right now on "andrea mitchell reports" lunch date. after president obama tells the u.n. he is let john kerry open the first direct talks with iran in a generation. will iran's president now show up for lunch this hour? it so, it would be the first face-to-face encounter between iran and the u.s. leaders since before the revolution in 1979. in his big speech today, president obama listed his top foreign policy priorities, iran, syria and middle east peace. >> i want to be clear, we are encouraged that president rouhani received from the iranian people an mandate to pursue a more moderate course. it's time for russia and iran to realize that insisting on assad's rule will lead directly to the outcome that they fear. an increasingly violent space for extremists to operate. they too recognize that two states is the only real path to peace, because just as the palestinian people must not be

displaced, the state of israel is here to stay. so the time is now ripe for the entire international community to get behind the pursuit of peace. >> hand signals. now all eyes are on iran's president, rouhani, before his first speech to the u.n. this afternoon and that potential meet and greet on the sidelines with president obama. not over yet. gunfire, loud explosions heard again just a few hours ago as the violent hostage crisis at a shopping mall in kenya entered its fourth day. this as new claims that at least two americans were part of the terror group that stormed the mall on saturday, killing at least 60 people. kenya's president says five terrorists have been killed, 11 are in custody. we'll have a live report coming up from my roby. -- nairobi.

and good day, i'm andrea mitchell in new york. today president barack obama opened the door for the first time to direct talks with iran, separate from the other members of the security council. showing that he wants to test iran's expressed new commitment to diplomacy. >> i've made it clear in letters to the supreme leader in iran and more recently to president rouhani that america prefers to resolve our concerns over iran's nuclear program peacefully. although we are determined to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. >> the president also challenged the united nations to enforce the ban on chemical weapons in syria. a u.s./russian agreement that has been actually falling apart ever since the ink dried on it ten days ago. joining me is chuck todd, host of the "daily rundown." well, chuck, this is a big day

and the president has not set himself out to be foreign policy. u.n. week is different but with everything stalemated back home in congress, this is -- these are legacy moments potentially. >> well, they are. it is interesting we were looking at all four previous general assembly speeches and each one of them has different ways that he's had to deal with iran, but iran has been a focal point in some form or another in all of these speeches, again today. but what he did with kerry, you identified this. i mean that's the news of the speech. basically green lighted, you know, p-5 -- he didn't clearly say p-5 plus one was no longer the place to go. >> that's the permanent members of the security council plus germany. >> right. that it was a negotiation between the six nations and iran, but he essentially opened the door to saying, okay, direct talks. which, by the way, is what he said in 2007. this is the real reward for

rouhani. handshake aside, whether it happens or it doesn't, everyone is waiting for the picture. >> they're going to meet on thursday, if not sooner. speaking of pictures, "time" magazine reminds us of jimmy carter and the shah. december of 1977, the last talks between an iranian leader -- >> different leaders, different ally. sort of the only version of who knows how you want to say it, but in the ways obviously after that things have not been the same. >> it was very interesting that the president acknowledged today the coup, that the cia was clearly involved in overthrowing the regime, the government of iran. >> back in the '50s. >> back in the '50s, but there's been a lot of suspicion they took over our embassy, they took our hostages, a lot of terrorism and of course the suspected nuclear program. what more does iran have to do to actually get to possibly to

geneva? he opened the door today pie saying we welcome all nations in resolving -- who want to resolve the syrian crisis. that's been another obstacle. >> it has. >> having iran at those talks with russia and the united states, the syrian opposition, one of the obstacles. >> well, you wonder as if -- and i thought you reported this well. you wonder as if the united states wants to use in the nuclear negotiations with iran, okay, you want to be a part of the syria deal, you're going to have to -- you've got a long way to go here to prove yourself as somebody that belongs at the table on the syria front. so everything is a negotiation. but to go back, you know, when you look at what rouhani said to ann curry and the different pledges that he claimed, they're not pursuing a weaponized nuclear program. he wants to be treated the same as the other 40 nations that are pursuing nuclear power an things like that. but i think it's opening the door in a way to inspections and to trust but verify.

and that really hasn't happened. they still hide some of what they're doing. they don't seem to -- they claim they want the iaea to work, essentially the world's nuclear energy watchdog group, they want that to work but haven't attempted to help them. >> but they're supposed to be getting to the lunch sometime in the next half hour. we'll see whether -- >> and this is a lunch -- >> the lunch is always held. >> it's iffy because in the past -- >> you're seeing some of them are arriving now. >> some leaders don't show up because of religious reasons, correct? >> as well as there are also walkouts at the general assembly. >> and they have already announced they're doing it today. >> israel said they're going to walk out before they know what mr. rouhani's speech. >> and the iranians have done the same thing to netanyahu in the past. >> in the past the americans have also walked out on the iranians but it's unlikely that would happen this time. just briefly, there's been a little dissidence as well

leading into the president's speech because the president of brazil had cancelled a state visit. >> right. >> last week, saying that she will not be coming in october because of edward snowden's disclosures about spying on brazil. and she then gave a speech preceding the president's speech and laid it out for the whole world to see. this is part of what she said to say. >> translator: meddling in such a manner in the life and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and as such it is an affrontment to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations. >> so that really was a slap at the united states and she was the speaker right before the president. >> this was a real gut punch to the obama administration. they thought they had sort of taken the penalty from brazil. >> and mollified her? >> they got that was what she

was trying to do. they tried to save the state visit, it didn't get saved. i think they were hoping, okay, that was last week. she did what she did. they were hoping if this is -- if this really is about local politics for her and the pressure she was feeling at home to, you know, stand up to the american spies, that sort of thing, and then to have it come up today, come up on the world stage, i think that that is a bit disconcerting to the obama folks. and, you know, this is -- this has been this other issue out there. it has complicated a lot of diplomacy. >> and trade negotiations. >> in other areas, whether it was on syria, whether on the european trade deal they'd like to do. there's pressure in germany. now those elections are passed. we'll see if merkel feels more comfortable on these issues. but this nsa issue has really been a complicated mess politically, not just for the president domestically and we've seen it, frankly for both parties the establishment has

been beaten up by its populist wings but around the world dimmaticaldim diplomatically this has complicated things. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. meanwhile the president of kenya is saying that his soldiers have the westgate shopping mall under control, but new explosions, new gunfire today are raising new questions about whether there still is resistance from the terrorists who first laid siege to the mall four days ago. president clinton spoke this morning about one of the victims of the shabaab militants, a staff member of the clinton global initiative on leave in nairobi and pregnant with her first child. >> they went to nairobi because they thought it was the safest best place for her to give birth. they were just walking in the mall that day. and they were both killed, along with the child. >> nbc's ron allen is in nairobi and joins us now by phone. ron, how do we figure out whether the president of kenya

is correct, that they have got control or from what you're seeing on the ground there, which seems to be continual gunfire and explosions? >> reporter: well, the president just made a speech to the nation, andrea, as you know, and he's tried to leave no doubt that this incident, as he put it, is now behind us, quote unquote. he said that there were 240 casualties. that 61 civilians lost their lives. that six security officers were killed, five terrorists were killed, as he put it. 11 are in custody. he did not explicitly say what had happened to the, quote unquote, hostages. we were led to believe as of yesterday that there were still ten people being held by the gunmen. he didn't elaborate or didn't explain what happened to that group of individuals, he just gave the overall number of 61 civilians losing their lives and 240 casualties. so something of a mystery. yes, you're right that throughout the course of the

day, especially this morning, we did hear more gunfire. we did hear several explosions. i think that the kenyan authorities are trying to say that that was all part of a mopping up operation. the explosions perhaps clearing away debris, ordinance or explosives left behind by the gunmen. the gunfire is a little more baffling because it sounded like moving in different directions. you wouldn't think there's gunfire when you're clearing the building unless you're firing on some location where you think someone might be holed up. the government is insisting thanthat this is not only under control but, as the president put it, part of the past. another thing he tried to clarify, these allegations made today or yesterday by the kenyan foreign minister in new york there that two or three american citizens were amongst the gunmen involved in the attack.

the president acknowledged that. he said less directly, however, that forensic tests are under way to determine exactly who all the gunmen were and to answer whether there was a british national involved as well. that's essentially the position that the yoous has taken, as i understand it. they won't know the answer to that until forensic tests prove exactly who these gunmen were. >> thank you very much, ron allen for the latest from kenya. as the u.n.'s general assembly continues to meet. the clinton global initiative kicked off with guests from bono to sheryl sand berg. president clinton took a selfie with biffll gates. two bills, one self die. already having fun at 2013. also having fun, bono, who

showed off his bill clinton impression. >> when i first met bono, he walked into the oval office and i -- actually i thought it was a member of his own road crew. he wasn't really dressed right. actually i felt like the rock star on that occasion. >> i must be really easy to make fun of. >> that was not half bad, bono, in fact pretty darn good. oh this is lame, investors could lose tens of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) to hidden fees. is that what you're looking for, like a hidden fee in your giant mom bag? maybe i have them... oh that's right i don't because i rolled my account over to e-trade where... woah. okay... they don't have hidden fees... hey fern. the junk drawer? why would they... is that my gerbil? you said he moved to a tiny farm. that's it, i'm running away. no, no you can't come! [ male announcer ] e-trade. less for us. more for you.

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i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's north kor nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road

towards a different relationship, one paced on mutual interests and mutual respect. >> does iran's new president rouhani have the political power to negotiate an end to his country's suspected nuclear program? that is the challenge for the u.s. and its closest ally. it's closest ally is great britain. william hague now joins me here in our studio. secretary, thank you very much for being with us. >> good afternoon. it's a great pleasure. >> well, you are front and center. you've met with your iranian counterpart in the last day. >> yes. >> so you've had the first window into whether or not this is real. is this just a charm offensive or is there a real sea change in iran. >> well, that is what we have to find out. it's certainly a charm offensive. the meetings with iranians are different from in the past. i think the speech we will hear this afternoon from president rouhani will be very different from the speeches we were used to from his predecessors. so there's certainly the charm offensive there. and of course what we and many other countries are saying to

them is, well, now we welcome this and we welcome some actual things that have happened like the release of some political prisoners in iran. people we've called for their release for a long time. we really welcome that. but now we do want to see the concrete steps now. we want to see particularly on the nuclear issue. we want to see iran provide the transparency and create the concrete steps that can allow us to make some substantive progress. >> they have always said that they preserve the right to have nuclear energy. no one has ever denied them that right. are they, do you think, at the stage where they will acknowledge that they have secret facilities that they have not permitted us to see all of their centrifuges? why are they loading -- israel would say why are they loading 3,000 new upgraded centrifuges. will they shut down these facilities? >> there are all of these questions and they are working in defiance at the moment of many resolutions of the international atomic energy

authority and of the u.n. security council. the president spoke in his election campaign about greater transparency. well, now we have -- they have the opportunity to show the greater transparency. so this is something we all want to know. we will meet again, the iranian foreign minister, as the e-3 plus 3 or p-5 plus 1 which includes the united kingdom later this week to discuss specifically the nuclear issue and we will hope, of course, to get more of the answers on that occasion. >> the ayatollah, the supreme leader, has given this new president and his foreign minister, mr. zarif, who you met with, the power to negotiate on the nuclear arms. this is the first time that they have had this much latitude. do you think it's because the sanctions are biting and their economy is in collapse? >> i think the sanctions have made an enormous difference. sanctions often throughout history don't have a very strong effect. but in this case, the sanctions,

particularly the european union and the united states have applied with like-minded countries around the world have made a very big impact on the iranian economy. there's every sign that these iranian ministers, the new ministers understand the impact on their country more than their predecessors did and are worried about it more and they want to turn it around. so i think that is one of their incentives. they don't say that is, of course, but you wouldn't expect them to say that. but that is one of their incentives, to have a different relationship between the international community. but they have to -- they have to act. i've said to the iranian foreign minister, we will reciprocate concrete steps and improvements in relations, but they will have to be real steps. >> how important are symbols? what difference does it make if the president and president rouhani shake hands, say hello, chat? it would be the first meeting in decades, in a whole generation.

>> well, symbols are very important in diplomacy. images are very important at capturing moments and expressing even what whole nations are trying to do. and i think the readiness of all of us, including the united states leaders to embrace talking to iran, to engage in the dialogue with them is very clear this week. that's clear from all the european countries as well of the and so i hope that's really noticed in iran. it means we have no quarrel with the iranian people, and we haven't ever had that quarrel. our quarrel is with nuclear proliferation, with bringing more such dangerous weapons, having the world's most unstable region becoming festooned with the world's most dangerous and destructive weapons, and that's a problem we have to tackle. but i think in the readiness to shake hands, the readiness to have dialogue, we're showing we don't have a quarrel with the iranian people, we want to solve

this problem. >> i want to ask you about kenya and the nairobi hostage-taking and the siege. you've lost british nationals in this terrible instance. how serious a threat do you think shabaab is transnationally? or is this more of a domestic retaliation against kenya for participating in somalia with the african union? >> we don't really know enough yet about who exactly did this and why they did it. al shabaab has claimed responsibility, of course, and it shows we must intensify and continue all our efforts to bring stability to somalia, if indeed this is the work of al shabaab. and i don't think the government of kenya, the people of kenya will be weakened in their resolve in any way to do that, they may even be strengthened in their resolve to do that. we will continue to work very closely with them on that. but it does show that international terrorism has not gone away. and the need for countries to cooperate on countering terrorism and indeed for us -- for countries like britain and

the united states to cooperate with a wider range of countries actually. the terrorist threat is more diffuse than it was before 9/11. it can come from more directions, even if those who perpetrated those acts 12 years ago have suffered great losses and damage to their organization. so it shows we have to cooperate with even more countries around the world to defeat terrorism. >> and speaking of cooperating around the world, you have an initiative, angelina jolie has worked with you on this as well, to end sexual assaults, rape, as a tool in conflict, in conflict zones in somalia, in darfur and now in syria. >> yes. >> what are you hoping to accomplish, because you're reinstituting this, this afternoon. >> well, this afternoon i'm hoping to bring together more countries than ever before in the history of the world on this subject. i think we will have more than 100 countries signing a

declaration that we are going to treat such crimes as grave breaches of the geneva convention. that we're going to have a new international protocol on how we work together on prosecuting such crimes. so the idea that there's impunity for rape as a weapon of war can be brought to an en. this has been one of those taboo subjects. while we've been busy dealing with the arms trade treaty, which is quite right, we've been international diplomacy has yielded many good results in recent years, we haven't addressed this subject sufficiently. it's a major outstanding subject we can really improve the condition of humanity if we can change global attitudes on this. and we're part of the way to doing that now. >> thank you so much for your leadership on this. >> thank you. >> secretary william hague, it's a great pleasure. thanks for coming over from the united nations. it's great of you to come across town. >> thank you very much.

>> thank you again. vice president joe biden was in colorado yesterday trying to assess the severe damage left from the torrential rains and flooding that has devastated much of the state. the "today" show's own al roker caught up with the vice president after he toured the flood-ravaged area. >> in this kind of situation, what's the best thing you can tell people at this point? >> we're not going away. after the camera is gone, after we're not covering this any more, take a look at where we've been before. we're not leaving. we're going to do everything possible to make people whole. >> the vice president also revealed why this memorable moment from inauguration day got him in some hot water. >> i got in so much trouble for coming over in the inauguration day parade with you. i got so much heat. al was over there going hey, joe, hey, joe. and he said hey, that biden he's running for president, he must be. he went to see al roker. has it's ups and downs.

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the roadblocks may prove to be too great, but i firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested. >> president obama at the united nations saying that his top foreign policy priorities are ridding syria of its chemical weapon, finding a political solution to the civil war in syria, charting a new course of dialogue with iran and ending the conflict between israel and the palestinians. tall otrder. joining me now is jeffrey goldberg. that you for bei-- thank you fo with us. how does he test iran's new president's seriousness? the president has just arrived at the lunch hosted by the secretary attorney general. no sign of rouhani. we do not believe he has rsvp'ed or accepted that lunch. >> i'm sure there would be a seat for him if they need one. >> i'm sure they could find him a chair. that does not mean they will not meet at some point in the corridors.

that could still happen and we'll be told that it happened outside of our view. you can see them gathering for the lunch. they haven't sat down. and the president doing the schmoozing and the shaking of hands and that would be the extent probably of a conversation with rouhani if it does take place. >> right. >> how important is it that they actually have an encounter? and even if they don't, if the president's speech laid out a path forward, as it did, and if rouhani's speech is equally conciliatory, then it's up to john kerry and zarif to try and make something happen? >> right. well, you know, what's interesting to me is one of the things we're not thinking about from our viewpoint is how dangerous it might be for rouhani to be seen by hard liners in iran to be shaking hands with an american president. we're thinking about the optics does this mean negotiations or not. >> exactly. >> it's an open question to me whether rouhani would want to be photographed that way because remember, he has a problem with hard liners back at home.

that's one of the reasons that he's not actually acknowledged that the holocaust happened because it would be a signal to the hard liners that he's breaking with them on a delusional policy but a policy all the same. the symbolism is important. and it's hopeful. but at a certain point, you know, what's going to have to be communicated by john kerry is, look, you, the iranians, are in violation of numerous security council resolutions concerning your nuclear program. the iaea believes you're doing x, y and z and moving forward on a nuclear program. we demand that you stop. in exchange for concrete steps that you take on the nuclear program, we're more than happy to discuss lifting some of these sanctions. you know, obviously it's going to be a step-by-step process. i'm not that hopeful about it, because i think that the iranians are just trying a different tactic now. instead of sending mahmoud ahmadinejad who sounded crazy, they're sending a guy who will

speak softly but there's no sign they want to get off the nuclear track. >> actually rouhani in his past made overtures in a prior role and that was shot down partly by the u.s. and things that happened under george w. bush. but at this stage do you think he's taking the right posture to advance that they're going to walk out without listening to what the man had to say this afternoon? >> obviously they'll know what he's saying and they're obsessed with what he's going to say. i saw that. it just didn't seem to fit the mood. what netanyahu is trying to do, and this doesn't seem nuanced or smooth, is to say, hey, u.n., this guy is going to try to pull the wool over your eyes, don't believe it. i don't know if you can do that preemptively, to borrow a term from this debate. it doesn't seem smart. the israeli position could have been, look, we want more than anyone for iran to get off the nuclear track and we know the

united states is trying to push them off that so we're more than open to hearing what he has to say. all of the arab states that also fear a nuclear weapon, the whole cast of characters. the israelis and arabs are united on the iran question, obviously. what they're all saying to the united states is, you know, fine, go down this path but set a time limit. and be -- and be very cautious about what the iranians are promising, because the moderates, the so-called moderates have made these promises before and haven't been able to carry them through. >> jeff goldberg and also on the plate, of course, israeli/palestinian peace and that little problem with syrian chemical weapons that was supposedly resolved with the russians but now is to be renegotiated and relitigated and there's no enforcement. the president was calling for that today. a lot of foreign policy. thanks so much, jeff. >> thank you. >> good to see you. >> good to see you. last night on the late show david letterman found a creative

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i want to disabuse everyone that there will be no filibuster today. filibusters are to stop people from voting, and we are going to vote tomorrow. under the rules, no one can stop that. >> and right now the president is speaking at the u.n., so let's go to that u.n. lunch and hear what he has to say. >> mr. secretary general, you continue to provide the moral vision that we seek from the united nations as well as a practical sense of how we can achieve that vision. and so on behalf of all of us, we want to say thank you very much. i also want to salute all who helped sustain our united nations. often unseen and unheralded. this includes the dedicated u.n. inspectors in damascus, who set out into battlefield conditions. they braved sniper fire. they worked diligently with great professionalism. they uncovered the truth and they have the thanks of the world. meanwhile, we see thousands of

peace keepers in blue helmets standing watch around the world, from haiti, to the drc to cypress, so that people in countries recovering from conflict and strife can have the chance to build a more hopeful life. you know, after the conference, president roosevelt spoke about what it would take to achieve a lasting and durable peace. the structure of world peace, he said, cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation. it cannot be an american peace or a british, a russian, a french or a chinese peace. it cannot be a peace of large nations or of small nations. it must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world. these words are more true today than ever. whether it's preventing the spread of deadly weapons from democratic governance or fighting daily battles against poverty and hunger and

deprivation, international peace, development and security will not be achieved by one nation or one group of nations. it must be the work of all of us. so i want to propose a toast to our host and great friend, the second general. to all those here in new york and around the world who help sustain the united nations and to the spirit that we need the cooperative effort of the whole world. cheers. >> and with that toast, the president concluding his brief remarks at lunch. a lunch without iran's president rouhani. and now joining me for our daily fix, chris cillizza. chris, we were just talking earlier about ted cruz and the fact that harry reid sort of gave him a quick lesson in senate rules that he is not about to filibuster the budget resolution. you've been writing about ted cruz. you wrote that he had the worst week in washington last week. this could be the second worst week in washington. >> yeah, you know, andrea, in

addition to harry reid's comments, you've actually seen a number of interesting republican senators break with the cruz strategy, which is to essentially rob -- to try to get 41 votes to rob the senate of the ability to vote on a procedure to go forward essentially on this bill. mitch mcconnell, who has a primary challenge from the right in kentucky, the senator minority leader, john cornyn, another member of minority leadership, and roy blunt from missouri have all said, look, we are going to vote for this bill. we are going to vote to defund obama care and for this bill but not going to be part of an effort to keep it from being voted on. this is a blow of sorts to ted cruz's strategy. we never thought cruz would get the 41 votes he would need to block any sort of vote from happening. but this suggests that people who have real concerns politically, mitch mcconnell being the key there on the

right, don't view this as an issue that a republican primary challenger could use against them. that a vote to defund obama care is a vote to defund obama care. it makes ted cruz a little lonelier in his mission this week on this issue. >> and the president has got an unusual ally this afternoon. he's going over to the clinton global initiative on health care and bill clinton is going to be his chief advocate selling health care, which goes into effect at least the first part of it, the exchanges, next week. >> and we've seen -- this is a fascinating relationship, andrea. obviously it began in 2008. bill clinton compared barack obama's win in the south carolina primary to jesse jackson's wins there in the 1980s. he said barack obama's narrative on his opposition to the use of force in iraq was a fairy tale in his words. but they have warmed. bill clinton's speech at the democratic national convention in 2012, one of his best speeches and i would say the best argument for why barack obama deserved to be re-elected,

better than barack obama ever made, so politics has a long and often strange arc in the relationship between these two men is sort of illustrative of that fact. >> nothing if not transactional. thank you very much, chris. we'll see you later. with the world leaders who were gathered at the u.n. this week, advocates for education are here pushing for real change. the global business coalition for education is an organization promoting education for children across the globe, particularly the developing world. sarah brown is the chair of the coalition and co-founder of a world at school and joins me now. sarah, great to see you again. >> great to see you. >> you've got the whole world stage here in new york. it is sort of a coming together, as it has been for several years, the clinton global initiative and the u.n. general assembly. you have brought business leaders together to focus on education and on girls and women in particular. >> well, the business piece is important because i think we recognize that with governments and nonprofits alone that we

won't solve some of these great big issues of our time through poverty, nutrition, water sanitation issues and education. education is coming to the foreas well. there's a huge focus on girls and recognizing what they need to do and their rights. we saw that with molalla and the many other people standing with her so education is a big talking topic and education is really to play its part in that. >> you and your husband have gotten to know mallala. how is she doing? she strikes me not knowing her but watching her at these events, she's extraordinary, someone of any age. she still has this amazing dynam dynamism and intellectual fire power. >> she came from pakistan where education is very much still at risk and she is determined to

carry on and strengthened by the attack on her to take that message forward, supported by her family and friends. so she's here at the u.n. this week. we've been overlapping at various meetings. she's joined the youth group that are calling for intervention in syria in the humanitarian crisis there to deliver education for the many refugee children who have lost their homes and lost their schooling. >> we've seen the reports from ann curry and richard engel on this network from these refugee camps on both sides. also the people who were displaced internally in syria. how can you in the middle of conflict zones and with the appalling conditions in some of these refugee camps, no matter how hard the jordanians in particular have tried to change the climate, the atmosphere there, how can you deliver education to children? >> i think the real question is how can you not deliver education to those children. they have left their homes, left their schools, seen things no child should see, and find

themselves in very adverse circumstances. the neighboring countries have been very welcoming. lebanon will have about 400,000 children over the next few months and numbers rising all the time. lebanon's delayed opening its schools for a week while it tries to work out how to enroll children. there was a plan there, there was a group meeting yesterday that i was able to join with the business coalition and the youth advocates from the world at school where we sat round the table with government leaders, sat round the table with the big ngos, unicef and the global partnership for education, lirching to them talk about how they would convene together to deliver schooling for children as part of the humanitarian response. it needs to go in alongside food and health care and shelter for those children. >> what do americans need to know? because this country has been turning inward, not only because of the economic problems but because of the political pressures from the right. >> americans need to know that, you know, children are

everywhere, are children. and the normalcy that's needed for their lives, to be able to sit in a school room and enjoy a school meal and, you know, have something return to normal is important, and that it's the world community coming together of the the united states was represented at that table yesterday. if you think about it, maybe ten countries, each contributing under $20 million apiece would deliver schooling for all of those children with the plan that already exists. >> how have the business leaders responded? what kind of responsiveness have you seen in the business community? >> businesses have responded very well. i'll give you one example. western union, who are familiar to so many people, have over half a million branches all around the world and they have opened that up for anyone to go in and make a small donation without any transaction costs, any fees attached to it, that will go directly to supporting syrian refugee children being able to get schooling in lebanon, in jordan, and in syria itself. so there's a way that everyone

can pay a small part for it and the private sector making that possible. but that only works if it goes alongside what other governments can do and step up to the plate to help. >> sarah brown, and we should at least give a shoutout to your original cause, the white ribbon alliance for maternal health. >> i just joined their breakfast this morning. the work in the national countries is moving hard and fast to save women's lives. >> thank you so very much. on a lighter note, you can call this moose tracking. police in brookfield, colorado, say that this moose has been hanging around the area for a few weeks. he's been spotted rolling through residential neighborhoods, perhaps looking to see if he can join a backyard barbecue. police are asking residents to please leave the animal alone. they're hoping it heads back to its home before entering anyone else's. and today this moose in connecticut was spotted outside a rural hospital in new milford. would you believe the town has given him the name marty, i don't know why, and set up this facebook page so residents can track his whereabouts. and from moose tracks to a

panda reunion. we love pandas. one baby panda is cute, but try 14. this group of baby panda cubs in china have been brought together this week for the first time since their birth. the pandas were artificially bred and are being raised at the panda breeding and research base. pandas are the rarest breed of bear and remain on the critically endangered list, making this a highly unusual reunion. forty ti mes. forty ti mes. that's how often a group of house republicans have voted against obamacare, just to prove their allegiance to their party's right wing. okay - they've said their piece. but now they've gone even further... threatening to shut down the government if obamacare isn't dismantled. it could disrupt social security and veterans benefits, hurt job growth and undermine our economic recovery -

tell these house republicans - enough already!

which political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours. chris, i think we'll be talking about foreign policy and u.n. meetings and some that happened and this that didn't happen. you have rowhani's speech after he does or does not run into the

president accidentally on purpose and senator kerry meeting with lavrov about syria and the unraveling of that agreement potentially. >> andrea, i think you got it right. as usual you're the place to be but yes, the rowhani speech, you know, the politics of diplomacy and the handshake or not handshake or accidental on purpose meeting, it shows you how fraugt these things diplomatic can be and often are. as you mentioned earlier rowhani not at that luncheon honoring ban ki-moon. you know, nothing huge is going to be solved here but i would for my purposes at least and i defer to you, the lavrov kerry meeting may have the most lasting impact here, which is, where do we go? obviously we averted a huge showdown in congress over military support. this other option, but if this other option does not pan out,

where do we go from there? my guess is the underlying dynamics that led to many in congress, democrats and republicans opposing these resolution, has not fundamentally changed. >> at the same time, we've got the clintons, three clintons now, bill, hillary and chelsea at the clinton global initiative. everyone will be watching what hillary clinton says and no accidental moment that won't be per used too carefully. >> i think with hillary clinton, i know we played the clip from david letterman, bill clinton saying she hasn't made up her mind. i think everything she is doing, her speeches, what she's focused on, her carefulness in her statement on syria, she's very careful what she said, everything suggests the things you do if you want to put the places -- put the pieces, excuse me, in place to run for president. that doesn't mean she decided to run. i take them at her word that she hasn't but she's doing everything she would need to do

if she wanted to flip that light switch on. above anyone else, the clinton family understands that she's doing that. >> including the interview with the very well placed and timely interview with new york magazine. >> absolutely. >> chris, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> that does it for us for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. follow the show online and on twitter. and my colleague, tamron hall has a look at what's next for "news nation." >> thank you very much. coming up in the next hour, the question when it domestics to the u.s. and iran, president obama opened the door to the possibility in his speech this morning at the u.n., in a couple of hours iran's president will address the general assembly. during his new address, president obama renewed his call to close gitmo just as the hunger strike is over. plus, an emotional handover

as the biological father of a 4-year-old little girl known as baby veronica forced to return his daughter to the adoptive parents. is this the end of the custody battle? all next on "news nation." you can't say 'one size fits all'. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

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kohler will make your reality a dream. developing now on "news nation," is it really over? despite gunfire being heard most of the day, the past hour kenya's president declares victory over the terrorists in that mall attack saying 11 of the terrorists are now in custody and what he said about the possibility that are americans amongst the terrorists. the year long custody battle over the little girl known as baby veronica comes to an emotional end. parents outrage offensive and racial text messages about students sent by a veteran member of the city's school board. but first the news nation is following developing news out