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U.N. Braces for Iran's Ahmadinejad; Romney Ready for Debate with Obama; Obama Fires Back against Criticism; Romney Releases Tax Return; Big Surprises at the Emmys; Wild Finishes in NFL Week Three

Aired September 24, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad. Good morning. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Do you fear that war is imminent?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The United Nations has a warning for the Iranian president. Cool it. But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad already has strong words for Israel as he gears up for his big speech in New York City.

A dramatic search for survivors on one of the world's highest mountains. Now rescue -- rescue crews are deciding whether they'll be able to find any more survivors.

High school students in New York can now get more than just an education at school. Officials are handing out the morning-after pill to teens. But some of their parents likely don't know a thing about it.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ball hit the ground. It's an incomplete pass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Did you see this reaction? Patriots coach Bill Belichick grabs a referee after a last second loss. And he's not the only coach fuming at questionable calls made by the replacement refs.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

Good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining us on this Monday morning. I'm Carol Costello.

This morning seemingly all roads lead to New York City. Nearly 120 world leaders are heading to the United Nations for this week's general debate. And one leader is carrying some extra baggage. The U.N.'s chief is warning Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to tone down his normally fiery rhetoric. In fact, most western envoys at the U.N. usually walk out on Ahmadinejad's speeches as a sign of protest. But virtually no one thinks he will tone it down.

Ahmadinejad has already started. Here he is with CNN's Piers Morgan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Do you fear that war is imminent? Do you fear that there will be military conflict, perhaps even before the end of this year, between your country and Israel?

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (via translator): Of course, the Zionists are very much -- very adventuresome. Very much seeking to fabricate things. And I think they see themselves at the end of the line. And I do firmly believe that they seek to create new opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Protests by Jewish groups in New York City have already gun.

Richard Roth is our senior U.N. correspondent. He's here to tell us all about it. Hi, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. While this is not unexpected there will protests with the visit of the Iranian president. Especially by anti-Ahmadinejad Iranian groups who will mass outside the United Nations later in the week when the Iranian leader speaks to the 192 other countries here.

Of course, his visit, there's always controversy, side stories. The United States has not issued the full complement of visas to the delegation accompanying the Iranian leader. About 20 or so, according to the Iranians, out of about 160 people.

The U.S. has an agreement with the United Nations as the host country for the world organization to allow people to come here no matter the level of dispute. However, the U.S. also does reserve the right at times, especially in tough diplomatic relations, strained relations, and there are no relations with Iran, to not issue visas if it so sees fit. But Ahmadinejad has his visa. Along with that baggage you mentioned.

COSTELLO: Well, we were showing pictures of the Warwick Hotel, that's a posh hotel in New York City. That's where Ahmadinejad and his -- I guess his entourage are going to stay. There are going to be protests outside that hotel later today, right?

ROTH: I think so. The Warwick has been his latest place of residence. Any group that opposes Ahmadinejad has always denounced a New York hotel for allowing him to stay there. This has gone on. There was someone who was injured in a bombing who has sued Ahmadinejad and Iran and suing, I think, the Warwick. I'm not sure. But this is always the same. Ahmadinejad's last time, possibly here. Second term in office is now ending. And as you mentioned, yes, he will have controversial remarks. But he has been, as we saw with Piers, he's been giving more interviews. A little bit more public ahead of his speech. His swan song, the Warwick is more on the west side of New York. New Yorkers really don't get a chance to see him, though he does schedule private meetings sometimes with certain groups that he thinks he can appeal to in America.

COSTELLO: Richard Roth reporting live from the United Nations.

Catch the rest of Piers' interview with the Iranian president tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Mitt Romney back on the campaign trail this morning after what turned out to be a pretty rough week. And he's hitting back hard. He told reporters on his campaign plane that President Obama is fooling people and putting words in his mouth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think the President will not be able to continue to mischaracterize my pathway, and so I'll be able to describe mine. He will describe his. And people will make a choice. And that's the great thing about democracy. I'm not going to try to fool people into thinking he believes things he doesn't. He's trying to fool people into thinking that I think things I don't. And that ends, I think, during the debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Today the Romney/Ryan campaign is kicking off a bus tour in one of the most important battleground states. You know what that state is. Ohio. They're crisscrossing the state which has 43 -- 43 days left until the election. But there is a new Ohio poll that shows nine in 10 independent voters have already made up their minds about who they're going to vote for. So the question is, is it too little too late?

Mitt Romney is actually in Denver this morning after a late rally there last night. Our national correspondent Jim Acosta is there as well. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol. And I would say it's probably not too little, too late. With 43 or 42 days to go before Election Day. And the Romney campaign is going to be hitting these battleground states hard. You mentioned Colorado. You're right. He was here last night. The Romney campaign said they had about 7,000 people at this event which is one of the bigger crowds that they've had here lately.

They like the response they got at that event. He's going to be down in Pueblo, Colorado, later this morning. And then as you mentioned he's heading off to Ohio where a new CNN Poll of Polls shows basically what that University of Cincinnati poll shows, which is Mitt Romney trailing the President by five points. And of course, you know, no Republican president, we've said time and again, has won the presidency -- no Republican candidate has won the presidency without winning Ohio. So it's a critical battleground state. He's also going to be in Virginia later this week. And you just showed that sound a few moments ago of Mitt Romney talking about how the President, in his -- in his words, has tried to fool people about his record.

You know, another thing that he talked about on this campaign plane yesterday, he had an impromptu news avail with the reporters there. He volunteered that he's been spending a lot of time fundraising and not as much time in swing states as he -- as he would like. Here's how he put it on the plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I'd -- rather be spending my time out in the key swing states campaigning door to door if necessary. But in rallies and various meetings. But fundraising is part of politics. When you're opponent decides not to live by the federal spending limits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So an acknowledgment there from Mitt Romney himself that perhaps his message is not getting through.

Now, getting back to this issue of the President in his mind, in Romney's mind, mischaracterizing his record, the Romney campaign and the RNC are both pointing to something that President Obama said on "60 Minutes" last night when the President said that some of his ads had needed some work because perhaps they weren't as straightforward or as truth telling as perhaps they should have been. The Romney campaign is jumping all over that.

So, you know, I think what we heard yesterday and what we're starting to see this morning, Carol, is perhaps a very aggressive posture coming from the Romney campaign and coming from Mitt Romney today heading into what is a very critical week.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta reporting live from Colorado this morning.

In the meantime, President Obama gearing up for a busy week of his own. He'll be speaking at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. The Clinton Global Initiative. And he's also taping an appearance on "The View," the television show, later today.

Last night the President was on "60 Minutes" and he was firing back at criticism of his administration's foreign policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said I'd end the war in Iraq. I did. I said that we'd go after al Qaeda. They've been decimated in the Fatah. Then we'd go after bin Laden. He's gone. If Governor Romney is suggesting that we should start another war he should say so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian is in Washington. And Dan, Pew Research is out with a poll that shows that President Obama's approval ratings when it comes to foreign policy has slipped. It's down five points. So is the bin Laden, its deadline no longer resonating as much?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look. The President still sees the tracking down bin Laden and killing him as a major accomplishment of his administration. But you would have to take a look at what else is happening in the world even beyond that. You have a lot of unrest in places like Libya and Egypt and Yemen.

And these are -- you know, these are issues that are causing a lot of people to take a closer look at foreign policy and question the Arab Spring and what the real value was of that -- revolt and protest that led to major democratic changes. The President, for his part, says that they always believed, the administration always believed that the changes in the region would eventually play out. But in the meantime, that there would be some difficult days ahead.

And so I think it's probably shortsighted, perhaps, to look at simply one issue, Osama bin Laden, and say that that is the issue that sort of has caused these numbers, essentially, to slip on the President. There are a lot of big things going on on the world stage. And that, perhaps, is what's influenced these numbers that you're talking about.

COSTELLO: All right. Dan Lothian reporting live for us at the White House this morning.

The annual Clinton Global Initiative happening on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. In fact, it's happening right now. You see the former president there. He's about to introduce his wife, Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State. She is among the featured speakers. Besides Mrs. Clinton there will also be speeches from Mitt Romney and Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi.

This year the Clinton Global Initiative focuses on taking ideas from the private sector -- there you go -- in order to improve lives, business and government. Let's listen.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you all very, very much. Good morning. It is -- thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Thank you, all. Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, thank you. Well, it's good to be amongst so many friends.

(LAUGHTER)

And I look out at this audience, and I see so many of you whom I have worked with and known for such a long time. It is so good to be here at the Clinton Global Initiative. I would be absolutely crazy to try to recognize anyone in this audience, but I do want to say how pleased we are to see John and Annie Glen here today.

(APPLAUSE)

I am thrilled --

COSTELLO: All right. We're going to pop away from this. Hillary Clinton is expected to make some media remarks at the end of her speech. We'll pop back in when she gets to that part of her speech.

The rest of the news this morning. Rescue crews pick up survivor of an avalanche in Nepal. But hopes are dimming for some mountaineers who are still buried underneath a lot of snow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 15 minutes past the hour.

Checking our top stories now:

Eight climbers are dead, three others missing after an avalanche on a mountain in Nepal. Hopes are fading for finding those missing people after two days of rescue attempts. Most of the dead are European. One survivor of the avalanche said, though, when I stopped rolling, I was neck deep in snow.

A brawl involving about 2,000 workers has forced the closing of a Foxconn Technology Group plant in China. Foxconn supplies parts to Apple and other manufacturers. They've previously been criticized for its labor policies. The company describes the incident as a personal dispute between several employees that escalated.

A Chicago alderman is asking Chick-fil-A to clarify its stance on gay marriage. Joe Moreno said company executives told him the fast food chain has stopped making donations to groups opposing same-sex marriage. But on Friday, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy denied he made any such move. Moreno has been weighing whether to support a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in his ward.

Tomorrow, when the heads of state from across the globe gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, perhaps no world leader will be more watched than the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Listen to what he told CNN's Piers Morgan about his response for -- his response for Iran, rather, if Israel launches an attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: If Israel does launch a strike against your country, what will your response be?

AHMADINEJAD (via translator): The response of Iran is quite clear. I don't even need to explain that. Any question and any nation has the right and will, indeed, defend herself. But my question is this: why should the world be managed in such a way that an individual can allow himself to threaten a rich and deeply rooted historical, ancient country such as Iran? A great country such as Iran based on an excuse of his own fabrication?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Martin Indyk is the director of the Saban Center for Middle East and senior fellow for the Brookings Institution. He's also a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Welcome.

MARTIN INDYK, DIR., SABAN CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: The United Nations chief is asking Ahmadinejad to tone things down when he speaks before the United Nations. I mean, we're used to Ahmadinejad's bluster. Do you think he can really incite more ill will?

INDYK: Oh, yes. He's quite capable of that. That's his forte.

And, of course, he threatens to destroy Israel on a regular basis. I'm not sure whether he'll do it again this time. But it's typical of him that he -- he in that Piers Morgan interview would turn it around and claim that it's Israel that's threatening to destroy Iran, which, of course, is hardly the case. It's the pot calling the kettle black.

But I think what's important about Ahmadinejad's performance this time around, because he comes here every year and gets the attention of the media, is that he's -- he's basically finished. He doesn't have any real power in Iran anymore. There'll be a new president elected in a year or so. And it's become very clear that the supreme leader has basically made a decision that he's out -- Ahmadinejad has outlived his usefulness.

So he really doesn't hold much sway. He's a lot of hot air these days but nothing much beyond it.

COSTELLO: Well, in line of that. You told CBS not long ago, you think the United States will go to war with Iran next year. That is not a happy thought. I mean, why do you think that?

INDYK: Well, what's happening now is that Iran is steadily progressing towards nuclear weapons threshold. Through its centrifuges, the building use centrifuges, enriches more uranium, stockpiling uranium, enriching it to 20 percent. Building a stockpile that could be used to break out and produce weapons grade material in fairly short order. All of that is going to kind of reach the threshold in about -- sometime in 2013.

At the same time, the negotiations that the Obama administration has been leading with other permanent members of the Security Council in Germany are not going anywhere. There may be -- there will be a new attempt and there should be a new attempt to try to resolve this problem through negotiations after our elections.

But nobody in Washington that I speak to has any confidence that that is going to produce an outcome. So obviously we should pursue that as far as possible and see -- exhaust every possibility to try to get a negotiated outcome.

But if that doesn't work, then President Obama has made it very clear that he's not going to accept Iran crossing the nuclear weapon threshold and that that will trigger an arms race in the Middle East, collapse of the nonproliferation treaty. And he's not going to live with that. And Governor Romney has said the same thing.

So the next president, if negotiations don't produce an outcome that's positive, is going to be faced with a very tough decision, which is basically to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities or allow Iran to acquire the bomb. That's going to come to a head in 2013.

COSTELLO: Okay. So, I'd just like to touch on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He'll also speak before the United Nations. Should he be careful what he says, too?

INDYK: Well, I think Bibi Netanyahu revels in his surroundings. He was Israel's ambassador to the U.N. back in the 1990s. He's a great speaker in English. And he sees himself in the mold of Winston Churchill, warning the world over an imminent threat when nobody else seems to be paying sufficient attention to it.

So I think that's the posture that he will strike -- making clear that Iran's approaching nuclear weapons threshold is a menace not just to Israel, but to the world. But especially to Israel as a member of the United Nations being threatened with extinction by another member of the United Nations which is, of course, unacceptable.

COSTELLO: Ambassador Indyk, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

INDYK: Thanks for having me.

Mitt Romney is defending his tax rate during his September slump. We'll have more on what he said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech? The United Nations Secretary General has told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cool it. In other words, tone down the rhetoric during his visit to the general assembly this week. This after an Iranian general was quoted as saying Iran could launch a preemptive strike against Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMADINEJAD (via translator): Of course, the Zionists are very much -- very adventuresome. Very much seeking to fabricate things. And I think they see themselves as the end of the line. And I do firmly believe that they seek to create new opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Yes. The Iranian president is not backing down either. Critics wonder why he's allowed to come here on a U.S. visa, stay at a luxury hotel and then go to the United Nations and relentlessly bash the United States and Israel. On Yom Kippur, no less, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.

Still, Ahmadinejad is the elected leader of a member nation. And the United States as the host country of the United Nations has no control over who speaks. This infuriates Daniel Mariaschin of the Jewish advocacy group B'nai B'rith, "No more than you would host in your home a criminal, why would you make it easy here for a rogue regime?"

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wants to make things harder. She's introducing a Senate resolution demanding the United Nations punish Iranian leaders for, quote, "incitement to genocide."

So, the talk back question for you today, should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Your comments later this hour.

Parents are used to their children bringing home, you know, school work. But probably not this -- the so-called morning-after pill, known as Plan B. School officials -- well, some of them, are going to start to hand them out to students.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good Monday morning. I'm Carol Costello.

Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM at 30 minutes past the hour. The opening bell on Wall Street rang just seconds ago. After a mixed week on Wall Street, investors have the economy on their minds as they start the new workweek -- home spending, consumer confidence and personal spending reports due out this week. The chairman and CEO of Acme United Incorporation rang the opening bell this morning.

Thirteen New York public schools are taking part in a brand-new program that would give the morning after pill to girls as young as 14 years old. Students will be able to get the emergency contraceptive medicine without their parents' consent. But parents do have the choice to opt out of the program.

A loaded handgun causes problems for both a flight attendant and a Philadelphia police officer. Yesterday morning, the flight attendant was caught with the gun in her carry-on. She says she forgot she had that .38 caliber revolver in her suitcase. And then when a Philadelphia police officer tried to unload the gun, the officer accidentally fired a round into the floor. The flight attendant now faces charges.

Sad news about a young baby panda at the national zoo. The 1-week-old panda died over the weekend. Zoo keepers were alerted to the problem by the panda's mother. The cause of the baby panda's death, not yet known.

Oh, another day, another ad. The Obama campaign has released an ad attacking Mitt Romney's taxes, just as the governor's campaign expected him to do. In case you missed it, Mr. Romney released his 2011 tax returns with a 20-year summary of his tax rate averages, but without income information.

As for the 2011 return, Governor Romney made $13.7 million and paid about $2 million in federal income taxes, giving him an effective tax rate of 14 percent. He defended that on "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is that fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did?

ROMNEY: It is a low rate. One of the reasons why the capital gains tax rate is lower is because capital has already been taxed once at the corporate level, as high as 35 percent.

REPORTER: So you think it is fair?

ROMNEY: Yes, I think it's the right way to encourage economic growth -- to get people to invest, to start businesses, to put people to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Question is, are voters surprised? Do they care anymore?

CNN contributors L.Z. Granderson and Will Cain. L.Z. leans left. Will leans right. Welcome to you both.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Okay. Let's start with what the Democrats call the controversy. So follow me here. Romney could have paid less taxes but his people manipulated his deductions to get to that 14 percent rate which seems politically motivated. Democrats say hypocritical in light of what the governor said a few months ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Okay. Voters are hearing this, L.Z., they're saying, what? Or do they really, really care? GRANDERSON: You know, I really have one question at this point. And that is, how many jobs did Mitt Romney create in 2011? Okay? Because his whole promise is the whole idea that these people who get these breaks and these deductions, they're the job creator. I would like to know how many jobs was he able to create in 2011.

And then we can start having a conversation about whether or not his argument is valid or not, or if he's just being a hypocrite.

COSTELLO: Will, can you respond to that? Big time companies, big companies. I'm talking about big business. They're doing pretty well. They're making record profits, some of them. And still we have a job shortage.

CAIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: They do get loopholes, right? They do get tax breaks.

CAIN: That's not what the debate is about. It's about a capital gains tax rate.

First, I'd like to make two points. You addressed this controversy at the beginning, that Mitt Romney might have manipulated the tax code because on his adjusted gross income somewhere north of $13 million, he gave away to charity $4 million, and only deducted from his income $2.25 million.

So, the controversy is that he didn't claim a tax deduction on almost half of his charitable deduction, his incredibly generous tax deduction. If this seems to be a place you can parse for some kind of controversy or criticism, we've gotten to a really odd place where we're criticizing someone for not taking the full tax deduction on their extremely generous charitable deduction.

COSTELLO: So, you're saying that Mitt Romney out of the goodness of his heart gave to the people of America extra money?

CAIN: I think -- what I'm saying is we spend entirely too much time peering into someone's goodness of their heart and saying this guy gave away $4 million and paid an incredible high amount of taxes, $3 million. What is it? How much did he pay in taxes?

GRANDERSON: Because he's trying to buy the election, Will.

CAIN: Everybody ramps up their charitable deductions when they run for president. Everyone.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this, L.Z., Harry Reid came out and accused Mitt Romney. He said, you know, he hasn't paid taxes for 10 years. But the evidence shows from what the Romney campaign released that that's not true. So should Harry Reid now apologize?

GRANDERSON: Harry Reid probably should not apologize. But definitely his play was a brilliant, in my mind, political play. It was vile. It was disgusting. It was dirty politics. At the end of the day, you're left wondering how much did Mitt Romney pay and what exactly is he hiring?

When your own father says that it's -- when your own father says that it's best for a candidate to show multiple years before running for office so you know that one or two years wasn't a fluke, when your father says that, and yet you don't follow through on what your father says, that does kind of make you look as if you're hiding something.

CAIN: That is enough.

GRANDERSON: On top of that, Senator John McCain saw two decades worth of tax returns and still opted to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. That adds more fuel to the fire of what exactly is in those tax returns that he's refusing to show the American people, that is somehow going to be damaging to his credibility to be president?

CAIN: I cannot believe we're sitting here today talking about a blatant lie being a genuine, genius political maneuver. Harry Reid said Mitt Romney had paid no taxes. PricewaterhouseCooper has released the summary of 20 years of tax returns where they showed the lowest he ever paid in one year was 13.66 percent. The average he paid was 20 percent in taxes.

It reveals a very, very cold truth, that Harry Reid lied. We're going to sit here right now --

GRANDERSON: I said that.

CAIN: -- and say it's a genius political move?

COSTELLO: Okay, so we have to wrap up this conversation.

Let me ask you this final question, because when you get right down to it, there was a new poll out in Ohio. The eight largest newspapers in Ohio did this poll. It showed that 9 out of 10 independent voters have already made up their mind. The rest, they kind of don't really care. They're disenfranchised. Then everybody else has made up their mind.

So the question is, does any of this matter at all? Will?

CAIN: Yes, I think it matters less than we'd like to believe. I think L.Z. and I talked about this a little bit last nigh. Bill Maher did a piece on this on Friday.

The undecided voter, the independent, deep thinking, undecided voter, are they really sitting here waiting for the last details on Mitt Romney's tax return? I don't know. I actually have no idea what they're waiting around on.

COSTELLO: L.Z., they might be waiting for that big debate that's coming up, right?

GRANDERSON: Well, the big debate, you know, October 3rd is definitely one. As I said last night, by November 2nd we're going to see the October job report. That's also going to be important. But I also -- I remember what Bill Maher said on his show "Real Time." Sometimes these people are just idiots. You can't -- you know, you and I, we actually sat on the set together.

I wrote a piece about don't let ignorant people vote. I just think at this point in time, if you're truly that undecided, maybe you just lack the information to make a decision and not necessarily are waiting for something to be said, but actually you don't know what's already been said.

COSTELLO: Okay. We're going to have to leave it there, because we've got to go back to New York City to the Clinton Global initiative. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is talking. She's talking on the subject of Libya. Let's listen.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: -- create the conditions where people can reach for and find a sense of dignity for themselves and their societies. But dignity does not come from avenging insults, especially with violence, that can never be justified.

It comes from taking responsibility and advancing our common humanity. If you look around the world today, countries that are focused more on fostering growth than fomenting grievance are racing ahead. Building schools instead of burning them. Investing in their people's creativity, not inciting their rage. Opening their economies and societies to have more connections with the wider world, not shutting off the Internet or attacking embassies.

The people of the Arab world did not set out to trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob. There is no dignity in that. The people of Benghazi sent this message loudly and clearly on Friday, when they forcefully rejected the extremists in their midst and reclaimed the honor and dignity of a courageous city. They mourned the loss of Ambassador Chris Stevens, a friend and champion of a free Libya, and his fallen comrades.

They are not alone. People and leaders from across the region and the world and beyond have spoken in recent days against violence. Foreign minister of Tunisia came to Washington last week and personally underscored his country's stand. And unity on this throughout the international community is crucial, because extremists around the world are working hard to drive us apart. All of us need to stand together to resist these forces and to support democratic transitions under way in North Africa and the Middle East.

Throughout this week, as I engaged my counterparts from many nations, we discussed and we will continue here at the United Nations, how we can work together to build lasting partnerships focused on freedom, human dignity and development, fostering democracy and universal values.

And we need your help and leadership. Citizens, businesses, NGOs, nonprofits, the faith community, everyone, we are called to this great cause of the 21st century. Here at CGI, you are standing up for what we need more of in the world.

So thank you. Thank you for devoting your energy --

COSTELLO: All right. We're going to jump out of this. Hillary Clinton speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. It's a gathering of world leaders, business leaders, trying to come up with ideas to solve global problems.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It was all about the surprise on television's biggest night from Best Actor to Best Drama. The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards had some surprises.

Showbiz correspondent Kareen Wynter joins us from Los Angeles. You were lucky. You got to be there?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: I was. Front and center on the red carpet. It was hot, though. It was hot.

Hey you know Carol, it was a big evening for some, a lackluster night for others. After four consecutive wins for best drama, well "Mad Men" was dethroned. That's right. They lost out to Showtime's freshman powerhouse "Homeland" for the top drama prize. It's "Homeland" stars Damien Lewis and a pregnant Claire Danes. They both won lead acting honors. Good for them.

Despite 17 nominations, "Mad Men" they actually got shut out and they didn't take home a single Emmy this year, if you can believe that, Carol.

Reigning king of comedy "Modern Family" well, they did it again for the third straight year. The ABC sitcom won Best Comedy Series. The show took home several more trophies including Supporting Actress for Julie Bowen and Supporting Actor for Eric Stonestreet. He is such a riot.

And "Two and a Half Men" star Jon Cryer took lead comedy honors. Cryer won best supporting Emmy for the same role after two years ago but after the departure of TV's bad boy Charlie Sheen he was nominated in the lead category and looked quite stunned when they called his name. His wife did too.

And really that was it for broadcast networks. Because cable shows once again dominated the Emmys this year. HBO, Showtime, History and FX they all took home multiple Emmys. But on the broadcast side, CBS and ABC garnered just a few. NBC and FOX didn't see anyone get an award during Sunday night's show.

COSTELLO: Ow.

WYNTER: I know. So it just shows cable is just killing it when it comes to these television awards and categories -- Carol.

COSTELLO: They take more chances. And it pays off, right?

WYNTER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Kareen Wynter.

WYNTER: I think so, I think so.

COSTELLO: I think so, too. Kareen Wynter thanks so much.

Has the situation with the NFL replacement refs reached a tipping point? Some coaches and players are blowing their tops after questionable calls. We'll talk about that with Tiki Barber.

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COSTELLO: The Hail Mary is a prayer of a play thrown up as the clock is running out and it seldom works. But it worked for the Detroit Lions yesterday. Lion's backup quarterback Shawn Hill launches a pass from midfield -- there you see it. The Titan's (INAUDIBLE) try to knock the ball down but instead he deflects it to the Lion's Titus Young who grabs it for a touchdown. It's amazing isn't it and it should have won the game. Sends the game into overtime but the Tennessee Titans wind up with a 44-41 win. That Hail Mary though, was one of several wild finishes on Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens avenge their AFC title game loss to New England beating the Patriots 31-30 on this Justin Tucker field goal or was it? At least one Patriot publicly questioned whether the field goal was good. And in a game with a total of 24 penalties there was complaining about the refs' calls from both sides.

Was it good? It's hard to tell? Tiki Barber is with us. What do you think Tiki?

TIKI BARBER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it was good. But It was interesting to see the reaction. You saw one of the defensive line men for the Patriots take his helmet of which should be a fine. And then you see Bill Belichick after the game go and grab an official which probably also should be a fine.

There are so many problems happening with the National Football League and the referees and the officials that we thought it would get better that they would evolve over time but they're actually getting worse. And -- and I think more importantly you're starting to see coaches and players take advantage of them because they don't have the necessary skills and understanding of the rules.

COSTELLO: Well, some players pointed that out. I mean, not only did Bill Belichick you know touch that ref. And I'm sure the NFL will be talking about that today. Well one of the players, the Patriot's player Brandon Spike tweeted this, quote, "Can someone please tell this "f"-ing zebras, foot locker called and they're needed back at work."

I mean, he is going to be fined for that, too. Because that's kind of worse than what Bill Belichick did.

BARBER: Like what -- you know what; I understand the frustration. Because not only are games taking a long time to get done, decisions are -- are taking a long time to get made on the field and it's affecting the pace and the play of the game. Players are starting to feel that the referees more so than the previous refs who we're starting to get a persona per se are affecting the outcomes of games.

And when that starts to happen you get very frustrated as a player, as a coach and also as a fan.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm not trying to pile on but -- but I'm going to pile on. I just want to get your reaction to this play. The Cowboys wide receiver Kevin Ogletree he's running in the end zone and then he flips on a hat thrown by the ref. We thought Ogletree have gone out of bounds, like even if he have gone out of bounds why throw your hat at the player?

BARKER: You know it's interesting you have a little beanie that you're supposed to throw down to the field to mark where the player went out of bounds. But to throw a hat and to interrupt the force of play, the status of play is devastating. And it's -- you know it's indicative of what's happening here.

One of the things I wanted to bring up was Jim Harbaugh, who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in the game against the Minnesota Vikings. He called a time-out. He had no time-outs left. And in order to have a challenge you have to have a time-out. Because if you lose the challenge you lose the time-out. So he called the time out, he called the referee over and said this "I want to challenge this play. How do you think that works?"

He manipulated the referee who then allowed him to have the challenge, gave him back his time out. He actually won that challenge so they are being -- I thought the players would be the ones taking advantage of the referees because they would understand that they don't have the full grasp of the rules.

But it's turning out that everybody is starting to take advantage of these referees and it's time for the NFL to look real, real hard at bringing back the official referees and not these replacements.

COSTELLO: I think many, many people would agree with you. Tiki Barber always fun. Thank you so much.

BARBER: You're very welcome Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll be back.

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COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question this morning. Should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech?

This from Laura: "No, he should not be told to tone it down. It's good to know where his head is at."

This from Anthony: "If it poses a threat to humanity, yes."

This from Patsy: "No. We can use our own filters. Let him dig his own hole if that's what he wants to do."

And from Melissa: "Let him talk and show the people of the world how insane he is. Will we keep Israel silent too? Let them wage their PR war on each other. We are the host country, not the referee."

CNN continues after a quick break.

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