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Pope Francis Visiting Cuba; Edward Kwon on a Mission to Globalize Korean Food. Aired 6:30-7a ET.

Aired September 20, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Back in 2012, Pope Benedict had mass there at Revolution Square. In 1998, St. John Paul II also - the angelus there in Revolution Square. This historic, of course, because of the change in relations between the U.S. and Cuba. But also, a Spanish speaking pope, a pope from Latin America, Argentina is coming back to Cuba.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: But first, this week's culinary journey takes us to Seoul, South Korea, to meet chef Edward Kwon who explores the favors of one of Korea's most famous dishes. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Korean chef Edward Kwon is on a mission to globalize Korean food. He is heading about two hours south of Seoul to Janju (ph) where rural cuisine reigned for centuries. And the traditional Korean dish bivinbak (ph) was born. Here, he'll get a lesson in palace cuisine. Today, Kwon's teacher is Unga. As the chef at Gouns (ph) meaning Palace, she works tirelessly to preserve janju's tradition. The spread of ingredients is most familiar, but there are a few surprises for Kwon.

The moufoo!

EDWARD KWON: It's mong bean, it's mong bean jelly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He quickly learns it's these details that set Janju bivinbak apart. Rice made with a beef broth instead of water, chili paste enhanced with unexpected flavors.

KWON: That chili powder. And juice. Fresh. Fresh. Wow. Look at this. Wow. A little bit sour, a little bit sweet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every ingredient gets undivided attention, seasoned separately and cooked to its fullest potential. The assembly of the final dish is just as detailed. Each ingredient placed carefully according to color. Another janju signature is added. Beef tartar quickly coated with a secret chili paste.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god! Still, still more too good!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, finally, a raw egg yolk crowns the finished dish and then silence, perhaps the highest compliment to indicate it was definitely worth the wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is damn good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can watch the full show at cnn.com/journeys. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:40]

BLACKWELL: There is a little more than two hours now until Pope Francis arrives there at Revolution Square in Havana. His first visit to Cuba as pope. Live pictures here of the thousands expected to be by 9:00 a.m. Eastern, hundreds of thousands there to see and listen to the pope. This mass delivered in Spanish. The second day of the pontiff's visit to Cuba.

PAUL: And as the camera pulls out there, you can see the crowd that has already assembled and some of them have been there, we've heard, since 3:30 this morning. So, some of them into their third hour now as they wait to hear from the pope. CNN is covering his visit to Cuba and then, of course, the U.S. from every possible angle. First, we want to take a look at what's happening on the political stage today, but we will put you right back to Cuba here shortly.

BLACKWELL: Also happening at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, CNN will release its newest presidential polls. The first since last week's Republican debate. A lot of people are wondering if Donald Trump will keep his commanding lead at the top of the GOP pack or will Carly Fiorina's strong performance give her a new bounce in the polls, or maybe one of the other candidates. The former HPCO got a welcome from hundreds of supporters in Michigan yesterday on the way to a Republican leadership conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not that women are better than men, we are not. It's just that ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you are.

FIORINA: No.

(LAUGHTER)

FIORINA: Yes, we are! It's just that women are half this nation and our entire nation, men and women are better when everyone gets a chance to fulfill their potential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about this. We have got CNN politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson. Stephen, I want to start with something we are seeing from the Democrats. The first time yesterday, for the first time Carly Fiorina is a target of Democratic National Committee fundraising e-mails and suggestion that they are focusing on another outsider now.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's very interesting, Victor. As you said, this is the first time we have seen this. I think it's a response to what was seen as a very strong performance by Carly Fiorina in that CNN debate the other night and I think, you know, also a response to what we are likely to see as a rise from her because of that in the polls. Carly Fiorina has always set herself out as the main challenger on the GOP side to Hillary Clinton, the rational of her campaign is that as a woman, she would be a much stronger candidate to go up against Hillary Clinton than some of the other men and she could neutralize some of the advantage that the Democrats generally have among women voters in presidential election. So this is going to be a very interesting development to keep track of, I think.

BLACKWELL: You know, many of the analysts agreed that yes, Carly Fiorina had a strong performance during that debate, but Donald Trump did not have a very strong performance and possibly that could be reflected in the poll that comes out this morning.

COLLINSON: Yes, definitely. A lot of people thought Mr. Trump's performance was a little shaky, short on policy details. So we will be looking to see whether he is still at the top of the pack as well as looking at Carly Fiorina's numbers, I think is going to be very interesting to see how Ben Carson is doing. Out of the first presidential debate for the Republicans about seven weeks ago, he got a bounce.

[06:40:00]

COLLINSON: It was a few weeks off to the debate, so it will be interesting to see whether he keeps that up. It was a fairly timid performance by Mr. Carson in the debate, so we would expect, perhaps, some of his numbers to go down as well. And then we will be looking to see whether any of the establishment candidates who have had a very rough time so far in this election. People like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, both of whom were sort of said to have done better in the debate on Wednesday night, to see whether they can start to climb and start to challenge some of these outsider candidates.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Democrats for a moment and this reporting from "The Washington Post" that Hillary Clinton is set to release some details on her plans to tweak Obamacare. Possibly tomorrow those details will come out. "The Post" is reporting this is a shift for national Democrats and this is, quote, a full embrace of a law that had a troubled rollout and has not always polled well unlike the 2012 election or during that time. Clinton is making it a central part of her argument that she should succeed Obama. This is obviously something that she has to lock down this Obama coalition possibly before Joe Biden gets into the race as "The Wall Street Journal" reports that it's a matter of when, not if, he is going to get in.

COLLINSON: Right. Yes, if you think about it, what better way could there be to argue that you are the best possible steward of President Obama's legacy than by embracing his major domestic political achievement? So, I think that is what Hillary Clinton is trying to do. You're right that Joe Biden is considering jumping into this race and Joe Biden's main campaign selling point would be that he was beside the president for the last seven years. He was intimately involved in the passage of Obamacare and other major achievements of this administration and he would therefore be the best steward of President Obama's legacy. So, it's clearly a position by Hillary Clinton to sort of take this on. And I think you could argue that also she is looking towards a general election when she could, you know, turn around and ask Republicans why they are not promoting more health care plans for Americans.

BLACKWELL: And we will see if the vice president, the former secretary of state Clinton, if they have that opportunity to discuss this face-to-face in the upcoming CNN debate, the first debate of the Democratic candidates. Stephen Collinson, good to have you back.

COLLINSON: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: And Live pictures again there from Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, where Pope Francis will be celebrating mass this morning in a little more than two hours. Landed last evening and thousands, you see him here in the Popemobile, we have got the video for you, thousands of people cheered and waved flags as they lined the streets there welcoming him.

PAUL: This visit is part of a nine-day tour, by the way, of Cuba and the U.S. And the theme of the journey here, peace and reconciliation as well as better relations between the U.S. and Cuba. CNN's Chris Cuomo is joining us live from Havana's Revolution Square this morning. Chris, I know that his calls for religious freedom don't just have to do with religion. He is hoping that it includes opening schools, that it includes some sorts of acts of charity on people's parts, that it resonates more with everybody, not just some 27 percent, I think I saw, that identify as Catholics there in Cuba.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you make a strong point. It's not just for the religious faithful. It's also for just simply the Cuban hopeful. The word that they resonate with is freedom. Whether it's religious or secular, whether it's about speech to hear. Castro yesterday say religious freedom is a central tenant of the Constitution, surprised a lot of people here. He said it in the presence of the pope. What will that mean in terms of how they act on it going forward?

Now, what you see here, is crowd that's been gathering overnight. They've traveled hundreds of miles, many of them, to come here deep from the interior of Cuba. And they have been waiting for Pope Francis to come to hear what his message is. They are testing the sound system. They have been playing beautiful music since we got here several hours ago. Also, if Dubby Day (ph) our cameraman can pull out a little bit. The trinity, the holy trinity for Cubans are all about the Revolution, of course. And you'll see they have these big illuminated images here. Of that Sian Twagos (ph), one of revolutionary commanders. There is Che Guevara now, next to him. And Dubby, they swing the other way, won't you show Che? And show who's been out of here at Revolution Square, and it gives rise to why people, they are hopeful, are saying that Revolution Square may become evolution square. Look who else is here this morning? There in the darkness. That is Jesus Christ. His image has been put up near in the square and they say it's never happened before.

Now, our Patrick Oppmann has covered all three recent trips of the Popes to Cuba in 1998, 2012, and now he said he has never seen during a pope trip them putting up an image of Jesus Christ, let alone in Revolution Square. And the message underneath, "Bengana me". "Come to me."

[06:45:00]

So, that's a big deal here, and obviously, people are going to be waiting here about the message. And then to see if the Pope meets with Fidel Castro. He mentioned him yesterday in his remarks, Christi and Victor, and he said please send my respect and considerations to your brother Fidel. Will they meet? What will he say? Hopefully, we will find out.

PAUL: And we don't know if they will reveal what is said behind closed doors, certainly, but as the fact that they are reaching out and he may be seeing Fidel is significant. And I know that you've been doing a lot of work there, Chris, you have a special coming up?

CUOMO: Yes. CNN put together a documentary on the pope because this fascination with Francis is really about who he is and what we saw in going back to where he was in Buenos Aires as cardinal and made his mark as what he calls himself as it's over the - behind us, this missionary of misery, that he wants to tend to the most forgotten, to those who need the most. So, you have to know who he is as a man to understand who he is becoming as pope. And that is what we will give you in this special.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: By all accounts, he was a pretty typical teenager.

ELISABETTA PIQUE, AUTHOR, "POPE FRANCIS: LIFE AND REVOLUTION": Being a teenager, he would go and stand and he would participate to parties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: [speaking in foreign language ]

OSCAR CRESPO, LIFELONG FRIEND: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

CUOMO: Yes, he danced well. And he liked it. He would go dancing every Saturday at the parties that the club hosted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: You know, we showed you this part of it because, you know, he is a regular man. That is his friend Oscar Crespo. They have been friends since they were 13 and they are still friends. He still calls him on the phone and says Bergolio here, and teases him about football. So, you get to understand the man, you get to understand his passions and you see a consistency throughout his life. I think it will really be interesting to people whether or not they believe in the faith or not.

BLACKWELL: Also, we have seen that he has decided to forego many of the luxuries that are afforded to the pontiff. We will talk more throughout the program this morning. Chris, thank you so much. And be sure to tune into CNN special report, "The People's Pope" Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Kentucky's embattled Rowan County clerk Kim Davis may soon be back in trouble again with a federal judge. One of her deputies claims that she tampered with marriage license forms. The alleged changes might invalidate the forms and put her freedom in jeopardy. CNN Sara Ganim is following this for us. Sara, so what exactly did she allegedly change?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, according to her deputy, she allegedly changed a lot and he was apparently concerned, went to his attorney who filed a motion in court that said this. Kim Davis came to the office and confiscated all of the original forms and provided a change form, which deletes all mentions of the county, fills in one of the blanks that would otherwise be the county with the court's styling, deletes her name, deletes all of the deputy clerk references and in place of the deputy clerk types in the name of Brian Mason. Brian Mason, of course, is that deputy clerk. Now, Victor, for some context here, Brian Mason is the only one in that office who is issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. When Kim Davis was released from jail and went back to work, she said she wouldn't stop Brian Mason from issuing those licenses as long as they didn't have her name or here's the key part, her title on those forms. So, he said she allegedly began to change them. Now, her attorney issued a statement yesterday saying not - he never denied that she altered these forms that simply said that she never violated the agreement with the judge when she was released from jail. Here is the statement I just want to read to you. The attorney said this. "The licenses were not altered to circumvent the court's order nor did Kim Davis circumvent the order. So, very careful with this language there, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Sara Ganim, thank you so much.

PAUL: All right, let's bring in HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. You just heard their response about not circumventing the agreement. What do you make of that very carefully worded statement?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: It's very lawyerly. Good morning, Christi.

PAUL: Yeah.

JACKSON: You know, there is a practical way to answer and then, of course, there's a technical way to answer. From a practical perspective, Christi, the governor says it's fine. He's not challenging it. And then, of course, the commissioner of libraries and archives who issues the form is not challenging it. The attorney general is not challenging it. And the federal judge is fine with it. So, from a practical perspective, all is well. And, of course, the people who got the licenses are not going to challenge the validity of it, which leaves whether Kim Davis will challenge it. If she does, and, of course, she is stuck in that tricky position of otherwise not obeying what the judge, the federal judge has mandated her to do. And so, therefore, from a practical perspective, everything is okay. Now quickly, from a technical prospective, the statute says, that, of course, the deputy or the actual clerk has - the clerk itself to be clear, the clerk has to authorize, give it authorization statement and then a deputy or the clerk has to sign and then they have to record. But I read that as the office -- it's not the individual, right? You just occupy the office because you're the elected official. It's the office itself that has to issue it. So to the extent that that gentleman right there is issuing those licenses and they come from the Rowan County clerk's office, I declare and I believe from the reading of it that I think they are valid and everything is okay.

PAUL: OK, so the changes that she made, you believe, do not invalidate these licenses, nor do they put her in any jeopardy? With her job?

JACKSON: You know, at this point, I think that the federal judge and the state haven't -- what their interest is ensuring that everybody can get married, anyone who wants to get married can get married. Now, can we play inside baseball and say technically, the statute provides for the form to say that she authorizes it? Of course we can. Could it potentially be challenged on those grounds? Yes. But from a practical matter and perspective, to the extent that licenses are issued and a form is altered and her name is off of it, she, again, is just the occupant of an office. They have to come, that is the forms, they have to be authorized and signed by the clerk. Yes, she's the clerk, but the clerk is the office that is occupied by her, but that belongs to the people of Kentucky. So to the extent that her office is authorizing it, people are allowed to get married, I say that all is good in Kentucky and in Rowan County.

PAUL: To that extent, we say, thank you, Joey Jackson.

JACKSON: Thank you, Christi.

PAUL: Of course. You too.

BLACKWELL: Take you back to these live pictures now at Revolution Square in Havana. The crowd growing. We are just moments here from dawn here. You can see that it was at the start of our show was pitch black out there, and now the blueing of the skies. Two hours now from the beginning of mass delivered by Pope Francis from Argentina, going to deliver it in Spanish. We will have more coverage in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Several big stories this morning we are following. First in Havana, Cuba. Got a live picture up for you. The faithful up early. Thousands, tens of thousands already packed into Revolution Square awaiting a Sunday mass celebration by Pope Francis.