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Refugees in Hungary; Refugees in Austria; Hillary Clinton in Illinois; Race for 2016; Muslim Suspended from Airline; Memorial for Illinois Police Officer. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 7, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:03] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello on this Labor Day. Thanks for joining me. I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Brooke Baldwin.

And the refugee crisis in Europe has now reached a critical point as tens of thousands of migrants are fleeing their war-torn homeland. They're spilling into the European Union. Huge numbers of them now headed for Germany largely. And this makeshift dorm style shelter was set up in Munich to accommodate some of the 17,000 plus refugees and some others who flooded into that city alone over the weekend. But Germany is says it can't do it alone. It needs over nations to step up and help out. Even the pope is now imploring Europe Catholics to take in these desperate families.

CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon has a look at the dangerously difficult journey some of these refugees made as they try to pass through Hungary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of the families here, they have spent the entire night. If they're lucky, they have a tent. But there is nothing organized that has been set up for them. And when the sun goes down, it is bitterly cold. A lot of the children are getting quite sick. Many of them have spent at least 36 hours here, some up to three to four days, lined up right now to get a little bit of food assistance in the form of apples, bananas, a sandwich, some water being contributed.

All of this just a small local aid organization's effort. All of it just the work of volunteers. They've been waiting for buses to come, but it just is not happening fast enough. The transit camp is just a 10 minute walk up the street, but they're still being forced to wait here before being shifted there.

It is overcrowded. The Hungarians can't process people quickly enough, yet the government has so far refused U.N. HCR's (ph) offer of assistance. And even if they do get these people cleared out, there are more that arrive every single moment. Those train tracks that people are following, that is their path from Serbia into Hungary. And as you can see, people just keep on coming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Our thanks to Arwa Damon, continuing her reporting in Hungary.

And live now on the ground, CNN international correspondent Fred Pleitgen. He is joining us from Vienna, another place where refugees have been arriving by the thousands.

Fred, what's the situation there right now?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, you're absolutely right, I mean refugees just keep pouring in here. If we look around the railway station here in Vienna, there are an unbelievable amount of people that are still coming in. And this was supposed to be a quieter day than the past couple of days.

I would say, and we've been here pretty much since the morning hours until now, it's the evening now here, it's about 8:00 p.m. here, that well over 1,000 people, maybe 1,500 people, have come here through Vienna train station. And it really is a strategic place for these migrants because what happens is, they reach the border between Austria and Hungary, then all of them, by bus and by train, come here to this train station, to the western Vienna train station, and from here they can make their way on to Germany, and that was where the vast amount of them want to go. We've spoken to many of them. Many, of course, told us of the very difficult journey that they've had so far and they say the one thing that they want to do is they want to move on from here into Germany and then try and settle there.

One thing I have to say, Ana, is that the people here in Austria have done a great job. There's been a lot of support here from the population. They have been donating things. And, most importantly, they've been donating a lot of their time to welcome the people here, Ana.

CABRERA: It looks like a little bit of progress on the ground there. Thank you so much, Fred Pleitgen, live in Vienna for us.

To politics now and presidential hopefuls or possible hopefuls making the most of this Labor Day. And I say possible hopefuls because of Vice President Joe Biden. He's in Pittsburgh today praising the labor and the virtues of the middle class. And while he hasn't decided just yet if he's going to join the presidential race, he sure looked a lot like a candidate and he got plenty of encouragement as he walked in that Labor Day parade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, how are you?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sounds like you have a rationale for running.

BIDEN: I'm going to run part of this parade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Joe Biden run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll vote for you too (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beat Hillary!

BIDEN: How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beat Hillary!

BIDEN: Come on, let's you and I walk together. Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for everything you're doing.

BIDEN: Hey, man. Oh, I'm in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Mr. Vice President. How are you, sir?

BIDEN: I'm well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run, Joe, run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excellent. You look wonderful.

BIDEN: Well, yes, I feel good. I feel good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bless you. I hope you run, man. I hope you run.

BIDEN: Come on, get you - get in the picture here. You don't - no? You know what I mean?

I am really screwing it up here. Hey, guys. It's like home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is like home.

BIDEN: I've got a lot of nice friends here. Good to see you, man.

Remember, no serious guys till you're 30 (ph).

Good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, you're the vice president of the United States. Thank you.

[14:05:02] BIDEN: For a while. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd vote for you any time!

BIDEN: Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give it a go, Joe!

BIDEN: Hey, guy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Joe! UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go Joe!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Hugs, handshakes, even a kiss on the cheek.

Now, fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton also on the road this holiday. She has an event at this hour in Illinois. And that's where we find our Jeff Zeleny.

And, Jeff, not only does Hillary Clinton have to keep an eye on Biden, but she just got some pretty sobering news from two new polls. I want to take a quick look at those before we come to you. Bernie Sanders, he has now surged past Clinton in that early primary state of New Hampshire, also neighboring state of Vermont, of course. And while Hillary is still leading in Iowa, Sanders is making gains ahead of next year's key caucuses there as well.

So, Jeff, how is the campaign and what they're doing today reacting to these new polls?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, there's no question that the Clinton campaign realizes that they have a race underway. The idea of a summer sensation of Bernie Sanders has given away to a full fight this fall. They know that he is really reaching into the hearts and minds of what liberal and progressive Democrats want to say.

So the Clinton campaign is aware of this. They knew that this sentiment was going on inside the Democratic Party. But, Ana, they're a little bit surprised how much staying power Senator Sanders seems to have.

Here in Iowa, as you said, now she is still ahead by 11 points. But, boy, that is down from 24 points, only about six weeks or so. So at this labor picnic that I'm at here, there's representatives of all candidates. The voters we're talking to, I can tell you the Bernie Sanders supporters are diehards. They are with him until the very end. And, Ana, there's quite a few of them here.

CABRERA: You say she has staying power, and that may be surprising, but at the same time, did she ever think she would be trailing Sanders in any state?

ZELENY: Sure, no. I mean the idea that Hillary Clinton would be an underdog is not something that anyone expected. And I think we have to put the word underdog in maybe parenthesis or quotation marks. She still has the full muscle of the party loyalty behind her. She has so many financial advantages. So it's a tough race to be sure.

But Democrats like Hillary Clinton. Her approval rating is high among Democrats. The question is, does any of this e-mail controversy, does any of this sort of stuff swirling around her end up eroding her support? That's one of the things that her campaign is trying to work around. It's one of the reasons we're going to see her - hear her speaking behind me in not too long, Ana, rallying these troops. They're going to put her out there more. Frankly, she's been bottled up most of the summer, so they're going to have Hillary Clinton out campaigning more, and that's what Democrats want to hear. They want to hear from her.

CABRERA: All right, Jeff Zeleny, there in Iowa, thank you so much.

And let's take a closer look at these new polls for both parties, as well as the Joe Biden question. I'm joined by CNN political director David Chalian, and Jackie Kucinich, the senior politics editor for "The Daily Beast."

I want to hear from both of you. We'll talk about Biden first. Let's take a listen to some of his speech this morning in Pittsburgh. It was vintage Biden talking about the challenges facing the middle class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But here's the bottom line. I I'm hot. I got - I acknowledge that. I'm mad. I'm angry. How many people in your own neighborhoods, how many people in your own neighborhoods are in trouble? Can look their kids in the eye and say with heart, honey, it's going to be OK, it's going to be OK? Not enough. Because the level playing field doesn't exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: All right, David, Labor Day seems like it's tailor made for Biden to hit the stump. Are we going to look back at his speech that we just heard with all that energy and we saw his parade walking, are we going to call this the unofficial start of his campaign, do you think?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I don't know, he said we have to ask his wife that question if we want to know the answer today.

CABRERA: Right.

CHALIAN: And I do think that actually reflects where he is right now in the decision-making process. He clearly has been gathering information from some political advisers about how feasible a run might be. But what he told us last week and this on-going process is the sort of familial gut check. Sit around the table with the family and is this something that he and the family have the emotional fuel to do at this time for them after the death of his son, Beau.

So I don't think he's done with that process yet. I don't think he feels the need to rush through that process. He has told us he's going to make a decision about jumping in or not by the end of summer. He's got a few more weeks on that score. And I think he's going to take that time.

I will say, though, watching him today at the parade, you saw that video, there is no politician in America who seems to enjoy a parade as much as Joe Biden does. CABRERA: But he seemed so jovial today. And you compare that to what

we saw last week when he was soft spoken, he seemed so somber. It was just 180 degrees today. So, Jackie, did this look like a campaign stop to you?

JACKIE KUCINICH, SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR, "DAILY BEAST": This was very much Joe Biden in his element. That sort of working class group of people. People who don't necessarily like Hillary Clinton. The unions aren't really big fans of Hillary Clinton. So Joe Biden really tapped into some of what they're thinking, that these jobs are gone. How do they get them back? These are Joe Biden's people.

[14:10:16] But I will say, Joe Biden, if he does get into this race, his favorability is really high now among Democrats. You have to wonder, once he's actually subjected to a campaign, it - sometimes these things come back to earth. Usually they do. Right now he's polling below Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. So you have to wonder if those numbers will go up if he - if he starts getting attacked again. Right now he's Uncle Joe and everybody loves him.

CABRERA: And he is not in the race, so easy to like a candidate, I suppose, who isn't officially putting themselves on the line.

KUCINICH: Exactly.

CABRERA: But, David, when you look at the Iowa and the New Hampshire polls showing Clinton trailing Sanders in New Hampshire, she's losing ground in Iowa, do you think that's a sign to Biden that there might be an opening for him?

CHALIAN: Well, I think that's certainly part of the conversation that's happening around him and his senior advisers is looking at a potential path and the fact that Hillary Clinton has been heading in the wrong direction instead of heading with more support. The fact that she's been losing support over these last couple months is clearly part of the calculation here. I am sure, as you were just saying about Joe Biden, I am sure Hillary Clinton would prefer her poll numbers before she was an actual candidate in this race as well than the ones that she has today. That does indeed happen, which is also something Joe Biden has to consider very seriously.

He will become tagged with every negative frame that Republicans would put around him of the Obama administration and being the close partner with the president. So it is - it is no slam dunk here. He also doesn't have a lot of room to run to the left of Hillary Clinton in a Democratic primary.

I do think, though, those poll numbers for Hillary Clinton are a big warning sign, even though the campaign expected Sanders to make a challenge. When you, in six weeks' time, do a complete flip flop from being 10 points ahead of him instead of nine points behind him in New Hampshire, that is not where you want the campaign to go and I think that's why we're seeing her do a ton of interviews now, get out there a lot more, answer questions on a daily basis about the e-mail controversy, to try to put some of the sting behind her. CABRERA: I do want to really quick talk about the GOP race because we

also have new poll numbers out there from those two states, Iowa and New Hampshire. Let's take a quick look at those and you can see Trump still with a commanding lead there, but you see here in New Hampshire, Kasich has come up, or Kasich, and also we also see Carson still doing very well, Bush is falling, Scott Walker is not even on the map. And especially when you look at Iowa, remember, Scott Walker was once leading in Iowa and you don't even see his name on this most recent poll.

Jackie, what's the takeaway here?

KUCINICH: You know, when you talk to Scott Walker's people, they say they're not really worried yet because Iowa comes down to organization. Getting people to the - to their caucuses at the end of the day. And they think they've got a pretty good ground game. Their - the - the super PAC is spending money. And they - you don't see Trump really building his organization the way you see some of these other campaigns. So, you know, they always put on a brave face, but it's not over for Scott Walker and I don't think that where he is right now, he probably won't stay there this entire time. It's still fairly early.

CABRERA: All right, Jackie Kucinich and David Chalian, thank you so much. It is early, but it is interesting.

Up next, when work and religion collide. Kentucky clerk Kim Davis remains behind bars in contempt of court for refusing to issue same- sex marriage licenses, but there are new developments in her case.

And now a flight attendant says she was suspended from her job citing her religious beliefs that prevent her from serving alcohol to passengers. That story, next.

Plus, out of bounds. Two football players suspended now for these actions against a referee. Take a look at this. Caught on camera. Huge tackle. Could this lead to criminal charges?

And, breaking his silence. The dentist who hunted down and killed Cecil the lion responds to the firestorm as he prepares to return to work for the first time in weeks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:12] CABRERA: Welcome back.

Now to two cases that hit religious beliefs against workplace duties. There's a major development in that story grabbing headlines for months now of the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kim Davis is now appealing the contempt of court ruling that landed her in jail five days ago. Before filing the paperwork, her attorney explained when Davis is expected back in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAT STAVER, ATTORNEY FOR JAILED KENTUCKY CLERK: And she'll remain here as long as Judge Bunning (ph) doesn't change his opinion with regards to what to do with Kim Davis. But he said she would be here for another week, and bring her back for another assessment as to what to do. We'll see what the judge does. But we do know in talking with Kim and in what she presented to the court, she can't change her mind and violent her conscience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee is also planning to hold a "free Kim Davis" rally tomorrow afternoon outside the jail.

Now, the other religion at work case involves a flight attendant who works for Express Jet. Three years ago Charee Stanley joined the airline. Two years ago she became a Muslim and then just this year she learned her faith prohibits her from drinking alcohol and also from serving it. And that's the problem in this case. In June, she informed Express Jet she could not serve alcohol on flights. And her attorney says that the small carrier directed Stanley to work out an agreement with other flight attendants for them to take on that task on her flights. Well, a few months later, a co-worker complained saying Stanley was not fulfilling her duties and that's when the airline suspended her.

Now with me to talk more about this is her attorney, Lena Masri, representing Charee Stanley. She is also an attorney for the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Lena, thanks for being here. I know you all filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What's the status?

[14:20:06] LENA MASRI, ATTORNEY FOR MUSLIM FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Thank you.

Yes, we requested a full investigation into the complaint and the EEOC now has six months to look into the matter. Hopefully we will be looking into various options, including mediating the case and coming up with a positive resolution.

CABRERA: I guess one of the basic questions is, if your client isn't going to serve alcohol, how is she able to fulfill the duties that her job entails?

MASRI: So, you know, the primary concern that Charee Stanley had back in June when she brought this concern up to the - her immediate supervisor of Express Jet Airlines was that she wanted to make sure that the customers were still receiving their requests for alcohol, that the customers were all being accommodated properly. So that was what prompted her to bring this issue forward to her supervisor. And at that time, her supervisor had directed her to work out that arrangement with the other flight attendant to make sure that the alcohol is being served and the customers' requests are being satisfied. But at the same time, her own religious beliefs would be accommodated as well. CABRERA: I do want to read the statement we got from Express Jet, who

isn't giving us any details on their end as far as this complaint goes, but this statement does read, "at Express Jet we embrace and respect the values of all of our team members. We are an equal opportunity employer with a long history of diversity in the workforce."

Now, Lena, if her co-workers believe that what they're being asked in terms of accommodating her is unfair or unreasonable, what do you say to them?

MASRI: Well, what I would say is, just looking at the track record here, since this accommodation was put in place, all of the other flight attendants were happy to accommodate that particular arrangement and there has never been any issue. Even this particular flight attendant that filed a complaint, she even agreed to that accommodation and said that she had no issue with it. Rather, this complaint was filed afterwards and, you know, it's worth mentioning that that complaint had Islamophobic overtones to it where it mentioned her headdress and foreign writings that she had in her possession. So, you know, it - it wasn't necessarily that it wasn't working out, to the contrary, it worked out very well. And until this date, until the time that we're speaking right now, there still has never been any issue with those accommodations since it was first implemented.

CABRERA: Now to play devil's advocate, some might ask, couldn't Charee find another job within Express Jet that doesn't conflict with her religion?

MASRI: Well, I mean, she could, but at the same time the law does not obligate her to do that. She has a right to have her religious beliefs accommodated. At the same time, it's important to ensure that the customers' requests are also accommodated. So, you know, working out an arrangement that is reasonable, such as the one that was proposed by Express Jet, is what the employer is obligated to do in this situation and that's what we're requesting. It's - it's a small accommodation that we're requesting that we know has worked out in the past and will continue to work into the future.

CABRERA: And I'm just going to push you a little bit further because you might look at another situation where you're a bartender, you become a Muslim, and now your religion won't allow you to serve alcohol. Should the burden be on the employer to find a way to - let you continue doing your job, even if you aren't doing a fundamental part of your job?

MASRI: Well, look, there's a couple of differences with these two examples. One, with a bartender, it really is an essential duty of yours to serve alcohol. So somebody who cannot have any dealings with alcohol according to the Islamic faith would not apply to be a bartender. However, as a flight attendant, serving alcohol is not an essential function of carrying out your duties. If it was, if it was an essential function, then the airline would not have accommodated her request. But clearly the airline acknowledged that her duties can be carried out as a flight attendant, and ensuring the safety and well-being of passengers on board, without having to serve alcohol.

So there is always another flight attendant that is with her. So when a customer makes that request for alcohol, the other flight attendant would easily be able to accommodate that. So there's no - there's nothing being sacrificed here. It's just a matter of protecting her right to exercise her faith.

CABRERA: All right, Lena Masri, I really appreciate you joining us and do keep us posted as that complaint moves forward through the system.

And we have this just into CNN NEWSROOM. We are hearing the attorneys for that jailed Kentucky clerk that we mentioned, Kim Davis, they just filed an emergency request to the governor seeking Davis' freedom. We'll have a live interview with one of her attorneys coming up in our next hour.

And happening right now, thousands gathering for a memorial service for a slain police officer in Illinois, as three suspects still remain on the loose. We'll take you there live, next.

[14:25:06] Also ahead, the desperate journey of thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing war-torn countries, heading to safer shores in Europe. CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is going to join me live from Paris. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Memorial services underway right now for an Illinois police officer gunned down in the line of duty. And just moments ago, a long procession of uniformed officers began streaming into the funeral of Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz. Estimates put the number of mourners there in the thousands. The service set to begin any moment now.

Let's bring in CNN's Ryan Young. He's covering this funeral for us.

And, Ryan, this outpouring of support there has been huge.

[14:30:03] RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really has been unbelievable, Ana. You can really feel this community taking this to heart. Everywhere you look, you see blue ribbons like this one tied up around this community as you drive through it.