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London Raises U.K. Terror Alert; Russian President Putin Touts Russia's Nuclear Power; President Obama Traveling to NATO Summit; Joan Rivers Hospitalized; President's Comment on Having No Strategy for ISIS in Syria Criticized; Apple Announces Possible New Products; CNN Hero Saves Family Pets from House Fires

Aired August 30, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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


CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We hope that Saturday morning has been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell -- 10:00 o'clock here on the East Coast, 7:00 out West. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And this morning, some top Republicans, they have a message for President Obama.

PAUL: In today's New York Times, Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham say the ISIS threat is growing and they accuse the Obama admiinstration of, quote, dithering, and say ISIS has to be confronted militarily.

BLACKWELL: And President Obama plans to send his top diplomat to the Middle East following next week's NATO summit, to drum up support for an international coalition against ISIS.

Now, also in today's New York Times, that top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, he calls ISIS a cancer which must be stamped out.

PAUL: U.S. ally Britain, meanwhile, as you know is ramping up the terror threat level to severe in response to ISIS. That level basically means a terror attack is highly likely, although not imminent.

BLACKWELL: Right now the White House says it does not anticipate that the U.S. terror alert will rise anytime soon.

PAUL: We want to bring in CNN's Atika Shubert. She's in London right now. So Atika, tell us more about how the U.K. is responding to the ISIS terror threat. Why did they decide to raise its terror alert level if there was no specific threat that they knew of?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the important things to remember is that the terror threat level is raised not by the government but by an independent body, the Joint Terrorism Assessment Center, and they do it by looking at all the intelligence they have. Clearly one of the important factors was the recent video of the killing of James Foley. The man in that video has a very distinct British accent and investigators here have been working around the clock to try and identify him. Now, they already know that hundreds of fighters have traveled from

here to Syria, but there is an increased possibility, the government officials believe, that some of them may come back to carry out attacks. That may be one reason why we have seen the terror threat level raised. What's that going to mean here? It means there's going to be extra police out there, particularly at train stations and airports. But otherwise it's life as normal here in London. You can see behind me shoppers still going about their business, nothing has changed.

BLACKWELL: So Atika, when the prime minister spoke on Friday, it was intentionally to Britons, but really because it was carried on all the networks, it was around the world. On Monday he's going to speak to parliament I understand. Tell us about that.

SHUBERT: Yes. He's specifically laying the groundwork to put in new -- what's being called here controls or measures to try and eliminate the Islamist extremism here in Britain. What's that's going to mean is perhaps new legislation that will allow them to do things like take away the passports of anybody they feel may be traveling to Syria to join ISIS. And then when tracked upon their return, whether they will be arrested, interrogated, what happens to them then. And especially what about the extremist preachers for example that may not be actually going to join the fighting but creating this extremist narrative that is encouraging fighters and especially young Muslim men to go. So what they'll be looking at is possibly new legislation that controls those things. But it's a very delicate balance here because a lot members of the Muslim community now fear that they're going to be targeted even though they do not support ISIS and have nothing to do with that conflict.

BLACKWELL: Atika Shubert reporting for us there in western London. Atika, thank you.

PAUL: Back here in the U.S, we were just talking about John Kerry. He's also quoted in the "New York Times" today stating that the U.S. needs a coalition to fight ISIS.

BLACKWELL: Erin McPike is live at the White House. Erin, let's talk about how they're going to put this coalition together.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Christi, first of all, the Pentagon has to President Obama with a plan and strategy for dealing with ISIS, especially in Syria. Once they have that plan, what we do know is the president is actively looking at going to Congress for authorization. But at the same time what we are hearing is, yes, they do want an international coalition as you mentioned.

So President Obama will be traveling to the NATO summit in Wales next week where he will meet with foreign leaders. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are also going and they will be meeting with the European allies of the United States. From there Hagel and Kerry plan to go to the Middle East where they will meet with Middle Eastern leaders who face an even more direct threat, and then after that later in September the United States will host a meeting of the U.N. Security Council presidency, and they plan there to apply even more pressure to foreign leaders so they can develop this international coalition because the United States does not want to be acting unilaterally, Christi and Victor.

PAUL: So what can you tell us about the president expected to return to Washington there?

MCPIKE: Christi, last night the president was in New York City for a fundraiser, but he decided to come back last night. He's going back again tonight for a wedding for one of his long-time personal friends, his chef, Sam Katz. He came back because White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said he wants to sleep in his own bed, spend some time with his family, and do a little work. There's a possibility that he could have some meetings that may relate with how to deal with ISIS. We have yet to get some more information about whether those meetings will take place and what they will be. And as soon as we get that information we will alert you, Christi and Victor.

PAUL: All right, appreciate it. Erin McPike in Washington there for us. Thank you, Erin.

BLACKWELL: Let's go to Moscow now where President Vladimir Putin is sending a strong message to the west, don't mess with Russia, because his nation is, quote, "one of the most powerful nuclear nations." His words come as NATO accuses Russia, another quote, "destabilize Ukraine."

PAUL: And take a look at these satellite images here. A British government source tells CNN there are at least four to 4,000 to 5,000 Russian military personnel in southern Ukraine, not just soldiers, but soldiers with sophisticated heavy weaponry, such as this tank that you see here in southeast Ukraine. Russia denies the accusations. But Matthew Chance is in Moscow right now. So Matthew, we hear these words from Putin and a lot of people are wondering is this a veiled threat to the west?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think those references to the fact that Russia has a vast nuclear arsenal are simply Vladimir Putin underlining the fact that there is no military solution when it comes to Russia's alleged involvement in Ukraine. I mean, NATO, the western military alliance has been holding an emergency session to try to discuss what they're going to do, how it's going to respond. This alleged involvement by the Russians, it's got its NATO conference being held in Wales next week which will be a central topic.

Vladimir Putin just speaking to a bunch of pro Kremlin youth supporters outside of Moscow underlining this basic truth, and President Obama said this as well. He's not going to get involved in a military confrontation with Russia over Ukraine. Vladimir Putin saying, look, you know, it's important that people remember not to mess with Russia. We are after all a nuclear super power. So he's really just saying what many people in Europe and the United States are already thinking when it comes to possible military options with regard to Russia.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and nobody publicly wants those troops on the ground. There's a meeting today in Belgium, European leaders there. Tell us what they're discussing. What's realistically on the table for Russia?

CHANCE: Well, it looks like Russia is going to be, because of its continued support for the insurgency in eastern Ukraine, it looks like it's going to be subject to more European sanctions. In the future that may mean more American sanctions as well. What that will involve, we don't know. They've already targeted various sectors of the Russian economy. It's had an impact on the Russia economy. Just yesterday the Russia ruble, the currency here, fell to its lowest point against the U.S. dollar ever in its history, 37 rubles to the dollar, which is an extremely low point for that currency.

But none of it has had an impact on the policy of Vladimir Putin, at least not on a positive way. The only impact it has had is perhaps to make him even more determined to press ahead with his objectives in eastern Ukraine. It's also served a purpose arguably as well of getting the Russian population, these sanctions, to rally around their leader. According to the latest opinion polls, his popularity has dipped slightly in the month of August. But get this, he's still running at an 85.5 percent approval rating, a figure that I think President Obama would be very, very happy indeed if he could achieve.

PAUL: Any president would be happy to achieve.

BLACKWELL: Any political leader, Congress especially. Matthew Chance, thank you so much.

PAUL: So you know that a lot of people have a lot to say about this comment from President Obama this week, as he indicated that the U.S. doesn't have a plan to fight ISIS and Syria.

BLACKWELL: What should the U.S. be doing next to face this latest terror threat?

Also, Joan Rivers, we're going to talk about her. She's in a hospital in New York this morning. A former colleague talks about their time on the red carpet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, the U.K. is on alert this morning after the government raised the terror threat to the second highest level.

BLACKWELL: The move comes in response to the bloody and violent crisis unfolding over in Iraq and Syria where ISIS militants are seizing lands and killing those who stand in the way, and using social media to threaten the west.

PAUL: However, here in the U.S. officials insist that they don't have plans or at least they're not sharing them to raise the terror threat level here. Joining us now for more on the growing ISIS threat, retired Brigadier General Russell Howard. General Howard, thank you so much for being with us. We know that British Prime Minister David Cameron says more has to be done to stop western jihadis from returning home from the battle fields. On the U.S. side of that, how do we make that happen?

BRIG. GEN. RUSSELL HOWARD (RET): Well, the prime minister is correct. There are probably 500 foreign fighters with British passports helping ISIS in the Levant. The United States probably has 100 -- about 3,000 westerners with western passports who are now fighting alongside ISIS in the Levant. So it's extremely important that we not only know who's going over but particularly who's coming back, because that's where one of the real dangers is for not just Europe but the west.

So -- and I agree with Secretary Kerry this morning that it's got to be a coalition. This is an international problem because of these foreign fighters that will return to our countries and conduct those types of operations that they're conducting in the Levant now.

BLACKWELL: I'd like to ask you something I asked another military leader about an hour ago about what type of coalition this will be and the U.S.'s role in that coalition. Will this be something the U.S. must lead and bring other countries along, or is this going to be the model we saw in Libya with the takedown of Gadhafi where you push other interested parties in the region, no matter their motive, but you get Jordan, you get Turkey, you get other countries involved and push them to take control of this?

HOWARD: If the president could form the same coalition that President Bush, the first President Bush did, in the first Gulf War, that would be ideal. All of the countries that participated, maybe with the exception of Japan who provided money, and in that first Gulf War, that coalition is vulnerable now to the returning foreign fighters fighting alongside ISIS in the Levant.

PAUL: You know, the form --

HOWARD: And NATO is a perfect --

PAUL: Go ahead.

HOWARD: NATO is a perfect organization to start that from.

PAUL: The former ambassador to Syria and Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said, and I'm quoting him here, he said "I do believe we should launch air strikes. They should be heavy, they should be immediate." Is this an urgent, vital situation that needs to be taken care of in that matter do you believe?

HOWARD: Yes, well, it's interesting. Most people say that ISIS or ISIL, depending on what you want to call them, that they're more dangerous now. In some ways, I think they're more vulnerable because they have territory, they have conventional weapons, they have oil. So all of the things that they have are targets, which the west knows how to address, much different than Al Qaeda, which is networked and cellular and doesn't hold territory. When you hold territory you have to protect it. When you have oil, you have to market it. So they're vulnerable now to not just our military action, particularly air support, but they're also vulnerable to economic things we can do to address them.

PAUL: Very good point. Retired General Russell Howard, we appreciate your time today, sir. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, sir.

Joan Rivers daughter, Melissa Rivers, you may know her in her own right, she wants her fans to know that her mother is resting comfortably in the hospital right now. The 81-year-old comic legend is known -- she's tough. She's tough if you've actually seen her standup. Next, we'll get some insight from someone who's worked closely with her and knows just how strong Joan Rivers is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Legendary comedian Joan Rivers is hospitalized this morning. She stopped breathing during throat surgery on Thursday.

PAUL: Her daughter Melissa says, quote, "My mother would be so touched by the tributes and prayers that we've received from around the world. Her condition remains serious but she's receiving the best treatment and care possible."

Tom O'Neil is joining us not from Los Angeles.

BLACKWELL: He's the editor of "Gold Derby," and he spent several years working with Rivers. Tom, we've had you on the show before to talk about movies, but now we're asking you to talk about your colleague. Recently Joan Rivers said that she battles depression on a daily basis because she worries about getting old, yet she's still so active. And I think when people hear her age, 81, she is all over television, all over stages across the country. She's still on the road.

TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, GOLDDERBY.COM: She had 27 club acts booked for this fall. Keep in mind she has a weekly show in Los Angeles, "Fashion Police." Her other TV job, QVC in New York, so going back and forth, all these state shows, and between all of that, she had her weekly YouTube show called "In Bed with Joan" where she would get in bed with stars like Leann Rimes and Kathy Griffin and just say raunchy, crazy things.

PAUL: Well, we know that her sister died last year. That really took a toll on her, didn't it? Talk to us about their relationship.

O'NEIL: They're very close. Barbara was a lawyer and she died just a few days before Joan's 80th birthday. Joan had planned to make a big joke out of turning 80. She had rented out the Metropolitan Club in New York for a party, and then when Barbara died soon right -- or right on the eve of that, she canceled the party, Joan did. And I think this is when the depression she's recently spoken about kicked in.

Right after Robin Williams died she told the media that she has depression on a daily basis and that she was so weighed down by her own mortality and these issues that it really was stifling for her. How did Joan deal with this? Of course with humor. One of the favorite jokes in her act recently was to tell the crowd, "Look, I want to die on stage. I want to drop dead in the middle of my act. But here's the important part, it has to be more than halfway into the act because Melissa should get paid." One of the funny things to do in public was to push herself through lines in stores, saying "get out of the way. I'm 81. I don't have time. You have time. You can wait."

BLACKWELL: You talk about the fear of mortality. And I wonder, is that the root of the plastic surgery? It's no secret she's had procedures over the years. Is there some correlation there?

O'NEIL: I think so. Joan sought eternal youth or seeks eternal youth. And she would often give plastic surgery away as gifts to friends. That's how much she really believes in it. Look, it's a tough game in Hollywood, survival is. You have to look your best. But it did seem Joan was obsessed with it to an extreme degree.

PAUL: We see all these pictures of Joan with Melissa. We know that they're so close. Is there anything about their relationship that maybe we don't know you can share with us?

O'NEIL: I think we have to remember that the closeness is fairly recent. Remember, it was after Edgar's suicide, this is Melissa's father. There was a period of long estrangement between these two. They had to reconcile. They had to rediscover the mother-daughter relationship, and they did that beautifully, of course. And I think now it's safe to say they are each other's best friend. And ever since Cooper came into the picture, Melissa's son, they have the old family unit fully restored again, another generation in line. And I think that certainly means a lot to both of them.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I was talking maybe an hour ago about this documentary, "Joan Rivers, A Piece of Work," that I watched that really shows the vulnerability that many of us have not seen because she's so tough and so quick. And you talk about this family element. We watched on the reality show how important Cooper is to her. And we know that he was there at the hospital. Talk about that relationship between grandmother and grandson.

O'NEIL: Well, it was especially pressures on this reality show you're mentioning. Cooper, coming from a different generation, doesn't quite understand grandma with her insult humor. It is cutting edge in a way. Today's humor is hard-hitting, but Joan is from that generation of Don Rickles, that insult humor that people find so offensive. And the interplay between grandma and grandson was really hilarious to watch, because obviously he loves his grandmother and respects his grandmother, but I don't think he fully gets her.

PAUL: Well, we're certainly, you know, wishing her the very best in her recovery. Again, she's in the hospital in serious condition this morning and got a lot of people praying for her, a lot of thoughts going out to her, I'm sure yours included since you are her colleague. Tom, we appreciate it. Thanks for taking time for us today.

O'NEIL: Sure. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

PAUL: Thank you.

So have you seen this video of the volcanos?

BLACKWELL: Oh, yes, yes, yes.

PAUL: Two of them erupting in two very different parts of the world causing some serious issues for flights today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Just about 29 minutes past 10:00 on a Saturday morning. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Here are five stories we're watching for you this morning.

PAUL: Number one, the Ebola virus has spread to a fifth country in Africa now. An infected university student is in quarantine in Senegal after crossing the border from Guinea. Now Senegal closed its borders last week, but officials there apparently lost track of the young man and he somehow got across. Senegal is a major hub for aid work, transportation, and business. Across west Africa more than 1,500 people have died from Ebola now.

BLACKWELL: Number two, 20 miners have been rescued after a mine collapsed in Nicaragua, but there are still five miners trapped underground. Rescue workers have been racing to dig them out since the mine caved in. That was Thursday. This is a silver and gold mine. It's located in the country's northing mountains.

PAUL: Number three, a rookie Indy car driver is in serious but stable condition this morning after a violent multi-car crash. Look at this thing. This was last night in Fontana, California. Mikhail Aleshin was airlifted to a hospital. According to "USA Today," 27 years old, suffered a concussion, a broken right shoulder, broken ribs, and injuries to his chest.

BLACKWELL: Number four, a St. Louis area police officer is out of a job. He allegedly posted inappropriate comments on Facebook about people who protested after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Another officer has retired after he was caught on camera in Ferguson pushing our colleague CNN Don Lemon. That was one video. But the one that really concerned his bosses was a YouTube video in which he ranted about women and gays and Muslims and President Obama.

PAUL: Number five, two volcanos erupting right now more than 8,000 miles apart, and they're interfering with international flights. In New Guinea, Mount Tavurvur is spewing ash as high as 60,000 feet above sea level. Flights around Australia had to be diverted, and in Iceland, an aviation warning has been downgraded after a volcano there rumbled back to life. Scientists say more eruptions are certainly possible there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Obama is really getting a lot of heat for those comments that the U.S. does not have a strategy yet for how to deal with ISIS in Syria.

PAUL: Some top Republicans accused the president of lacking leadership. Others say he deserves some points for some honesty. So let's talk about it with CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

BLACKWELL: We also have with us CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Good to have both of you with us this morning.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And Maria, let me start with you. You had to know, when you heard the president say we don't have a strategy yet, although he was being honest and weighing the options, it was something that was going to be a bit of a problem.

CARDONA: Absolutely. I actually cringed when I heard those words, not because of what he said but because I knew that he was going to be pounced on by the media and by the opposition and especially Republicans and conservatives. And that's exactly what has happened.

The context is everything here, Victor. And you do have to look at what he was talking about. He was answering a very specific question about whether he would go seek authorization from Congress in terms of having military action in Syria. And what he was laying out is that we're not there yet. He has not decided whether or not to take military action and has not decided whether or not if he is going to take military action, what kind of military action that would be.

So he was being very honest, but at the same time, he is also, I think, where the American people are here. I think the American people appreciate a president who doesn't have a cowboy mentality and shoots first and listens later. He's being very methodical. He's being very precise, and he is actually echoing a war weary nation who wants their commander in chief to be very careful about the kinds of military incursions that they focus on foreign soil.

PAUL: OK, Maria, you said you cringed when you heard it. Kevin, when she just said something, I saw you cringe. What?

MADDEN: Look, first of all, I think the American people, when they look to their president they want a sense of clarity. They want a sense of security, that the president has a comprehensive plan. I would disagree with Maria too. This is not something that is just partisan. This is not Republicans that are criticizing the president. There are many Democrats up on Capitol Hill that are very worried that the president's lack of clarity here is really causing a problem. It's not only causing a problem for them in the midterms but it's causing a problem as they try to rally some support for whatever plan that the president may eventually come up with.

This is not an emerging threat. ISIS has been something -- David Gergen pointed to this earlier. This is something that's been taking place now for about four years. So the fact that the president still doesn't have a strategy is very concerning to the American public.

CARDONA: But I would point this out. And the president was very clear about this. He does have a strategy and the White House does have a strategy in terms of how you deal with ISIS in Iraq, and that is right now the most immediate threat to American citizens and things that actually have American interests right now.

And in terms of moving into Syria, yes, it is absolutely a huge threat that we need to deal with, and the president has been very clear about that. He's also been very clear that the U.S. is not going to go at it alone. So let's give him the next couple of weeks, which I think are going to be critical, as he goes to Europe and tries to focus on coalition building and making sure that the solution here and the strategy that everyone keeps talking about which is needed, and it is needed, is something that is focused on military solutions, political solutions, diplomatic solutions, economic solutions.

And I think, again, what the American people appreciate, and frankly there have been some Republicans that have come to the president's side on this saying that they appreciate he's being cautious here.

BLACKWELL: A couple of weeks? A couple of weeks, though? You think a couple of weeks back, the progress and the movement of ISIS has grown exponentially. If you think about a couple of weeks from now, where will they be? What will they have taken over by then?

CARDONA: But I would disagree with you there, Victor, because we have actually been able to very successfully push back ISIS' movements in Iraq.

BLACKWELL: But that's because there are air strikes in Iraq.

CARDONA: On what is going on in Iraq.

BLACKWELL: That's because there are air strikes happening in Iraq.

CARDONA: That's right. That's exactly right.

BLACKWELL: But he needs a couple of weeks to decide what to do in Syria, with no response in Syria, what will it be then? Let's get Kevin back in this conversation.

MADDEN: Just real quick to that point, you know, I would ask Maria, what is the president's policy. Is the policy containment or is it elimination of a threat? Because that's one of the big things that's really I think, again, disconcerting for the American public, which is there is a canyon inside the administration with people who are dealing with the ISIS issue. The president is talking about not having a strategy while at the same time his secretary of defense and secretary of state, they have all talked about ISIS being an imminent threat to the national security interests of the country. So when the president and his own cabinet aren't on the page, that's a very big problem. So what is it? Is it containment or is it elimination when it comes to an overall strategy?

CARDONA: I'll say this. I think it's actually good that there is a very robust discussion going on inside the administration about what to do. And I think --

MADDEN: A robust disturb --

CARDONA: The American people appreciate that kind of discussion because this is a very serious thing we're talking about in terms of going into Syria where the intelligence is very minimal, where we don't know who's on our side and who isn't. And what the focus of this president is in the next couple weeks, and again, I do think that that's important, is to make sure that we are not going at it alone.

And what I think what has happened recently which is critical is that this threat has become imminent for our allies in Europe in both eastern and central Europe, our allies in the Middle East, and the time is ripe and the time is right, right now, for our allies to understand that they need to step up and to help the United States form this coalition so that it is not the United States going at it alone. And that is exactly what this president has been seeking these past couple of months.

MADDEN: Just real quick, a robust discussion after knowing that this problem has been emerging and gathering for four years is probably not enough for the American people. We need more than just a robust discussion.

CARDONA: And the president will lay out what his strategy is in the coming days and weeks.

PAUL: I didn't even get to ask about the fact that we're 60 days away from midterms play into this, but that's for another time, I guess. Thank you both so much. Kevin Madden, Maria Cardona, good to have you here.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

MADDEN: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: We didn't have enough time to talk about the tan suit. That's a good thing.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: That was the big news coming out of that news conference.

PAUL: All right, thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

MADDEN: You bet. PAUL: So a super-secret announcement apparently is coming from Apple.

BLACKWELL: It's the announcement that everybody's expecting. I don't know how super-secret it is, really. So a new iPhone on the way and maybe even an iWatch.

PAUL: What?

BLACKWELL: We've got the pictures leaking out online this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A cryptic invitation from Apple. Aren't they always cryptic? It's created a buzz among techies. OK, the date is 9/9/2014. That's next Tuesday. And the message, I wish we could say more.

PAUL: Oh, because we can. The company is expected to unveil the iPhone 6. These are leaked images we want to point out. We cannot, CNN, verify their authenticity as to whether they are truly anything is going to offer up. But there's even talk of an Apple iWatch.

BLACKWELL: Tech journalist John Erlichman joins us to talk about the new iPhone 6. So John, the new iPhones are supposed to be bigger. OK, but some people who say they've seen them, they say they're uglier.

JOHN ERLICHMAN, TECH JOUNALIST: Oh, gosh, you know, there's always -- by the way, Victor, I love how you said 9/9/2014. Look, people love to build the buzz when it comes to Apple, and Apple loves that buzz because it generally results in more sales for them. I think there's enough information that we can say that with the larger screen iPhones that there's been a lot of discussion around, Apple would be doing that -- I mean, some people might like the look, others might not like the look. But the competition is offering all different sorts of screen-sized phones, and Apple has to stay relevant.

And if you think about it, why do I need to go out and get another smart phone. The smart phone I've got is pretty good already. I think one aspect for Apple is we all watch lots of videos on our phones now. We watch CNN, streaming Netflix, video games. So there is a big opportunity to make these devices must-haves, and it's part of the Apple plan. The iWatch also an interesting story certainly because there's been so much discussion about Apple pushing into that area. Maybe they'll call it an iWatch, but I tend to think this is more about a connected device that tells you more about your own health and fitness and what's happening in your living room if you already use a lot of Apple devices. So there's going to be a lot to talk about, for sure.

PAUL: Why do they keep everything so secret? Obviously for marketing purposes, it probably is a big deal.

ERLICHMAN: Yes.

PAUL: But when we talk about secrets are they really going to unveil anything that will just blow us away, do you think?

ERLICHMAN: You, I think that's a great point. There is always the danger from that. This has worked really well for them over the years. We know Steve Jobs was a master at not just creating products, but marketing products. And remember, when they have these events, which they don't tell us much about to begin with, usually they wait until the last five minutes to actually tell us what the new great thing is all about. This is a company in the last three month that has reported results generated more than $7.5 billion in profits. So this seems to be working pretty well for them.

But some of the competitors copy what Apple does, but others see an opportunity to take advantage of all the hype that seems to build. You think about Samsung and their next big thing is already here, campaigned a few years ago, to say, hey, guess what, we've got great devices already on the market. So the competition is certainly a factor.

BLACKWELL: Some of the pictures we've been showing, CNN obviously cannot independently verify that that is what the new iPhone 6 will look like or this iWatch, if that's the name of it. But John, how much better can smart phones get? I've got an Apple iPhone. I'm pretty happy. What else do we need from these phones?

ERLICHMAN: Yes, I mean, look, we talked about the video. Here's the reality. Our lives are so tied to these devices at this point, beyond just the communication of, you know, texting, e-mails, phone calls, social media. We're doing our banking with these devices, we're doing commerce with these devices. The maps -- I'd be terrible on the road without being able to use the different mapping and navigation services that you can get on your phone now. All of that requires a lot of computing power, so they need better chips. It needs more storage, the ability to handle all of that stuff. And every time a new phone comes out, certainly from a player like Apple, they play all that up. And for Apple, which is selling at premium prices, they need to just keep coming out with new phones to sort of say this one's a little bit better. The price is high, but hey, it's going to be worth it for you.

PAUL: All right, John Erlichman, we'll wait and see.

BLACKWELL: It's 9/9/2014.

PAUL: Teen, teen, teen. Thank you so much, John. Have a good day. We'll be right back. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Baby back ribs with a nice rub, doesn't that just sound like a good idea for the weekend?

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: You know what it is, we've been sitting here for four hours and 50 minutes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: And we haven't had a thing to eat. Jennifer Gray, give us some good news about barbecue that we might be able to have today.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We are going to have a little window. Even though we may get rain over the Labor Day weekend, most folks will have at least a day of that dry weather. One area, though, that will stay very, very soggy is the Gulf coast. We have had relentless rains over the past couple of days. That area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico just bringing in a ton of moisture across south Louisiana, even southeast Texas. We have seen even flooding rains this morning across areas like Lake Charles and points north towards I49. We have seen some areas of five to six inches of rain already today and more is to come. We are going to see that flood warning in effect for Lake Charles. That flood watch in effect elsewhere including places like Lake Charles. Six or more inches of rain expected through Monday. So a lot of rain expected for today and tomorrow. And then it should start to taper off by Monday or so. That is one place that is going to stay soggy for the Labor Day weekend.

Other folks that are expected to see some severe weather, anywhere across some portions of the Dakotas into Montana, could see damaging winds, even an isolated tornado later today. That threat moves a little bit farther to the east tomorrow including places like Minneapolis, Des Des Moines, Lincoln, and Kansas City. Of course, if you are heading out trying to barbecue, Orlando, we are going to see hit or miss showers mainly in the afternoon, high temperatures in the low 90s. New York City looks good today, but the rain does move in tomorrow into Monday. Christi and Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, so you're saying if I'm going to do the ribs, I have to do them today.

GRAY: Yes.

PAUL: Today is the day.

BLACKWELL: Sign me up. Thank you.

PAUL: So obviously, you know, we're talking next about this house fire. You would imagine how that -- devastating that is for a family to lose everything like that.

BLACKWELL: Our CNN hero is extending a paw to forgotten fire victims.

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BLACKWELL: Of course, we know losing your home in a fire is devastating. And for pet owners finding help for their family members, the four-legged ones, it just adds to the struggles.

PAUL: There was firefighter, Jen Leary, and she saw people who were forced to abandon their animals because they couldn't care for them. So this CNN hero developed a solution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN LEARY, CNN HERO: I was a firefighter in Philly for seven years. You get to a fire scene and the firefighters are there to put out the fire. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross assist the people once the fire is out. But there just wasn't anyone there to help the other part of the family. I would see how upset the people were about their animals. You know, where is my pet? And then, where is it going to go? These are people's children. They just lost everything. They shouldn't then be forced to lose their pets as well.

We have a dog displaced by a fire. I'm headed to the scene now.

We respond 24/7, 365 days a year. We do for pets what the Red Cross does for people. Once the fire's under control, we're able to look for the animals and bring them out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, baby. Come here.

LEARY: Red Paw Headquarters is my house. We've helped close to 1,000 animals. The owner said she was pregnant. Everything that their animal needs, we'll handle for free for them. When we reunite the families, it's a good thing. This void has now been filled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome home.

LEARY: My hope is that it's a fresh start, that they can move forward together. After going through such a sad thing, it's so good to have a happy ending.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And tomorrow is the deadline to nominate a 2014 hero. So go to CNNheros.com and tell us about your heroes. We'd love to hear it.

BLACKWELL: Also, remember to celebrate the unofficial last weekend of summer this Labor Day weekend.

PAUL: Yes.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's making me sad when you put it like that.

PAUL: Fred's here.

BLACKWELL: It's unofficial.

PAUL: You don't have to look at it, Fred. You don't have to celebrate.

WHITFIELD: You're riding with Danica. I love it.

PAUL: Yes. At a 145 miles per hour, and I did not wet myself, which I was sure that I would, people, because I do not like speed. She was doing this -- I was just one of the lucky ones she did it with. But the other people she rode around with were breast cancer survivors. And I loved how she said she learns so much from them, because they get in the car and say, you know, I would have never had the courage to do this before. She said they really teach her about what matters.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

PAUL: Love it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: That does it for us today.

PAUL: Yes. So make great memories today.

WHITFIELD: I feel like I just kind of barged into the conversation. I know you're really talking to Victor, but then I kind of made myself --

BLACKWELL: Come on in.

PAUL: Come on in, we're all a team here. It's all good.

WHITFIELD: I love that. That's fun. I like that race car thing especially if you are going to 145 -- 180 miles per hour. I like it. All right. Thanks. I'd like to hear more.

Good to see you as well, Victor. Have a great weekend. We'll all see you again tomorrow morning.