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ISIS Leader Calls for Attacks in U.S., West; Official: FBI Tracking Americans Back from Syria; Interview With Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson; Wanted: Man Seen With Missing Student; Manhunt for FBI 'Ten Most Wanted' Suspect

Aired September 22, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, new ISIS threat. The terror group's leader calls for attacks on Americans and other westerners on their own soil, even as U.S. officials say some Americans have now returned from Syria and are being tracked by the FBI.

White House intruder. Prosecutors say the man who jumped the fence and ran through the president's front door had 800 rounds of ammo and other weapons in his car. How did he get that far?

And missing student mystery. Police identify a man they say was the last to see Hannah Graham alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to talk to him. We want to talk about his interaction with this sweet, young girl that we can't find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A new wanted poster seeks his arrest but not for what you might think.

I'm Wolf Blitzer at the United Nations. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We begin with a chilling new threat from the leader of ISIS, calling for attacks on Americans and other westerners on their streets and even in their homes. It comes as the Obama administration, and top officials call the foreign fighter threat extremely worrying, saying some Americans have already returned to the United States from Syria. President Obama will use his visit here at the United Nations this week to mobilize an international response. We have full coverage.

Our correspondents, our analysts, our guests, they are all standing by. Let's begin with our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto. He has the very latest -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening.

Tonight from ISIS, a new threat that is alarming in its scope, urging ISIS supporters around the world to kill foreigners of any nationality, particularly those, including Americans, leading the military campaign. Don't wait for instructions from ISIS leaders. Don't wait even for a plan.

Today Secretary of State John Kerry called ISIS one of the most dangerous groups that he's ever encountered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): It is a frightening call to arms to ISIS supporters around the world. In one more highly produced message, an ISIS spokesman says, "The best thing you can do is kill any disbeliever, whether he be French, American or from any of their allies."

This week at the U.N. in New York, the Obama administration will make its own call to arms, attempting to unite the world against ISIS.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is one of the most dangerous groups that I have seen in my time in public life. Why? Because they have a radical extremist philosophy cultish attitude. They have declared enemy anybody who isn't them.

SCIUTTO: The focus in New York is on internationalizing the effort, including the U.S. air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria expected to begin soon. The American ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, made this prediction.

SAMANTHA POWER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We will not do the air strikes alone if the president decides to do the air strikes.

SCIUTTO: President Obama will also be pushing for a resolution to prevent and track the travel of foreign fighters to Syria, a step to combat the threat of ISIS overseas. Where the administration does not yet have an offer of help is providing the foreign ground forces many military commanders and lawmakers believe are necessary.

POWER: Local forces are always going to be your best bet, fighting ISIL in a country that, of course, belongs to the Iraqis, the Kurds and in the case of Syria, the Syrians.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. is getting help on the ground from an unlikely partner, Iran, whose elite Revolutionary Guard has deployed military advisers to Kurdish fighters, just as the U.S. has done. And on the threat from ISIS, Iran and the U.S. are on message, practically word for word.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't agree more that this group is neither Islamic nor is it a state.

KERRY: They're not a state, and they do not represent Islam. They're the enemy of Islam. That's what they are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The administration is hoping that the U.N. General Assembly becomes an international rallying point against ISIS. And this week, they hope to make public some of the commitments from partner nations, particularly Arab nations that have made stopping financing, the flow of fighters and possibly one or more Arab nations, Wolf, taking part in those air strikes.

BLITZER: What a situation. All right. Thanks very much, Jim Sciutto, reporting.

Even as the leader of ISIS calls for attacks against Americans and other westerners, officials say some Americans who went off to fight in Syria, they are now back in the United States. Let's get some more from our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, for weeks now in assessing the ISIS threat, the U.S. intelligence community has stated it believes there are roughly 100 Americans fighting in Iraq and Syria with ISIS and other terrorist and extremist groups.

Today a senior administration official noted that number includes fighters who are on the battlefield and those who have traveled back to the U.S. and are now under surveillance by law enforcement.

It's important to note, though, another senior administration official cautioned they aren't aware of any American ISIS fighters back on U.S. soil, saying that is essentially what the current intelligence tells them at the moment.

But that new information underlines why the president is traveling to New York this week, Wolf, where he will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the topic of foreign fighters. The president, according to the White House, hopes to galvanize countries around the world to take this threat more seriously.

One thing that they do expect to come out of this week's meetings at the U.N. Security Council and at the United Nations General Assembly, they do expect to have a binding resolution come out of this, where countries have signed on to essentially say that they're going to now commit to common law enforcement, common counterterrorism practices. That has been a problem all along in tracking and blocking these foreign fighters from traveling overseas.

One administration official said the administration is confident that that resolution will be approved. And, Wolf, also the president is expected to announce a summit on countering violent extremism that will take place at the White House in the future. No exact date yet.

BLITZER: A lot of work to do. Obviously a huge, huge issue. Jim Acosta at the White House, thanks very much.

America's vulnerability to foreign terrorists became shockingly clear with the devastating 9/11 attacks. What about the new threat of Americans returning home after fighting with terror groups?

Joining us now, Rudy Giuliani. He was the mayor of New York on 9/11. Mr. Mayor, thanks very much for coming in.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Nice to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: What worries you more -- you know a lot about this subject -- an organized al Qaeda-like attack which occurred on 9/11, or these lone wolves who might be coming back, who might be inspired, if you will, to go ahead and kill some Americans?

GIULIANI: I hate to say it, but I think the lone wolves worry me more.

BLITZER: Why?

GIULIANI: Because they're harder to follow. They're harder to track. It's harder to get intelligence with al Qaeda, with the organized groups. There's a chance for infiltration. There's a chance for surveillance, electronic surveillance. There are international communications.

When you have things like this, this ISIS leader saying, you know, "Go off and do your own thing," nobody has to communicate with anybody. And I think our level of intelligence about ISIS is not at the same level that our level of intelligence about al Qaeda was.

So in that way, it frightens me more.

Now so far they haven't shown the capacity that al Qaeda had for the kind of attack they did on September 11. So maybe -- maybe we're exaggerating it a bit. But I think it's --

BLITZER: But they do have --

GIULIANI: It's better to exaggerate this --

BLITZER: Yes.

GIULIANI: -- than it is to take it lightly.

BLITZER: Because they do have excellent recruiting techniques. Propaganda videos are very sophisticated, the ones they're putting out. And they have a ton of money. They've taken hundreds of millions of dollars from one bank in Mosul alone in northern Iraq.

GIULIANI: It's amazing how they organize themselves. It really is amazing. And it's amazing how good they've become as fighters, when you consider how quickly they moved in Iraq.

BLITZER: Let's not forget that ISIS started off as al Qaeda in Iraq and morphed into ISIS.

GIULIANI: Yes. Right. And now -- and now --

BLITZER: This is an al Qaeda splinter group, if you will. But it may -- I don't know if it's true -- it may even be more important and more effective against the U.S. than al Qaeda is.

GIULIANI: On the other side of it, I think they have gone so far that they have alienated more of the world, including a good part of the Islamic world than al Qaeda -- than al Qaeda did.

BLITZER: So are you with the president -- he's going to be here. He's coming to the United Nations tomorrow. He'll be addressing the General Assembly Wednesday morning. He'll be hosting, presiding over a meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday afternoon. Does he have a good strategy, from your perspective?

GIULIANI: I think getting -- getting international support is enormously important. We don't want to go it alone. Now I do have a few objections. I would never have said, we're not going to put boots on the ground. I never would have announced that in advance.

BLITZER: Isn't it smart, though, to be transparent with the American people, who are war-weary, as you well know?

GIULIANI: But isn't it being a leader to lead the American people? The American people didn't want to enter World War II. The American people, particularly here in New York, wanted to quit the Civil War in 1863, except Abraham Lincoln knew that we couldn't.

I think here what you're --

BLITZER: So what you're saying -- let me just interrupt. What you're saying, he shouldn't have said that. But you don't think he should send boots -- U.S. combat forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria, do you?

GIULIANI: He has.

BLITZER: Well, formal combat units, battalions and --

GIULIANI: But who knows -- but who knows what they're doing?

BLITZER: Yes.

GIULIANI: I mean, I think the fact is before it's over, we're going to have some troops there. It's the only way we're going to --

BLITZER: There are 1,600 U.S. military personnel, active duty military personnel in Iraq right now.

GIULIANI: And when you listen to General Dempsey and you listen to his people who seem to be pushing him in that direction --

BLITZER: So you would have said, don't tell the enemy, basically, what you won't do?

GIULIANI: This is a little bit like the mistake he made with the red line. You know, draw a red line --

BLITZER: And that's your only complaint?

GIULIANI: Yes. I think on trying to get international cooperation, I think he's pursuing the right strategy. I think Ambassador Powers is pursuing the right strategy.

BLITZER: The U.N. ambassador.

GIULIANI: The U.N. ambassador. The more support we can have, the better. At the same time, I would not have taken this idea of troops off the table, even as a way of threatening them.

BLITZER: Are you satisfied with the coalition that he's putting together? And they're all saying nice things. But in terms of practically doing something --

GIULIANI: I don't know yet.

BLITZER: -- militarily speaking, are you satisfied -- let's start off with the Muslim countries, the Arab countries surrounding Iraq and Syria?

GIULIANI: I don't know yet. I don't know if it's going to work. And I think he has to be prepared to act on his own if he has to. This is too dangerous to us. I mean, we get as much support as we can. But it is not just a threat to the rest of the world. It's a threat to the United States of America.

BLITZER: What if this new government in Baghdad really doesn't step up to the plate? The U.S. can't want more -- more to be achieved in Iraq than the Iraqis themselves.

GIULIANI: Well, I think we have an awful lot of suasion that we can use there. And the fact is that I think Iran itself has a great fear of ISIS. So I think -- I think there's a real chance that we can --

BLITZER: Because Iran has a lot of influence over the government of Baghdad?

GIULIANI: Yes. Yes, I think --

BLITZER: You think we should cooperate with Iran?

GIULIANI: I don't think so. I think that's a mistake. I think cooperating with Iran and making them a player in this could turn out to be a very big mistake. In the long run, Iran may be even a bigger threat than ISIS in a certain way.

BLITZER: How safe is your city, New York City, right now?

GIULIANI: This city is as safe as the New York City Police Department can make it, which is the best police department in the world. Ray Kelly, Bill Bratton --

BLITZER: The current police commissioner.

GIULIANI: Current police commissioner. There aren't people that know more about terrorism than those two men. These -- these police officers you see here, they train every single day.

We're a target. We know we're a target. But I'm going to tell you something that was the most inspiring to me on September 11. There is twice as many people living in downtown New York now than there were before September 11.

New York has realized they're a target, but they're resilient. And I think they realize they have a police department that's going every, every mile to protect them.

BLITZER: I want to shift gears, because I read you're dealing with -- you're a lawyer -- you've got your own law firm.

GIULIANI: Nine years.

BLITZER: You're dealing with a video company and Manuel Noriega right now. Out of the blue I'm reading about this.

GIULIANI: Can you believe this?

BLITZER: You're trying to help this video company because Noriega, the dictator, as we all know --

GIULIANI: Noriega, the dictator who was convicted in the United States, France and Panama, is sitting in a Panamanian jail is suing Activision for a --

BLITZER: That's the video company.

GIULIANI: The video company for a video game called Call of Duty, which 40 million people have and use. And he wants millions and millions of dollars.

The company that he's suing is a good company. They employ 7,500 people. They have found homes for 5,000 veterans, and they help veterans constantly. They put a lot of money back into the community.

He wants millions of dollars, because he's mentioned as a bit player in this. He's one of 45 characters. President Bush is in it. Oliver North is in it. General Petraeus is in it. They're not suing. He wants millions of dollars out of this company.

Now, it has a certain danger to it as a free speech issue. If he were to succeed, then any of these people who are mentioned in historical novels or this new genre of historical fiction. You know, you think of bin Laden's family could sue for the movie "Zero Dark Thirty."

BLITZER: If he's not depicted the way they want him to be?

GIULIANI: Exactly right. So there's a free speech issue here. You won't remember this, but I began my career as a First Amendment lawyer representing "The Wall Street Journal," the Barron's and "The Daily News" when I was at Patterson Belknap. And I argued famous First Amendment cases.

BLITZER: Before you became a U.S. attorney.

GIULIANI: Before I became a U.S. attorney. So I'm back. I'm at Bracewell and Giuliani. I practice law. And it's my first love. I love practicing law.

BLITZER: So you can go home again?

GIULIANI: I can go home again, yes. People can go home.

BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us.

GIULIANI: Thank you.

BLITZER: Don't leave yet.

Up next, how does a threat by ISIS -- how big of a threat does it really pose inside the United States? I'll speak with the U.S. homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson. There he is. He's standing by live in THE SITUATION ROOM. We have a lot to discuss.

And police issue a wanted poster in connection with the disappearance of a University of Virginia student.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Our top story, as the leader of ISIS calls for attacks on Americans and other westerners on their streets and in their homes, a senior U.S. official now indicates some Americans who have returned from Syria are being tracked by the FBI and calls the foreign fighter threat extremely worrying.

All of that comes in the wake of a security breach at the White House. We saw an intruder hop the fence, sprint across the lawn and actually enter the front door of the White House.

Joining us now, the Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson. Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Thanks -- thanks for inviting me, Wolf. Glad to be here. I'm in your studio, and you are in my hometown with my friend, Rudy Giuliani.

BLITZER: I'm in New York -- yes, you are. He speaks very highly of you. I know you were just here the other day. I want to get to New York in a few moments.

But how much of a homeland security threat -- not a threat necessarily in Iraq or Syria, but right here in the United States -- does ISIS pose?

JOHNSON: Wolf, ISIL represents a very, very dangerous organization and a very significant potential threat to homeland security for a number of reasons. They are a dangerous organization that has acquired territory in Iraq and Syria from which they could launch attacks, train, command and control. They've demonstrated a depravity and a willingness to kill Americans because they are Americans.

So we've got to take this fight to this organization. The president is in New York today -- beginning today, tomorrow, the day after to help form this international coalition against ISIL. And we've already begun to take the fight with air strikes in Iraq. It's a very significant concern, and it's one we simply have to address.

BLITZER: From your standpoint, and you are the secretary of Homeland Security, what is a bigger threat to the U.S. homeland: al Qaeda or ISIS? JOHNSON: I don't generally rank threats of that nature. What I've

continued to say and what I believe is that we've got to keep our eye on the range of threats. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, is still active. And there are other groups out there that remain active. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has demonstrated in the past a willingness to try to attack our homeland.

So from my homeland security perspective, we've got to continue to keep our eye on all of this. We're in an environment now where these groups are competing for recruits, for fundraising and probably attention. So I'm focused on all of it.

ISIL right now is the organization that is the most prominent on the world stage and has got everybody's attention. And truly, it represents a very dangerous organization that we've got to continue to focus on.

BLITZER: In the last couple of hours, we've learned that a French citizen in Algeria, North Africa -- in Algeria -- is being threatened by an ISIS affiliate. This is the ISIS hostage known to be kidnapped and threatened outside the borders of the so-called Islamic state. First time I think this has happened. They say unless France stops bombing ISIS targets in Iraq, they're going to kill this guy. How much does this worry you that potentially this could be an American in the days ahead?

JOHNSON: Well, we've already seen ISIL's ability and willingness to kill Americans, to kill British citizens in a very public, brutal way because of their nationalities. And so we don't need further proof there.

This is why they represent a dangerous organization. And we've got to take the fight to them.

BLITZER: Do we know how many Americans are fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria?

JOHNSON: Well, we know this. We know that there are a number of what we call foreign fighters leaving their home countries, going to Syria to take up the fight there for a number of reasons. And we know that there are something in excess of about 100 or -- Americans who have either left or attempted to leave to go to Syria.

Other nations have equal numbers or, in many cases, larger numbers. And so we're doing a number of things in the Department of Homeland Security, along with the FBI and my friends in the intelligence community, to try to track these individuals. The FBI has arrested and prosecuted several of them for attempting to go to Syria to take up the fight there.

And through information that we have in my department, in law enforcement and in the intelligence community, we're making a very concerted effort to track these individuals.

The foreign fighter feature of this is something that is very significant. And frankly, it's new. It's new in terms of our Homeland Security counterterrorism efforts. It's not something, for example, that we faced in 2001 on 9/11.

So this is a new phenomenon, along with the phenomenon of the ability of these groups to engage in social media, put out literature and the like. And it's something that at Homeland Security and elsewhere, we're engaging in and addressing.

BLITZER: Very quickly, do you know -- does the United States know the names of those 100 Americans who are fighting alongside terrorists in Syria and Iraq?

JOHNSON: We have a reasonably good sense of who to track. From various records and our capability to track the travel of these people through intelligence efforts, we have a reasonably good sense of who we're interested in, who the individuals of suspicion are.

As I mentioned, there have been some arrests made already, and we've got to stay focused on it. We've got to continue to be engaged.

BLITZER: Let me turn to the Secret Service. The Department of Homeland Security, as you know, oversees the U.S. Secret Service. There was this amazing incident -- and I covered the White House for a long time and remember a lot of fence jumpers -- but this guy, Omar Gonzalez, he was able to not only jump over the fence, run over the lawn of the North Portico and actually walk into the White House. This is -- this is a shocking development. And they've now found that he had 800 rounds of ammunition. He had a hatchet. How could this happen, Mr. Secretary?

JOHNSON: Well, that's what I'd like to know. Director Pearson of the Secret Service has ordered a review, a security review, which she will submit to me. The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security. I'll look forward to the findings and recommendations. I'm going to wait till the facts are in before I draw any conclusions. This is clearly, however, a series of troubling events.

BLITZER: Here's what especially worries me. And I spent a lot of time covering the White House and dealing with the Secret Service. What kind of message does this send to terrorists out there, if some guy can randomly jump over the fence and actually walk into the White House?

JOHNSON: Well, as -- as CNN has already reported, we've ramped up security at the White House already in reaction to Friday night's event.

The thing I'd like to point out is the Secret Service does a phenomenal job day in and day out of protecting the president and other world leaders. Right now as we speak, there are 140 foreign leaders coming to New York City, and the Secret Service at one level or another is responsible for the protection of all of them. And they do a remarkable job.

BLITZER: You think somebody needs to be fired?

JOHNSON: I'm going to wait for the facts to come in. As the president said earlier today, I have a lot of confidence in the Secret Service and its leadership. I want to -- I want to see what the review says.

BLITZER: I assume you saw that story in "The Washington Post" today saying that there's been a problem at the Department of Homeland Security because of all the significant turnover. A lot of people leaving their positions, senior positions, because they could make a lot more money in the private sector, and it's demoralized the Department of Homeland Security. I wonder if you want to respond to that report.

JOHNSON: Well, my -- my reaction to that report is, where's "The Washington Post" been for the last nine, 12 months? We have totally revolutionized the department and its leadership. There have been 12 presidential appointments, including myself, to department leadership positions just in the last nine months. Something like 90 percent of all of the senior-level positions in my 240,000-person agency are now filled with new leadership. We're focusing on morale. We have a campaign to address morale.

And so we're making significant progress. The story refers to events from several years ago. And the department has been largely remade ever since.

BLITZER: I guess the follow-up question is, low morale, has that made Americans less safe?

JOHNSON: I'm convinced that the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security day in and day out do a marvelous job in terms of their dedication to public safety, homeland security -- I've firsthand seen terrific examples of people, whether they're in Customs Border Protection, whether they're in FEMA, the Coast Guard who do a wonderful job to keep us safe day in and day out. Morale is always an issue which we're focused on, and we have an aggressive campaign to address it within the department.

BLITZER: Jeh Johnson is the secretary of Homeland Security. Mr. Secretary, thanks very much. Good luck. As you know, we're all counting on you and the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security to protect all of us. We're grateful for all of your efforts. Thanks very much.

JOHNSON: Thanks for inviting me, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeh Johnson, thank you.

We're following important new developments in other stories, including in the search for that missing college student. Police put out a wanted poster for a man they talked with last week but let go. We'll get a live update on the very latest.

We're also on the scene of a manhunt for one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Police today put out a wanted poster for a man they're describing as the last man seen with a missing college student. A short time ago, police confirmed they've searched the man's home.

University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham hasn't been seen for ten days.

CNN's Athena Jones is joining us from Charlottesville, Virginia. She has the very latest -- Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, police here are not calling Jesse Matthew a suspect, but the steps they've taken today, putting out that wanted poster, releasing another photo of Matthew and also conducting a second search on his apartment, well, they're all signs of mounting pressure on this young man to come forward so they can talk to him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Charlottesville, Virginia, police today released this picture and this wanted poster of Jesse Matthew, calling for his arrest on two counts of reckless driving. But reckless driving isn't why police are so eager to find him.

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, POLICE: I have no idea where he is. I hope he hears my voice, and I hope he comes to help us find Hannah. That's what this is about.

JONES: Police say Matthew was the last person seen with 18-year-old University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham in the early morning hours of September 13, the night she disappeared.

Police previously searched Matthew's car and his apartment. They're waiting for forensic test results. Over the weekend, Matthew voluntarily walked into the police station and asked for a lawyer.

LONGO: I know they talked for a little bit. And I know they walked out that door. And I don't know any more about his interaction with Hannah Graham than I did the moment he walked in.

JONES: Later, while under police surveillance, he was seen driving so dangerously and at such high speeds that police had to stop pursuing him, leading to the reckless driving charges.

On Sunday, Graham's parents made an emotional appeal for help finding their daughter.

JOHN GRAHAM, HANNAH'S FATHER: Sue and I are positively overwhelmed by the support for Hannah.

JONES: This as more than 1,000 volunteers spent the weekend scouring the city for clues: a strong show of support for a community in pain.

GRAHAM: I think that the reason that Hannah has such marvelous support is that this is every parent's worst nightmare. JONES: The emotion doesn't stop with Graham's parents. Police Chief

Longo nearly choked up when asked why he was so passionate about the case.

GRAHAM: Because as I said earlier today, this isn't just an 18-year- old college kid. It's somebody's baby. If it were my child, I would want someone to be just as passionate and be just as aggressive and just as diligent. And that's what we're going to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And so a lot of emotion surrounding this case right now.

Chief Longo also told me that there -- he said forensic evidence in this case is so important. They're really hoping to get back the test results from those initial searches on Matthew's car and his home.

But Chief Longo also reiterated to me something he said over the weekend, which is that he doesn't want this community to get tunnel vision. Just because they have a name and a face of someone they're looking for, he doesn't want people to stop looking for Hannah Graham. And he wants anyone who has any information about that night, who may have seen her or seen Matthew to come forward and speak to police -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Athena Jones reporting for us from Charlottesville, Virginia. Athena, thanks very much.

Let's dig a little bit deeper right now. Joining us, our law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes. He's a former assistant director of the FBI.

How unusual is it for this individual, Jesse Matthew, to willingly walk into the police station and say, "You know what? I'd like to have a lawyer"?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I think it's very unusual. I've not heard of another case similar to that, Wolf. But, you know, in this case, he knows that the police have been looking at him. They've searched his car. The other night, they searched his apartment the other night while he was there. So they obviously had an initial encounter with him of some sort while there were other people there. So he's known from that time at least that he's at least on a high list of people that the police are interested in talking to and getting more information from.

BLITZER: Well, take us behind the scenes. What do you think law enforcement is doing right now? Because they seem to be frustrated. They may be thinking a little bit further ahead than the local prosecutors who say there's not enough evidence to arrest anyone yet.

FUENTES: Well, the problem, Wolf, is that for Jesse Matthew to be walking down the street with her isn't a crime. For them to go into that restaurant in downtown Charlottesville is not a crime. If she willingly got in the car with him and they drove off together, it's not a crime. Now she's -- now she's missing and has been missing since that time,

and it doesn't mean necessarily that you can tie him to any foul play with her.

Now, the forensic search on that vehicle, if it establishes that there are skin particles, DNA, body fluids, some other substance in that car that comes from her, that ties her to being in that car, that adds a little pressure. But it also -- I mean, he's under no obligation to talk. So if the police place charges against him and bring him in, it's his constitutional right to say nothing.

They have to have some positive evidence that not only he was with her but that whatever happened to her, he caused it to happen to her. And that's going to be a huge mountain to go over in this particular case.

BLITZER: Tom Fuentes, thanks very much. We'll stay on top of this case.

Up next, police say they're closing in on a suspect from the FBI's ten most wanted list. We're going to give you a live update on the manhunt.

And later, the new hints about when the Clintons' grandbaby may be arriving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A manhunt is under way this hour in Pennsylvania. Police say they're closing in on one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives. The man's wanted in the shooting of two state troopers.

Let's go live to CNN's Alexandra Field. She's joining us with the latest. What do we know, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Wolf.

Well, for the last few days, investigators have been focused on a small wooded area just a few square miles. But now they're saying that the search area is even smaller. They say that's because they are confident that they have their suspect, Eric Frein, close by. They've got some evidence pointing them in that direction. They say they've recovered an AK-47, which they say belonged to him as well as some ammunition.

They say that he is still considered armed and dangerous but they have been out here overnight and again all day today aggressively pursuing what they call credible tips reporting sightings of Frein. Amid all of this, Pennsylvania's governor speaking out, telling people that he is confident that police are close to a capture. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TOM CORBETT, PENNSYLVANIA: I always believe there's progress. The troopers are out there very actively, the FBI's out there very actively. And I feel confident that we should be able to apprehend this individual. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: The schools here have been closed for four days now out of an abundance of caution for children with this suspect still on the loose. People are being told to remain vigilant, although officers say they believe that Frein is targeting law enforcement and not civilians -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Alexandra Field, thanks very much.

We used to just call it math and science. Now those so-called left brain fields including technology and engineering are often referred to by the acronym STEM. And it's ignited a pretty hot debate about education, immigration, and the future of the U.S. economy.

CNN's Michaela Pereira explains why STEM should matter to you. And she kicks off our series "THE SCIENCE OF WORK".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: STEM, it stands for science, technology, engineering and math. There's a school of thought there are more jobs than there are qualified people to fill them. The theory, train more Americans, reduce unemployment and help the economy.

Let's look at the class of 2012. Just 16 percent of undergraduates got a degree in the STEM majors. That seems small, right? The Obama administration certainly thinks so and has invested millions to increase those numbers.

But is it worth it? Some say no. They say there is no skills gap, just a lack of competitive wages and training options from companies.

There's no doubt STEM jobs are on the rise. The Department of Commerce predicts they'll grow nearly twice as much as other professions between 2008 and 2018 and that workers in other fields are more likely to be unemployed.

So how about wages? The same report shows that STEM workers earn 26 percent more. In fact, the top 10 paying majors for the graduating class of 2013 were all STEM. But before you reach for that Bunsen burner, let me drop some knowledge.

The Bureau of Labor says the vast majority of STEM jobs are related to computers and IT. Their mean wages are higher than the U.S. average, but not by much. And, guess what, Career Builders says IT jobs are the hardest ones to fill.

So what about the big bucks? The five highest paying STEM graduate jobs, according to Forbes, are marine engineer, petroleum engineer, nuclear engineer, technology analyst and chemical engineer. You know, the easy ones.

So as technology evolves and becomes an even bigger part of our lives, one thing is clear, no matter what job you do, STEM will be everywhere. So make sure you're ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That's CNN's Michaela Pereira reporting for us.

Up next, New York's other big attraction for world leaders, Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are just across town and there are new hints about the grandbaby.

And in the next hour of the SITUATION ROOM, a new ISIS assault. Will it provoke U.S. air strikes inside Syria?

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BLITZER: The United Nations isn't the only destination for world leaders here in New York City this week. Across the city, the Clinton Global Initiative meetings feature three members of the Clinton family. And everyone is looking for hints about when the newest edition will make his or her debut.

Let's bring in our senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar. She's watching what's going on -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Wolf. All of this of course happening amid this near obsession about whether Hillary Clinton will run for president again or not.

I will tell you, that is not what's top of mind for her right now. Instead, it's the newest member of the Clinton clan due to arrive soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Live, from New York, it's CGI.

KEILAR (voice-over): Hillary Clinton kicking off the star-studded annual meeting of the family business. The former secretary of state back in the embrace of world leaders and celebrities at the Clinton Global Initiative.

CLINTON: We are so thrilled and excited to welcome you to the Eighth Annual Global Citizens Award.

KEILAR: The number one issue for Hillary Clinton right now, her first grand baby, due any day now. Chelsea Clinton playing a big role in the high profile gathering, despite what she described as --

CHELSEA CLINTON, CLINTON FOUNDATION: Our impending, although hopefully not immediate, arrival.

KEILAR: She and her husband Marc Mezvinsky will likely be parents by the end of the month. Bill Clinton giving the best guess yet at a due date to CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: We're on watch now. I hope by the 1st of October I'll be a grandfather.

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Do you care if it's a boy or a girl?

B. CLINTON: No, and I don't know.

ZAKARIA: Do you really not know?

B. CLINTON: Don't know. My daughter and son-in-law decided not to know. They want to be surprised. So we're all just sitting around waiting.

KEILAR: If this is what you call sitting around and waiting, Hillary Clinton is reentering political life, fresh off an appearance last week at the Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa, a must-attend event for Democrats eyeing the presidency.

H. CLINTON: I've got a few things on my mind these days.

KEILAR: But the one thing that might hit pause on her decision making process and her midterm campaign plans.

H. CLINTON: Bill and I are on constant grandchild watch. I'm calling Chelsea every five minutes to make sure things are going all right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Hillary Clinton has said that she wants to enjoy grandmotherhood to the fullest. She does not want to be distracted but, Wolf, as you know, she's also said she'll decide whether she's running for president in the beginning of next year. So she may be a little distracted by that, certainly in the coming months.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens on all those fronts.

All right. Thank you very much, Brianna, for that report.

Coming up, a chilling new threat from the leader of ISIS, calling for attacks inside the United States.

As security is boosted at the White House as we learn new details about the man who jumped the fence and managed to get inside the mansion.

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