's not just one, there are things seen and unseen there. And this man seemed to have cracked them all. That's why this is the first time this happened. We're all shocked.

PAUL: All right. Well, Daniel Bongino, we so appreciate your insight because, you know, you just really give us such great information and things that we didn't know before. So we appreciate again you taking time for us this morning.

BONGINO: No problem. Thanks for having me.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, sir.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And just one other note, "New York Times" is reporting that the Secret Service spokesperson, Ed Donovan, says that the man in the car, Kevin Carr, had attempted to gain access to a separate location on foot a short time earlier. So before we expect this was just a wrong turn.

PAUL: Right.

BLACKWELL: This was a man who tried to get in. This was his second attempt.

PAUL: This is the second. Right. Second attempt.

BLACKWELL: We want to pass on to you the really emotional words of a wife of this British aid worker held hostage by ISIS. She's now begging the terrorists to spare his life.

PAUL: We're talking about Allen Henning.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: He was taken captive in December back in Syria. ISIS is threatening to kill him. His wife says the 47-year-old is a father of two, was driving an ambulance giving out food and water and that's when he was kidnapped.

In a written plea to ISIS, Barbara Henning said, quote, "Alan is a peaceful, selfless man who left his family and a job as a taxi driver in the UK to drive in a convoy all the way to Syria with his Muslim colleagues and friends to help those most in need." She adds, "When they hear this message, I implore the people of the Islamic State to see it in their hearts to release my husband, Alan Henning"

BLACKWELL: A volunteer doctor and friend of Henning was just a few miles behind him whether he was kidnapped. And she's also begging ISIS to let him go and go home to his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SHAMEELA ISLAM-ZULFIGAR, ALAN HENNING'S COLLEAGUE: Please do not make him pay for the actions of Western foreign policy. This is not his crime. And killing him will not change this. It will only undermine you and your cause.

Please let him go and release him back to us and his family, his friends, and his children who are waiting for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. Let's bring in Peter Neumann. He's the director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence.

Peter, thank you so much for being with us. I want to ask you right out of the gate, do you think these latest pleas are going to have any effect on ISIS?

PETER NEUMANN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALIZATION AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Well, it's very hard to say. I mean, so far they haven't executed him and there are signs that perhaps they are thinking about exactly what to do with him.

What's really important about these messages is that they are coming from within the Islamic community. Alan Henning was part of an Islamic humanitarian convoy into Syria. He was very much in line with the objectives of the opposition in Syria, even with the objectives of the more extreme opposition in Syria. So a lot of people are saying, why are you punishing this guy when he was, in fact, more or less agreeing with your objectives? And so perhaps, just perhaps this is making people in ISIS think.

BLACKWELL: You know, Peter, what was interesting about this to me is that it was released through the UK's Foreign Service Office. Now is that, I wonder, typical protocol? Because from what we've seen in other instances, there has been no official word through the government from the family.

NEUMANN: Yes. We had a similar case about 10 years ago in the UK. There was British construction worker who was being kidnapped. And the British Foreign Office convinced an Islamic cleric, an extreme Islamic cleric who was in prison in the UK to record a video statement very similar to the one that we just saw. It didn't work in that case 10 years ago. And I think the chances that it might work now are pretty slim. But they are trying what they can. Their options are very limited.

The only thing that they could do short of paying the ransom which is not what they would do anyway would be a special forces operation. But that would require them knowing exactly why Alan Henning is being held and I don't think they do. So all they can do is really to plead with the hostage takers.

PAUL: You know, former President Bill Clinton spoke to Fareed Zakaria about the ISIS threat as well. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: So I've got to ask you about ISIS. I saw you on "The Daily Show" say that you thought we have to respond to this brutal executions of Americans. But I want to press you. Isn't that what ISIS wants? Isn't -- wasn't the purpose of the executions to bait us?

BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. But there's a difference and, for example, using targeted drones and air strikes as we did against al Qaeda effectively for years to try to take down their leadership and infrastructure and let them know they can't just decapitate people for the cheap thrill of the global media response and horrifying people, and get away with it.

And getting bogged down in the kind of war they would like us to get bogged down in that would cost us a lot of lives and a lot of treasure and inevitably lead to greater civilian casualties, which is why I think the president's strategy has a chance of succeeding because the Iraqi government is now more inclusive than it has been since the fall of Saddam Hussein. And that seems to be awakening, if you will, the willingness of the Sunni tribal leaders to participate in fighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: By the way, you can see that full interview on "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" a little later today. But he went on to say the President Obama strategy of U.S. airstrikes combined with fighting on the ground by Iraq and Syrian rebel forces will prevent the U.S. from getting bogged down and, you know, I think what some -- most fear this never-ending war, this idea of one. Do you agree with that?

NEUMANN: I think President Clinton is exactly right. I think it would be completely wrong to overreact to these executions which are horrible. But we shouldn't prompt us to be involved in a war including boots on the ground which exactly what ISIS is aching for. They want to fight Americans on the ground because that will allow them to claim that there is an occupation going on and they're fighting against the West.

Clearly what should happen is exactly that. Identifying the people who are responsible, trying to find out where they are, bringing them to justice. No overreaction but very finely calibrated action in going through with the plan. That's what's important now.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And that's the important conversation happening in Washington as well.

Peter Neumann in London, good to have you back.

NEUMANN: Thank you, Victor.

PAUL: Thank you, sir.

OK. Here's the question so many people want to know right now, where is 18-year-old Hannah Graham? Police trying to answer it this morning a week after the UVA student vanished. Now new developments in the case this morning.

BLACKWELL: And a safety warning for more than 200,000 drivers. What you need to know about a massive recall by auto giant GM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Let's get you caught up with what's happening in the "Morning Read." Fifteen minutes after the hour now.

BLACKWELL: All right. Police say they've now identified the man seen on two surveillance tapes with missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. They say that the young man Jesse Matthew was at the apartment complex they searched on Friday. Investigators believe he was possibly the last person to have seen Graham before she vanished last weekend. He's not been named a suspect.

A shelter in place order has been lifted in two Pennsylvania neighborhoods. Up to 400 officers searched for an accused cop kill there. Police appeared to be closing in on self-taught survivalist Eric Frein in the Poconos Mountains. But there has been no credible sighting of him since Friday. And they're urging residents, just be cautious.

PAUL: In business news, General Motors is recalling more than 200,000 cars. The problem has to do with an electronic parking brake arm in the Cadillac XTS and the Chevrolet Impala. Now the automaker says the glitch could cause excessive heat and spark a fire. GM's already recalled nearly 30 million vehicles just this year. The largest recall had to do with the faulty ignition switch that went unreported for a decade.

BLACKWELL: In weather, West Texas is bracing for more heavy rain today. Look what the rain already has left them.

PAUL: Good heavens. What a mess.

BLACKWELL: I mean, they haven't seen this much rain in decades. And take a look at this half submerged mail truck we have video of. This is in Houston.

PAUL: Wow.

BLACKWELL: This city has seen some of the worst flooding in recent days. Nine inches of rain drenching parts of Houston. Question now, what about the rest of the country?

Let's check in with meteorologist Jennifer Gray in the weather center. Really getting hit hard.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Really have. We've seen so much video out of Texas. We've seen video out of New Mexico and Arizona. So the pictures out of there have been absolutely incredible. And more heavy rain is expected for West Texas again today. Radar already starting to fire up. Look at this rain total since Monday. Houston, six to 10 inches.

We've seen six to 10 inches in Austin, north of midland as well. Ten or more in Carlsbad. We do have flood watches. A couple of flood warnings in effect as we go through the day to day. Even flash flood warnings right there in West Texas.

So your forecast through Monday, we could pick up an additional three to six inches in southeastern portions of New Mexico. Two to four on the west side of the state. The rain should be wrapping up, guys, over the next day or so. So hopefully we will start to see those flooding trends go down.

In the meantime, we are seeing cooler temperatures sweeping across the Great Lakes and eventually into the northeast. We're seeing temperatures around 62 degrees today in Chicago. That's your high temperature. 13 degrees below normal. We'll still be in the upper 80s for D.C. and Atlanta. But then by tomorrow, look at those. The temperatures back in the 70s for high temperatures, 68 degrees the high temperature tomorrow in New York City -- Christi and Victor.

PAUL: That will be a beautiful day.

BLACKWELL: I'll take it.

PAUL: Yes. Thank you, Jen, very much.

BLACKWELL: All right. So after Ray Rice was suspended for domestic abuse, Baltimore Ravens fans, they don't want to wear his number 27. You -- I -- it's difficult. And I'm a Baltimore native. Difficult to believe how many people showed up at the -- at the stadium there to turn in those jerseys. The line to turn it in we're hearing anecdotally was longer than the line for the new iPhone.

PAUL: It -- yes. I had heard that.

BLACKWELL: Longer than the line for the iPhone.

PAUL: All right. Listen, we're going to have that for you in just a moment. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Florida State's quarterback did not play last night. But that did not stop him from suiting up.

Rashan Ali has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report."

OK. So this is like the guy who comes over for the concert.

RASHAN ALI, CNN SPORTS: Right.

BLACKWELL: But you know he didn't have the ticket.

ALI: Right.

BLACKWELL: Nobody wants to tell him. He's not getting in. ALI: Yes. This guy actually suited up last night, goes on the field,

was taking practice snaps and then the coaches come over and say hey man, you have to get to the back.

BLACKWELL: But he knew?

ALI: He knew.

BLACKWELL: He knew.

ALI: Somebody saw him get dressed.

BLACKWELL: Come on.

ALI: OK. So -- yes. So after so much controversy, you thought he would, like, have a low profile. Well, he did not. The Heisman Trophy winner was supposed to serve a one-game suspension for using vulgar language in the student union earlier in the week. But he shows up to last night's game against Clemson in full gear looking like he's ready to play. Head coach Jimbo Fisher seizes him politely, nudges him to leave the field. I suppose he thought pregame warm-ups did not count.

Well, let's talk about what does count. And that is Florida State squeaking by Clemson in an overtime thriller. Backup quarterback Sean McGuire kept the top rank Seminoles in the game despite throwing two interceptions. But it was FSU's defense that came up big in overtime. They stopped the Tigers on a 4th in 1 to get the ball back. Seminoles running back Carlos Williams took over, scoring the winning touchdown on a 12-yard scamper.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher says there is no quarterback controversy. Winston will be the starter again tomorrow and he's putting the issues of the week behind him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMBO FISHER, FLORIDA STATE HEAD COACH: I think distractions were a part of it, yes. I definitely do. But we -- I thought the last 48 hours, a little bit on Thursday then Friday and Saturday we resolved to come back. And that's what I think the mental resolve of this football team. That's why I love them. They understand how -- understand how to rally together. They understand how to pull together and they understand how much they care for each other and they want to play. And I think they mentally got themselves back together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALI: Thousands of fans lined up around the block outside the Baltimore Ravens stadium to turn in their number 27 jerseys over the weekend. This is the number suspended running back Ray Rice donned for years before being suspended indefinitely for domestic violence. The team says more than 8,000 shirts were turned in for a different number or a store voucher. So yes, there you have it.

BLACKWELL: I'm surprised because anecdotally the line to turn in the jersey longer than the line that turned in -- to buy new iPhones.

ALI: Yes. Yes. Yes.

BLACKWELL: Unbelievable.

ALI: Very interesting.

BLACKWELL: Rashan Ali, thank you so much.

ALI: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Christi.

PAUL: All right. And thank you, folks. So 121 people set out for a beer tasting cruise around Manhattan. All of a sudden, let's just say the event lost all its fizz. We're going to tell you what happened.

Plus, get ready to see thousands of protesters pack the streets of New York. Massive climate change march is promising to be the largest ever event of its kind. Could make some history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Mortgage rates inched up this past week. Take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Good morning to you. 29 minutes past the hour. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Let's get you five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

PAUL: Number one, the wife of captive British aid worker Alan Henning appealing to ISIS to spare his life. Henning was taken hostage back in December. ISIS is threatening to kill him. In a message to ISIS, his wife Barbara says her husband was kidnapped while he was driving an ambulance full of food and water to be handed out to anyone in need.

BLACKWELL: Number two, a second security incident at the White House. This time a man drove up to the White House gate and refused to leave last night. His name is Kevin Carr. He is from New Jersey. He is either 18 or 19. He has been arrested and charged with unlawful entry. This happened just the day after another man jumped the fence and made it all the way into the presidential residence. He was carrying a knife in his pocket. But he was caught just on the other side of the doors.

PAUL: Number three takes us to Albania. Pope Francis is there today. His first European trip outside Rome. Here are some of the latest pictures we're getting in. And he's had mass in the central square of Albania's capital Tirana calling for co-existence among religions. And the pope is in the predominantly Muslim country speaking out against terrorism, social and religious prosecution and poverty. BLACKWELL: Number four, this was supposed to be a good time, right? More than 100 people, they are on this replica of a 19th century schooner. It was a beer tasting cruise around Manhattan. That is usually fun. Yeah, but the party fizzled out when the boat ran aground on a reef. Good news here is nobody was hurt. Everybody was rescued.

PAUL: And number five, NASA's latest high-tech planet exploring spacecraft is on track to fire up a (INAUDIBLE) and enter Mars orbit tonight. Maven is for the red planet climate and the hope to discovering just how our neighbor got so cold, so dry after having a warm and wet atmosphere much like Earth billions of years ago.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about temperatures back here on Earth. Because climate change, it's a big deal. And today in New York organizers are promising the biggest climate change demonstration in history. In a few hours, tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of protesters will kick off a massive rally and a march through the streets of Manhattan.

PAUL: And while climate change deniers are, well, as Americans apple pie, some might say, activists want to change attitudes and energy policies in the hopes that future generations don't have to deal with rising sea levels and erratic weather such as extreme floods, droughts, wildfires. May Boeve is the executive director of one of the groups behind this march, 350.org is her group. May, thank you so much for being with us. This is something I read that I think probably really also makes this stand out. That U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon who we know is meeting with world leaders on Tuesday to discuss this as we said, he is actually going to link arms with people and be part of this march. How do you think that action from him might affect what happens on Tuesday?

MAY BOEVE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 350.ORG: Well, it's incredibly important. And the march kicks off at 11:30 right at Columbus Circle. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be there. And we're expecting over 100,000 people. And this is going to not only be the largest climate march we've ever seen, but one of the most diverse. Not only will we have the secretary general joining us letting everyone in the world know how important this is, but we'll see labor unions, doctors, families, those impacted most by climate change, indigenous peoples. It's going to be a beautiful, diverse day.

BLACKWELL: So, May, I was reading this piece in the "New Yorker." It was a Q&A with environmentalist and journalist and author, Bill McKibben. And he says about the U.N. meeting in New York these guys are going to come and do the same thing they always do, offer a few fine speeches and head home having accomplished nothing. Tell us how this climate march will be more than a few fine speeches and heading home accomplishing nothing?

BOEVE: Here's the thing to know about the march. For years politicians have been telling us that this is a side issue. And the public doesn't really care. And what this march will show is that's not true anymore. Not only that, even low the largest marches in New York, there are more than 2500 happening around the world. And we've already seen photos from Delhi, Katmandu, Melbourne. It's a really - a spectacular showing. And the truth is people are already being affected by this issue right here in New York City. Superstorm Sandy turned New Yorkers into climate activists. And that's why today we're going to see so much activity.

BLACKWELL: You know, I hear that. And it will be a big show across the country, you say. But I've gone to marches for climate change, for political action after controversial verdicts in trials. The question is how does that change into something more than the day, than the image ...

BOEVE: Something existential.

BLACKWELL: Something that will actually change policy?

BOEVE: Well, what we're seeing right now is a huge upswell in activity on climate change. So, it's not just this march. As you all know, there's been activism to try and divest from fossil fuels. That is happening all over the world. People are resisting pipelines and coal plants and people are supporting the solutions. The price of solar energy has fallen dramatically. So, this march is a chance to show all the activity that's taking place. But by no means does that suggest that there is not incredibly important activities happening that is moving this issue forward.

And so on Tuesday what we're going to see is leaders telling us that they're serious. And the way to know that they're serious is they're actually going to start transitioning the way we use energy and acting as if this issue is the crisis that it needs to be. And we've never seen this level of outpouring on this issue. There have been marches and demonstrations. But this truly marks a different kind of moment.

PAUL: All right. May Boeve, we appreciate you spending some time us with this morning. As we know it's a big day for you. Thank you so much.

BOEVE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thanks.

PAUL: Well, he's back.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Yes, country music legend Garth Brooks. Talked to him one-on- one Friday before his show here in Atlanta. One of nine shows might I add over I think a total of four or five days.

BLACKWELL: Nine shows in one city.

PAUL: Yes. Yes. In addition to talking music and family, he did weigh in a bit on the recent NFL controversy, in a sense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARTH BROOKS, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER: Being with the right person from the kickoff is the answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK. Stay with us. Because we're going to have more from my interview with country music star Garth Brooks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: All right, take just a minute and listen to this story. It's a horrific story out of Alabama. And the Justice Department civil rights division is now weighing in on this case. A 14-year-old girl with special needs was allegedly raped after a teacher's aide convinced her to act as bait to catch an accused sexual predator at school. This allegedly happened at Sparkman Middle School in 2010. Now, according to federal documents, a teacher's aide at this school received reports that a 16-year-old boy was trying to lure girls into the bathroom on the school special needs corridor for sex. When that aide told the vice principal, she was told he could not be punished because he had not been caught in the act. So, the aide convinced a 14-year-old girl to agree to meet him in the bathroom and teachers would rush in before anything happened. Well, she even told the vice principal about the plan, although the administrator did not respond, according to the documents. But something went wrong. The boy told the girl to go into a different bathroom. No one came in to save her and he allegedly sodomized her. Well, after the incident according to the documents, one vice principal said the girl was responsible for herself when she went into that bathroom. Another said that she wasn't certain that girl didn't, and that's the quote, "consent to the assault." That's what the documents say. Eric Artrip is the girl's attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC ARTRIP, ATTORNEY: Found substantial evidence of a forcible rape. And that's what happened here. The idea that she consented to this or somehow allowed this to happen is incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, in December a federal court threw out claims that the school district violated title nine of federal law which dictates how schools must respond to claims of sexual harassment. Now the Justice and Education Department attorneys have submitted a brief to the court which will decide if it will stand saying "using a child as rape bait is a clear violation among other things in title nine and now goes to the appellate court." Faculty members are appealing the state civil suits. Now here's what the school sent us. The attorneys for the board of education and school officials are confident that the 11th circuit court of appeals will rule in favor of the board and the administrators. "Our attorneys recommend that we not discuss ongoing litigation. The administrators still have their jobs. One of the vice principals has now been promoted to principal. And in elementary school in that community. The teacher's aide who set up the plan has resigned. Her attorney says it was obviously a bad idea, but that his client is being used as a scapegoat. Of course, we'll continue to follow that story. PAUL: Absolutely. All right. You know the U.N. General Assembly is

about to meet for the 69th time in history. We're going to take a look at what is up for discussion by world leaders this week. Also, as the more memorable moments from past years. But first, here's this week's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really hate when it hurts. It's a really sharp pain. I get all teary. The shots really scare me a lot. And they still scare me now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When children get a diagnosis like cancer, any major disease, they lose any sense of feeling that they are controlling their lives. They're prodded and poked and touched and they are often so afraid. Our daughter Sarabasia (ph) was diagnosed with leukemia. She was such an incredible little soul who taught me about the power that's inside of ourselves.

(on camera): Are you ready?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, begin.

Um (voice over): After our daughter passed away, I started a program that provides classes to children who are sick to teach them the martial arts.

(on camera): Good!

(voice over): To make them feel powerful.

(on camera): Every single type of martial arts uses the breath to take control.

(voice over): I'm a black belt in Taekwondo.

(on camera): Hold it and then release.

(voice over): We use the martial arts as a platform for meditation, for relaxation, to allow children to gain these tools.

(on camera): You're totally in control.

(voice over): To really phase down so much of the fear, the anger that accompanies pain. And you could see that light on their face. I feel like their souls are shining.

(on camera): You did it!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do have the power to make the pain go away. And nothing is impossible. Nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: So, as we've discussed this morning, the United Nations General Assembly begins their annual meeting this week. President Obama will speak on Wednesday and, of course, ISIS will be the dominant topic in the conversation.

PAUL: It will be. You know there is so much else to talk about. They're going to dive into. The crisis in Ukraine, the Ebola outbreak, Iran's nuclear campaign and climate change. Let's bring in editorial producer Nadia Bilchik. It's not every year, though, there is some unexpected moments, you know, at the U.N. that end up making news.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Oh, yes. There are some unexpected moments and some very memorable ones. You know that United Nations General Assembly is an opportunity for presidents and prime ministers to address a global audience. And every year we see world leaders use their few minutes to deliver their message to a global audience. But some of their theatrics, as you said, are definitely more memorable than others. So I don't know if you remember in 2006, then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez complained about the state stinking of sulfur because George Bush had been the day before implying that George W. Bush was the devil. And in 2009, Libya's then leader Moammar Gadhafi talked on and on about conspiracy theories, everything from swine flu to the Kennedy assassination. Her rambled on for about an hour and a half. And then there was the time Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made headlines when he brandished a carton image of a bomb to demonstrate how dangerous Iran's nuclear program could be and then underlined it with a red marker. And the walkouts when former President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got up to speak. Who can forget those?

So, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time in 1945. And it will have its 69th session this week. So we'll see if there are any memorable moments. We do know, as you said, they're going to be talking about ISIS, Ukraine, Middle East. But Ban Ki-moon says a big focus this year is going to be on education.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, you know, last year there was the question would there be the moment where President Obama would speak with the new president of Iran, Rouhani. There was not that photo op for the handshake, but there's a phone call we heard about, the first time since the late '70s. So, there are many opportunities to, I guess, break some ice, too.

BILCHIK: So we know news will be made in one form or another this week. And of course, we look forward to seeing the pictures about the huge climate change march.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Right.

BILCHIK: That's going to be fascinating. I think photograph opportunity, for people dressing up, doing all kinds of things. And New York is one busy place this morning. BLACKWELL: Yes. They hate the traffic. All right. Thank you so

much, Nadia.

PAUL: Thank you, Nadia.

Blame it on his roots. You don't know the words, do you? He showed up in boots.

BLACKWELL: Well, I know. I mean I didn't know you were going there.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: I don't know the words. Let's admit it. I don't know the words. I'll admit it. I don't.

PAUL: He owns it. I know.

BLACKWELL: I know.

PAUL: You all, I am sure, know who I'm talking about there. It is Garth Brooks. Back in action with a new world tour. My one-on-one interview with one of country music's biggest stars and I have got to say, nicest guy, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

GARTH BROOKS: You came back! You came back!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And they keep coming back. That was country music star, of course you know his name and face, Garth Brooks. He can - new world tour in Chicago earlier this month, he is actually here in Atlanta this weekend with his wife singer Trisha Yearwood. The couple has a series of concerts lined up here in the city and tickets are selling out fast.

PAUL: Yeah. And it's hard to believe. I think it's been 13 years since his first world tour, or since his album. I think we should say, that - it's been 17 or 18 years since he has been, you know, on this tour especially here in Atlanta. And I had a chance to talk with him hours before his first show here on Friday. Let me tell you, I'm country music fan. I admit it. What a nice guy.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

PAUL: He and Trisha both. We talked about everything from new music to family even the recent NFL controversies as well. Look at this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAUL: When you decided to be basically a stay at home dad, how was it to go from superstar to stay at home dad?

BROOKS: I think we all say what we're going to do in life until God hands us a child. And then one -- once God hands you that child, you go everything that made sense before makes no sense now. And the things that didn't make sense before now make perfect sense. You grow up as a teenager scared of everything. You get in your 20s and your bull driven. You're not scared of nothing. They hand you that first child, you're scared of everything again because of this child. So I think everybody's plans kind of change when they hand you that baby and I was fortunate enough to -- thanks to God and to people, that I could afford to take time off, raise my children and then the question was would they be there when you came back?

PAUL: How are you different from stepping on stage 17 years ago to stepping on stage now because of that experience?

BROOKS: It balances the first question.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: Yes.

BROOKS: Yes. Yes. I know.

PAUL: Yes, I know.

BROOKS: The thing is gratitude. That's it. It's gratitude. I feel like I was very thankful through the '90s and very aware of what I was being lucky enough to get to do, but once you become a father and see these kids and see how lucky they are to be children in America as opposed to children somewhere else, in lesser fortunate countries, you start to get an appreciation for the little things, right? You start to recognize them. Not that you were a bad guy for not recognizing them before, but children make you do that. So recognizing how lucky I am. I thought I was lucky before. I'm ten times luckier now to get to do this or blessed. I'm (INAUDIBLE). And the weird thing is all the guys you grew up with play music are on stage and they feel the same way. So you look around and you see a lot more gratitude.

PAUL: I'm so taken by how respectful you and Trisha are to each other. And with all the stuff that's been going on in the NFL, what would you say to men out there to help them respect women?

BROOKS: Being with the right person from the kickoff is the answer. And we all get married too young. Because we think it's the next step. So it's like all I can tell you, if you really want to know the secret to treating people with respect, give it some time. If this is your life partner forever, the fact that you're married to her or him for 30 years instead of 50, give it some time. Because we all grow up. And then that's it. Respect is a big thing. If you respect your partner, and you can keep that, then I think that's a good, good way on your way to something good.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PAUL: And you know, the other thing he said about getting back into music, now he said I'm scared to death. But I love this quote that he gave me, he said I don't like to lose, but I don't mind losing if I learn something from it. So I like to get in the game.

BLACKWELL: That's a good thing to keep with you.

PAUL: If you are getting back in the game. Isn't it?

BLACKWELL: It's great. You know. I want to say that blame it on his roots --

PAUL: He knows it.

BLACKWELL: Before. I know the chorus. I know the chorus.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: He knows the chorus.

BLACKWELL: And unanswered prayers, probably my favorite. My favorite.

PAUL: And bring it in here.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Me, too. And, you know, Trisha Yearwood, of course, country music star in her own right, she -- this is nine years ago here. Even though they're one of country music's power couples, really. They careers take a back seat to family, they say. They've clipped them on hold just to raise their kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISHA YEARWOOD, COUNTRY SINGER: We did what we said we were going to do. And our youngest graduated high school. Now she's a freshman in college. And I don't know, we're just enjoying -- we're able to enjoy it. Our kids are where they should be. They've gotten through that hard part. And then they got hard parts to come. And now they are adults. You have to let them fly. And we're getting to do our thing. And we both believe we were born to play music. So, we're having the best time of our lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. Watch the full interview with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Go to cnn.com/newday.