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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

Mystery of Child's Body Found in Chicago Lagoon; Examining Europe's Refugee Crisis; UK Prime Minister Discusses British Nationals Killed in Drone Strike; Jailed Clerk Appeals Court's Ruling; Lowest Labor Day Average Since 2004. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired September 7, 2015 - 16:30   ET

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


[16:30:00] RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So all the cars pass below this massive American flag. There's people standing here with blue ribbons in their hand, but you can't miss all of this, the cars, the steady flow of cars that are coming this direction.

And we do know, Jake, that tomorrow at 12:30 there will be another conversation, a news conference. They are going to tell us new information about this case and give us an update about what's going on. But, right now, it's not about any of that. It's about all the officers and people paying respect to someone who served this community for over 30 years.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right, Ryan Young in Antioch, Illinois.

We're going to turn now to a deepening and horrific mystery in our national lead. Police in Chicago are desperately trying to identify the remains of a child recovered in a lagoon at a local park this weekend. Because of decomposition, it's unclear how long the child's body parts had been submerged. An exercise weight was also found nearby.

Let's go to CNN affiliate WBBM's Mai Martinez.

Mai, thank you so much for joining us.

How were the remains discovered?

MAI MARTINEZ, WBBM REPORTER: Well, Jake, Saturday afternoon, someone walking here near the lagoon spotted what appeared to be a child's foot floating in the water.

That person called 911 to report it. And Chicago police responded. Once the determination was made that it was in fact a child's foot, the investigation began and divers spent most of the evening on Saturday looking for additional remains.

They did recover more remains that evening, and then came back out again on Sunday when they recovered additional remains again yesterday. Again, those remains are in a very bad state of decomposition, so we don't know yet if this is all from one child. We don't know a cause of death at this point, but police are classifying it at this time only as a death investigation.

TAPPER: Mai, are there any reports of missing children in the area?

MARTINEZ: Right notice, Chicago police are looking into any reports of missing children in this area that fit the description. They believe these remains belong to a toddler between the ages of 2 and 4.

Right now, they say they have not found any missing child from this immediate area that matches that description. Again they're still working with the medical examiner's office to try to determine the age, the sex and the race of this child. So until those test results come back, it's kind of hard for them to move forward, but again the top priority for the Chicago Police Department is to identify who this child is, so they can go forward with the investigation.

TAPPER: All right, Mai Martinez from our affiliate WBBM, thank you so much.

The world lead, the price to pay to escape conflict, refugees putting their lives at risk, the lives of their family members, boarding crowded rubber boats, sleeping in dirt fields with no sanitation, thousands crossing borders every day, but who is responsible for taking all these people in? The response some refugees are getting once they make it to safe land -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:22]

TAPPER: Welcome back to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

Our world lead now, a flood of refugees trying to escape bombings, terrorists and dire conditions ravaging their homelands. They're traveling by bus, by train, by boat, even foot, pushing toward Western Europe. More than 16,000 refugees streamed into Austria just in the past two days, according to a police spokesman there, and another 2,800 have died trying to make the journey.

It's a disaster on the verge of a tipping point. We have our team of CNN correspondents at crisis points across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Arwa Damon on the Hungary-Serbia border, and this is the scene on the Hungarian side.

A sit-in being carried out by the refugees, most of them from Syria, fed up with the wait that has lasted for days out in the open with little to no shelter. In fact, so fed up, that young woman like Zuna (ph) we were talking to earlier wrote on her arm, "We aren't animals. I want to go."

Why did you write this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I need go. DAMON: You need to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because very cold, and I'm so tired.

DAMON: How many times nights did you spend here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two days.

DAMON: Two days, so one night.

And a lot of other people have also been having to suffer these very same unbearable conditions, especially difficult given the entire journey and everything that they have had to go through to get to this point. The pressure on Hungary is not easing up. And it's a country that is very ill-equipped to already deal with the influx that it is seeing.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ivan Watson in Bodrum, Turkey.

This is not just a posh and popular Turkish resort. It's also the unlikely point of embarkation for thousands and thousands of refugees and migrants who are trying to cross a narrow channel here just a couple of miles to the nearby Greek island of Kos.

And you won't believe the kind of unseaworthy rubber boats and inflatable dinghies that people are packing into to try to make this perilous crossing. And, unbelievably, some of them are bringing children on board with them just days after those awful photographs emerged of a 2-year-old Syrian refugee child, his lifeless body washing up on a beach very close to where I'm standing.

It's clear that the risk of drowning as sea is not enough to deter especially refugees who fled horrific conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert at Munich Train Station.

[16:40:02]

And this has been the scene here every day, as thousands arrive here to Germany. This is the preferred destination for so many refugees. At this reception center, you have medical screening here with doctors and nurses. You can hear people applauding. That's the kind of warm welcome refugees are receiving here.

Germany has said that it's going to put aside $6 billion to help with refugees and that it is considering more than 800,000 refugee applications, but Germany says it can't do it alone. It needs helps from its neighbors in the E.U., but also looking to other countries like the United States to take in more refugees -- Jake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Atika, Ivan and Arwa, thank you so much for all those reports.

If you are wondering how you can help in the ongoing refugee crisis, visit CNN.com/Impact, CNN.com/Impact, for more on how you can make a difference.

Turning now to developments in the war on ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron today admitted that a targeted drone attack took out two ISIS terrorists of English descent, Riyad Khan and Rahul Amin were killed last month while driving in a vehicle near the Syrian town of Raqqa.

Let's get right to CNN's Phil Black live in London.

Phil, what can you tell you about these two men?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the prime minister says that only one of these men, Riyad Khan, was the intended target of this strike.

He's 21 years old from Wales. We had seen him before in an ISIS propaganda video. But other than that, we didn't know very much, at least not publicly. But today the prime minister said that this young man was planning, controlling intended terror attacks here in the United Kingdom. That was why it was necessary, he said, and right to effectively execute him. He described it as an act of national self- defense, Jake.

TAPPER: Phil, how significant is it for the prime minister to be announcing this drone strike by the U.K.? Is this a major escalation in Britain's involvement in the war in Syria?

BLACK: This came as a real surprise. I think Britain hasn't done this before. It has not authorized the execution of one of its own citizens by a drone in Syria, which is a theater that British forces are not authorized by Parliament to operate in.

But David Cameron says that this is a special case. And although he would like to receive further, wider permission to conduct airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, he doesn't have it yet.

TAPPER: All right, Phil Black, thank you so much.

Peace, war, and God wills it, those are the three trigger settings to choose from on the new rifle called the Crusader. Florida gunmaker Spikes Tactical is marketing the weapon as ISIS-proof, complete with an etched-in cross and a Bible verse, "Blessed be the lord, my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle."

One of the gun's designers seen here on YouTube is an Iraq veteran, who told "The Orlando Sentinel" he would "like to have a gun that a Muslim terrorist picked it up, a bolt of lightning would knock him dead." The veteran added it's not meant to offend. The Council of American-Muslim Relations calls this just another ploy designed to profit from the promotion of hatred.

She said she would rather stay in jail than help same-sex marriage get officially married, but a change of tune now for the Kentucky clerk who spend the weekend behind bars -- that story next.

And the money lead, celebrating the savings, gas prices dipping to a new 11-year low for Labor Day weekend, but with so many factors around the world, what are the chances that this trend will last? We will have a CNN analyst here to weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:30] TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Making headlines in our National Lead today, the Kentucky County clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is appealing the contempt of court ruling that landed her behind bars last week.

Kim Davis saying she will never put her signature on official documents recognizing same-sex marriages because it violates her deep Christian faith. This comes as hundreds gathered at a rally over the weekend in support of the devout Christian.

CNN's Jean Casarez joins us live with the latest. Jean, late today, Davis' lawyers filed a request for relief. What can you tell us about that?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This might be a federal holiday, but you can still file a motion electronically. This is an emergency petition before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. What it's really asking for is they want her released from jail, and they want it to happen right now.

What they're asking for technically is an injunction, this time, though, against the governor of Kentucky for what they say was blanketly requiring all county clerks to issue marriage licenses against same-sex couples. While this is before the Circuit Court of Appeals, the community is really rallying many against the elected county clerk, Kim Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was inspired all the way from Ohio, and I said we must pack our bags, and we must go stand with Kim Davis.

CASAREZ (voice-over): While county clerk, Kim Davis, continues to sit behind bars on Labor Day, this holiday weekend brought out supporters who rallied for her cause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you, Sister Kim, if can you hear us in there.

CASAREZ: Davis was determined to be in contempt of court and ordered to jail late last week for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision earlier this year from telling for states to recognize the union as a valid marriage. Her husband telling supporters this weekend she is in no hurry to regain her freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said, honey I'm just as comfortable as I can be.

CASAREZ: Davis' has now filed an emergency motion for immediate consideration with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the cord to exempt her from authorizing marriage licenses, pending final resolution of the appeal in this court.

Meanwhile, deputy clerks of Davis began issuing licenses on Friday, after telling the judge under oath, it may not be their personal belief, but they would follow the law.

[16:50:03] These men received the first same-sex marriage license in the county. Their license does not have Davis' name to it. Her attorney argues that by saying it was issued in Rowan County, it insinuates that it is under her authority.

He also said Davis herself is willing to issue licenses if her name and title are not on them. Presidential contender and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted his support for Kim Davis and is set to visit her tomorrow.

He told ABC's George Stephanopoulos this weekend, marriage is for the defined in the constitution, it's a matter for the states and the U.S. Supreme Court had no authority to issue their ruling in June upholding same-sex unions.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can you cite for me what statute Kim Davis would be required to follow in order to issue a same-sex marriage license in Kentucky when her state specifically says by 75 percent of the voters that marriage means one man/one woman?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: So the current order from the district court that is in effect right now is saying, as the county clerk you are not endorsing marriage, you're simply looking to see if it's two people under the law can partake in marriage, that they are the people they purport to be, but she says she still will not do it.

That's why she remains in jail right now. We'll see what the court of appeals does. This is not the first time they've gone to the court of appeals and they were denied. Tomorrow Huckabee may go to Kentucky and ask for her release himself.

TAPPER: All right, Jean Casarez, thank you so much. The World Lead, the U.S. is warning Russia about its military buildup in Syria. Wolf Blitzer will be talking about this next in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf, good to see you. Your guest today Congressman John Garamendi is going to talk about this issue.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": He's a member of the House Arms Services Committee. He's been following it very closely, we have as well. The U.S. is deeply disturbed right now. They are wondering what the Russians are up to.

Apparently they are sending some signals that may even send troops, supplies into Syria to bolster Bashar al-Assad's regime. The Iranians are supporting that regime. Hezbollah and Lebanon are supporting that regime.

We see the outcome of what's been going on for the last four years, maybe 300,000 people have died. Millions of people have been displaced internally, externally, in the tens of thousands flowing into Europe. This is a crisis that's going on. We're all over it.

TAPPER: Looking forward to that. That's in just under 8 minutes. Thank you so much.

The Money Lead, drivers rejoicing, gas prices just hit a Labor Day low we have not seen in more than a decade. Will the end of summer mean the end of this joyride?

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[16:56:53]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. The Money Lead now, a bit of a bonus on this Labor Day. You're saving that hard- earned money at the pump. The national average is at $2.40 a gallon, that's the lowest on Labor Day in 11 years according to AAA.

Many of you are paying much less. A reporter in North Carolina found $1.98 gas in Raleigh. Price trackers at Gas Buddy tweeted this, $1.97 in South Haven, Michigan.

So what's driving down these prices, let's bring in CNN global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar. She's also the assistant managing editor at "Time." Rona, great to see you.

This is a big deal for drivers especially those families living pay check to pay check, how long -- I don't want to be Mr. Buzzkill, but how long are these lower prices going to stick around?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: I have some good news. I think they'll stick around for the rest of the year as long anything big in the global economy doesn't change. Right now, all the factors out there driving oil prices down, gas is dependent on oil prices.

Oil prices are largely dependent on places like China, which have been seeing big slowdowns in their economy. We've seen all the jitters in the stock market over the last few weeks because of the China's market crash.

So China is growing more slowly. That's drives down the price of oil and thus gas. At the same time there's a lot of new supply coming online, so the U.S. has become a big shale oil and gas producer.

That supply is out there. With Iran signing this nuclear deal with the U.S. and potentially having that approved, there's the expectation that more Iranian supply will come online. Both supply and demand right now are pushing the price of gas lower.

TAPPER: Oil of course is the big driver here. Crude oil trading at about $46 a barrel compared to $100 a barrel last year. Normally when prices fall like this, production does too, but that doesn't seem to be happening this time. Why not?

FOROOHAR: That's a very interesting geopolitical story. Often times when prices plummet as they had, you have the Saudis, the world's biggest producers and the sort of defining member of OPEC, cutting production. That hasn't happened this time around.

There's speculation that's for two reasons -- one would be to put price pressure on U.S. shale oil producers, who need about $50 to $70 dollars a barrel to make their energy economical.

The other reason is Iran. Iran is the big regional rival of the Saudis in the Middle East. Iranians need about $90 a barrel to make their own budgets. The Saudis would like to keep prices low for a lot longer and put pressure on the Iranians.

TAPPER: Of course, there's a potential down side and that's the U.S. cutting jobs. You say however that this is link a boost in production back in 2011.

FOROOHAR: Right, you know, oil is very cyclical. Often time when prices go up, companies hire a lot of people, buy a lot of equipment, but it can go quickly the other way and that's what you've seen happening.

Once those prices got below about $70 a barrel, you saw U.S. shale and oil producers saying, well, maybe we don't need this much employment, maybe we need to cut some job. Yes, so that's what's happening. I think that will have an impact.

TAPPER: All right, Rana Foroohar, thank you so much.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook and at Twitter @jaketapper or tweet the show @theleadcnn. That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over to not a substitute, but to one actual Wolf Blitzer, who is right next door in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BLITZER: Happening now, kickoff, as the political season gets underway, Donald Trump is already leading Jeb Bush by a couple of touchdowns.