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E.U. Chief: 60 Percent of Migrants Not Refugees; Pro-Refugee Protests Across Norway; Sweden Struggles with High Refugee Intake; Iran President Meeting with French President; Australia Sends Immigrants to Islands; Trump Feud with FOX, Megyn Kelly Continues; Sanders Gets Resistance from Top House Democrat; Michigan Governor Releases E-mails on Poisoned Water; Scientists: Zika Virus Has Potential to Become Pandemic Protest Rallies Supporting Same-Sex Unions in Italy. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 28, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


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[02:00:41] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome to our viewers watching all around the world. I'm Errol Barnett, with you for the next two hours. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin this hour with Europe's migrant crisis. As nations across the continent struggle to solve the problem, the E.U. is issuing a new warning to Greece over its border controls. And in a moment, we'll take you to Norway where people are protesting deportations. Then to Sweden where the government is feeling the strain of accepting more refugees per capita than any other E.U. nation.

Keep in mind, more than 47,000 refugees entered Europe so far in just the first few weeks of this year, and more than a million entered last year, the vast majority, more than 45,000, have landed in Greece.

And the European Union is warning Greece once again to step up its external border controls, as its -- as at least six more migrants drown off the coastline on Wednesday. Now, if Greece doesn't act, the E.U. is warning it could face more border controls with other states in Europe's passport-free zone. Now, the Greek government says it's done its best to deal with the influx of migrants and that the E.U. states -- it's blaming -- or blaming from other states is not productive.

Macedonia's border with Greece was temporarily closed on Wednesday. The Macedonian interior minister tells CNN the closing was due to a backlog of migrants trying to exit the northern part of Macedonia into Serbia. Macedonia and Serbia are not members of the E.U. but are transient countries for countries trying to reach Europe.

And a top E.U. leader says 60 percent of migrants in Europe are not fleeing persecution and instead are economic migrants. The first vice president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, talked to our affiliate, NOS. Timmermans says he got that number from new data collected by the European border agency, Frontex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANS TIMMERMANS, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION (through translation): More than half the people coming to Europe are coming from countries where you can assume they have no reason whatever to ask for a refugee status. 60 percent, those people would have to go back much faster if he would start with those people, that would already make a huge difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now we want to show you what's happening in Norway. Protesters across the country have been rallying in support of thousands of migrants who are stuck in a legal limbo. The Norwegian government has temporarily suspended plans to send them back to Russia because Russia doesn't want them.

Our Phil Black joins us now from Norway.

Phil, these protesters have support in many other European nations but what do they suggest Norway do as an alternative?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Errol, they want the government to take a more sympathetic kind of view towards the plight of these asylum seekers. Particularly what they don't like this is this Norwegian deporting some of them that have come across the border from Russia in Norway's arctic north. The Norwegian government believes that those who had official permission, visas, documents and so forth that allowed them to live in Russia legally, should be sent back because Russia is a safe country.

But what the protesters and many of the migrants don't like is that they say policy includes people who are only on temporary visas, people whose asylum applications in Russia have been rejected. What that means, they say, if they return to Russia they will ultimately be returned to their country of origin, and for many of them that means war-torn Syria.

We met a couple of people who say that that is exactly their circumstance. Take a look.

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BLACK (voice-over): The beautiful icy landscape of Norway's arctic north. In this remote region close to the Russian border is a church and three people too afraid to walk beyond its grounds. They first came to Norway to escape the horrors of Syria. Now they hope this church can protect them from the Norwegian government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are so worried.

BLACK: Tyreke (ph) and Leyla (ph) will be parents in about six months. They are too afraid to show us their faces but they show us where they sleep in the basement while hoping Norwegian officials don't come for them. [02:05:17] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think they will try again to send

us back to Russia.

BLACK: In September, they entered Norway from Russia, crossing the border on bikes, like more than 5,000 others last year. Migrants weren't allowed to walk or drive across the border. Cycling became a popular loophole.

Now the Norwegian government wants to send back asylum seekers who had permission to live in Russia.

Tyreke (ph) and Leyla (ph) fled when they were told they were on the deportation list.

(on camera): The Norwegian government says Russia is a safe country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't think so. We didn't think so.

BLACK (voice-over): They say the student visas in Russia were temporary and their asylum application was rejected. So it will mean going back to Syria.

Hassan, another Syrian is living beneath the church and says he's in the same situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't go nowhere because it's my own choice.

BLACK: He doesn't want to stay in this country forever.

(on camera): Do you want to go home some day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. When the war is end, yeah. I want to help my country.

BLACK (voice-over): The church can't protect these people legally. The migrants can only hope its symbolism will deter their forced removal while desperately waiting for the Norwegian government to rethink its policy. They say every day here is a battle to find hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still afraid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Phil, you certainly feel for that couple, especially, because they're expecting a child. What is the Russian view of this and are there any changes visible at its border with Norway?

BLACK: Errol, there are differences of opinion between Norway and Russia on this, so in total last year, 5400 people crossed from Russia into Norway over the shared border. Norway believes most of them should be sent back to Russia. Russia has agreed to accept only 700, of which 200 have already been returned since December last year. But at the moment, the deportations, those returned to Russia are currently on hold because Russia says they need to talk more, think more about the logistics involving those returns. At the border itself, Norway says no asylum seeker has tried to enter

Norway since December last year and they say they believe that's a combination of reasons, partly because they're putting in tougher checks and conditions at the border, but also because of the bitter, difficult arctic winter conditions that this region is currently experiencing. They think that come spring, the situation could change -- Errol?

BARNETT: Phil Black in Norway for us. Seven minutes past 8:00 a.m. there. Phil, thank you.

We stay focused on the issue. Sweden is disputing reports it could expel up to 80,000 asylum seekers. The country's interior minister says that number is based on the rejection rates of asylum applications last year. Sweden's rate is no higher than any other E.U. state.

But as our Arwa Damon reports, the migrant influx is causing a strain on Swedish society and on the refugees themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When this man married his wife, he promised he would take his wife to Scandinavia. But it was supposed to be a dream holiday, not a one-way trip brought on by Syria's war that forced the whole family to flee.

"Going to school was scary," this 13-year-old says. She wants to be a doctor.

Her older brothers have already made the trip to Sweden on their own.

"You don't know the state I was in Damascus," she said. "I told my son I'm going to lose you. If you stay here, you'll die. I'm sending off, I'm sending you to God."

One of her sons arrives at the transit center just before the family is moved on. He himself is still adjusting to life in Sweden.

"Everything is strange when you don't speak the language. You feel really lost," he says, but he's learning.

(on camera): This is one of the first transit centers that asylum seekers find themselves in. A Best Western Hotel rented out by the Swedish migration agency for the next six years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we're seeing, we're registering 800 people per week.

DAMON (voice-over): Last year, Sweden had 1600,000 people register. The country has taken in the highest migrants per capita of any European country, but it is causing a strain.

[02:10:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to find accommodations for everyone that's coming. That's a huge challenge for the Swedish system. Yes, it is. DAMON: In some instances frustration has led to unrest, in the most

recent incident, death. A 15-year-old male allegedly stabbed and killed a female volunteer. He's been held on suspicious but police say it might have been an accident.

Sweden has had to divert police to secure asylum centers and to set up identification controls where there were none along its border with Denmark and other areas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need more police officers, various -- all the police are here. We are missing other things that we have to do normally, like drugs and everything. It's not possible for us to do everything here.

DAMON: Leading Sweden's national police commissioner to call for an additional recruitment.

Unlike its neighbors, Sweden is not actively discouraging asylum seekers from coming but there is a growing sense that perhaps they're helping too much while other European nations try to insulate themselves from the growing crisis.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Sweden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, Iran's president continues his European tour. And it could end up with some lucrative business deals.

We'll be back shortly. Stay with us.

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[02:15:15] BARNETT: In a matter of hours, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will meet with the French President Francois Hollande. Mr. Rouhani is on tour to boost his country's reputation following last month's nuclear deal. He told French business leaders that Iran was open for investment. But keep in mind, France took a hard line against Iran during the nuclear negotiations, so how are things going now?

CNN's senior international correspondent, Frederick Pleitgen, is joining us from Tehran to discuss this.

Fred, President Rouhani already tied up a billion-dollar deal with Italy. What's the whole business goal with France?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For similar very large deals. Certainly one of the big ones that analysts are looking out for is a possible deal for up to 114 aircraft with Airbus. That's something the Iranians have wanted to do. They've identified upgrading their air infrastructure as one of their main priorities. At this point in time, the Iranians airlines, because of sanctions that have been levied against them for so long, are flying very old planes, often in dire need of spare parts as well. That's going to be one of the things that analysts are going to look out for.

The other thing is possible big contracts with French oil companies as well as Iran looks to massively increasing the amount of oil and gas it exports.

I spoke to one of Hassan Rouhani's main political and economic advisors yesterday and he said, in spite of the low oil prices, the Iranians want to drastically increase the amount of oil they export. They say they don't care about the oil price. They believe they've been shut out of the market a long time. To them, it's strategic. They think the oil price will recover and they want a bigger market share -- Errol?

BARNETT: Looking ahead, Fred, on February 26th, Iranians will elect candidates to two important government bodies. In the lead-up to this, reformers and moderates complain all of their candidates were disqualified. What's going on there?

PLEITGEN: Well, they say many of their candidates. That's right. This election, that's going to be very important because many people see it as a referendum on the nuclear agreement and on Iran's new course where, on the one hand, it still has a tough stance towards the U.S. but it is in general opening up more towards the West in economic terms but also in political terms. There are some moderates who say the Guardian Council, which is a council that vets all the candidates, has disqualified many moderate contenders. The conservatives themselves in parliament -- we were able to film in parliament a couple of days ago, which is something that rarely happens -- they deny this. They say this council simply looks at their qualifications. They say some that were trying to run for office have had issues in the past that caused disqualification. So certainly it is a big political discussion here but, at the same time, the Iranians are aware that this election will be very important to them and their country and important to the course going forward.

BARNETT: We will connect with you next hour to discuss some of those issues.

Fred Pleitgen joining us with the scenic view of Tehran this morning. Approaching 11:00 a.m. there. Fred, thank you.

For years, Australia has been sending migrants to camps on Pacific islands to be processed. In a CNN exclusive, you'll hear from a child migrant who says those camps are like prisons.

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[02:21:52] BARNETT: Like Europe, Australia is also dealing with a massive influx of migrants and the Australian government has adopted a controversial policy to deal with it. Agents intercept boats of migrants and then asylum seekers are sent to Papua, New Guinea, or other tiny Pacific islands for processing. Our Ivan Watson spoke with some of the children in one of those camps and filed this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Children searched with metal detectors, just one of the security measures imposed on scores of refugee and migrant children who were held for months and even years by the Australian government and one of their refugee detention centers on the Pacific island of Nauru.

(on camera): How old were you when you first got to the detention center?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I was 10.

WATSON: And now?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: 12.

WATSON: Now you're 12?

(voice-over): This boy is a member of Myanmar's increasingly persecuted Muslim minority, whose family tried years ago to reach Australia by boat. They were intercepted by Australian authorities, who brought them to what she calls a prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are friends all around the camps.

WATSON (on camera): Is this is a good place for children?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It's the worst place I have ever seen for children.

WATSON (voice-over): As of last December, there were at least 68 children out of a total of 537 detainees being held at this facility on an island with just 21 square kilometers of territory.

The Australian government established this controversial detention center as a response to the tens of thousands of refugees and migrants who embarked on smuggler's boats in a dangerous effort to reach Australian shores. Instead of keeping them in Australia, the authorities shipped hundreds of migrants and refugees to this camp in an isolated, economically underdeveloped Pacific nation.

Australia's immigration minister declined CNN's request for an interview. But in a statement to CNN, a government spokesman said, "Stopping the boats has enabled this government to return integrity to Australia's humanitarian and refugee program, and that Australia and its partners comply with all international obligations and treaties."

(on camera): We wanted to go to Nauru to check out the camp ourselves, but it's not easy. First, the government of Nauru requires a $5,800 nonrefundable journalist visa application fee per person. And it says it does not want foreign journalists on this small island. Second, the Australian government forbids journalists from filming or

interviewing detainees at its camps so we've interviewed seven current and former camp residents remotely about what it's like for children to live in this detention center.

SARAH HANSSON YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN LAWMAKER: I'm one of the few people who has ever really been able to go into the camp and walk around and talk to families inside. No journalists were allowed in. There is very little information let out of the camp. And staff who work at the center are essentially gagged.

[02:25:03] WATSON: Sarah Hansson Young is an Australian lawmaker who has lobbied to shut the camp down.

YOUNG: There's absolutely no way that the Australian government can justify keeping families, particularly women and children, in these camps. They can't guarantee their safety.

WATSON: Children in the Nauru camp suffer from extreme levels of emotional and psychological distress, Australian government reports concluded. They also documented cases of sexual assault, saying that the children should be removed.

Australia says it's listening to the recommendations. In recent months, Australian and Nauru authorities have taken steps to open the camp up.

Among the lucky few to be settled out of the Nauru camp last month, 12-year-old Nisba Ahmed (ph), who started a Facebook campaign to draw attention to the plight of children stranded in Nauru. Dozens of children still live in the camp's moldy tents.

Despite her long incarceration, Nisba (ph) says her family still dreams of one day reaching the country that imprisoned her.

NISBA AHMED (ph), LIVES AT NAURU CAMP: We just want to go to Australia and make our future very bright.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Still to come, an update on a story we've been closely here at CNN. A new warning about the Zika Virus and why some doctors say it has explosive pandemic potential.

Stay right there.

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[02:30:22] BARNETT: Hello, there. And a big welcome to viewers joining us from the United States, and a very warm welcome back to our viewers watching around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Errol Barnett. Let's update you on our top stories right now.

(HEADLINES) BARNETT: U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, plans to hold a fundraiser for military veterans Thursday night instead of going to the FOX News debate. I want to show you here an invitation for his event. The debate is just days before the critical Iowa caucuses.

Trump is feuding with FOX News host, Megyn Kelly, who he has been calling biased.

Trump spoke with our colleague, Bill O'Reilly, who told him skipping the debate is not good for America. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST, THE O'REILLY FACTOR: The terrorists are going to come at a young age. It's going to be personal. They're going to do everything they can to diminish you. And as a president, you have to rise above that. All right? And do what's best for the country. And this exposition that we're talking about today, people are going to say, Trump is too self absorbed to be president.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's got to be something because you set the all-time record in cable history and so did CNN. So --

(CROSSTALK)

O'REILLY: They want to know you.

TRUMP: -- Bill.

(CROSSTALK)

O'REILLY: They want to know you --

(CROSSTALK)

O'REILLY: You're not giving them the opportunity to --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I'm not walking away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: There you have it. This isn't the first time Trump has tangled with Megyn Kelly.

Our Brooke Baldwin takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): August 6, 2015, Megyn Kelly's very first question to Donald Trump, the question that started it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR & DEBATE MODERATOR: One of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don't use a politician's filter. However, that is not without its down side, in particular when it comes to women. You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Only to Rosie O'Donnell.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: August 7, fueled by what Trump called unfair questions from the moderator, Trump tells CNN's Don Lemon.

TRUMP (voice-over): She comes out and she asked me all sorts of ridiculous questions. You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

BALDWIN: Trump later said those comments were misunderstood. Nevertheless, that did not sit well with women viewers, especially Megyn Kelly herself.

KELLY: Apparently, Mr. Trump thought the question I asked was unfair and felt I was attacking him. I felt he was asked a tough but fair question. Mr. Trump did interviews over the weekend that attacked me personally. I've decided not to respond.

Trump, who is the front runner, will not apologize. And I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.

BALDWIN: After a deluge of insulting tweets against FOX News and Megyn Kelly, Trump announces a boycott of the network, tweeting on September 23rd, "FOX News has been treating me very unfairly and I have therefore decided that I won't be doing any more FOX shows for the foreseeable future."

That boycott lasted all of six days when he appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor."

O'REILLY: So you're back.

BALDWIN: October 7th, Megyn Kelly opens up to Charlie Rose.

KELLY: Neither one of us wanted a war with Donald Trump. We didn't think that benefitted the channel. We didn't think it benefitted me. And we don't think it benefitted Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: After another round of Twitter insults against Kelly, Trump follows up the September 15th Republican debate on CNN by again airing his FOX grievances with Bill O'Reilly.

TRUMP: Honestly, I think I get better press from CNN than I do FOX, Bill.

BALDWIN: Which brings us to this week. Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump were set to come face-to-face again in a primary debate just ahead of the Iowa caucuses. But it seems there will be no burying of the hatchet, so to speak. Here's what he said to Wolf Blitzer on CNN Monday.

[02:35:14] TRUMP: But I'm not a fan of Megyn Kelly. I don't like her. She probably doesn't like me. But that's OK. But she better be fair. I'd like to go to the debates. I enjoyed the debates. I've done well in the debates. Every single poll has said I've won every debate. But we're going to see what happens. It'll be exciting.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: When you say probably, you haven't 100 percent decided you don't be there?

TRUMP: No. Nothing's a hundred percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Joining me to talk about all of this is Democratic strategist, Joe Lestingi; and Jeffery Lord, former Reagan White House political director and a Donald Trump supporter. He's on the right of your screen.

Welcome to you both.

I want to begin with you, Joe.

We have this spectacle of Donald Trump holding identity counter event to the GOP debate. It is adding a sense of drama to what is usually a dry event. Do you admit that Trump has found a way to dominate the political conversation unlike any candidate before?

JOE LESTINGI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Absolutely. Donald Trump has taken presidential politics to a whole different level, as only the Don could do. He's proved one adage that we always talk about, which is there's no such thing as bad press. When thought that went away a long time ago with scandals after scandals. But when his poll numbers lag or start to drop or they plateau, he comes out with something that gets everyone talking about him again, which he sees a corresponding bump in his poll. That's what he needs to do. He's running these wind sprints to keep his numbers high and it's working. No other candidate could do it like this, though.

BARNETT: I know Jeffrey would agree with you on that.

But, Jeffrey, would you at least admit that this is a huge gamble for Donald Trump and it could diminish the image he's built up of being a strong, successful deal maker? This flies in the face of that.

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I -- is it a risk that he's taking? Sure. To some extent it is. Will this fly in the face of his image as being a strong, determined leader? No, absolutely not. This is exactly -- to take off on Joe's point -- this is exactly why so many millions of people love the guy. They look -- Rush Limbaugh did an excellent analysis of this today on American radio. And what he was saying in essence was that Donald Trump breaks all the conventional political formulas here for how you run a campaign. In the doing of that, what he does is he makes the other guys look all too conventional. This is exactly the problem that so many see with Washington, that they will pass a huge budget-busting bill and say, oh, well, there's a victory. Or they'll say you can't discuss the illegal immigration problem because it's not politically correct. And here is Donald Trump being politically incorrect. It's a sign of strength at this point he is immutably identified with strength. So I don't think anybody is -- except his political opponents will try to make some hay out of it will try to say he's weak.

LESTINGI: Most Republicans watch FOX News and he picked a fight with FOX News. That could be bad for him in the fall, especially when we're going out against Democrats. He's got to look back at everything he's done. Democrats can hold his feet to the fire with one united voice.

BARNETT: But there are some problems with the Democrats. While Senator Bernie Sanders enjoys a boost from his meeting from the top Democrat, President Obama, he is getting resistance from the most powerful Democrat in the House, minority leader, Nancy Pelosi.

Here she is responding to Bernie's admission his policies would raise taxes to pay for his health care plan. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: What Bernie said was I'm going to reduce the cost of health care and it may involve some people paying a tax. We're not running on any platform of raising taxes. Bernie's talking about a single payer and that's not going to happen. Does anybody in this room think we're going to be discussing single payer?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Joe, how big of an error was it for Sanders to so bluntly say, yes, he will raise taxes?

LESTINGI: That was his play, and that's one of the few plays he's got left. This is appealing to the far left wing -- side of our party because that's what they always wanted to see a fairly payer system, like we've seen around the globe be fairly successful. So he -- don't forget, not only did he talk about single payer health care but he also talked about free college. These are things that the liberal base likes. It's open to the public as a whole, right? No matter what your income, you can go to college. It opens up doors that may have never been opened before. But financially, we have to pay for it. The reality in this country, we don't like higher taxes.

BARNETT: Jeff, how much would you use this tax-raising mission to Sanders should he become the nominee? It seems to fit right in the Republican playbook.

[02:39:52] LORD: Every day along with the ad that features the hammer and sickle.

(LAUGHTER) Bernie Sanders is a Socialist. You can almost hear the terror in Nancy Pelosi's voice when she says, no, no, no, really, really, not us, please don't say that. Yeah, this is great, and we want to thank him.

BARNETT: All right. Democratic strategist, Joe Lestingi, joining us from D.C., and CNN political commentator, Jeffrey Lord, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, thanks to you both for speaking with us. Something both sides can enjoy.

LORD: Thanks, Errol.

Thanks, Joe.

LESTINGI: Thanks.

BARNETT: Now to other stories we're following. The FBI has arrested three more people who had been occupying a wildlife refuge in Oregon. Officials say they turned themselves in at a police checkpoint near the refuge. They join eight other protesters who were arrested Tuesday, and all face felony charges. The group has been protesting U.S. federal land policies which they claim are unfair.

CNN's Dan Simon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Errol, things remain very tense as you have armed occupiers at that refuge. It's anyone's guess how that will come through. We should point out, through his lawyers, the leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, is now telling who is there to go home. In his words, "They should go home and hug their families."

Obviously, no one wants to see a repeat of blood shed after you have one of the occupiers who is killed during that traffic stop.

SIMON (voice-over): More than three weeks after armed militia took over a wildlife refuge in Oregon, a deadly shootout between militia members and the police.

GREG BRETZING, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, Yesterday, the FBI with our partners took the first steps to bring this occupation to a conclusion.

SIMON: Group leader, Ammon Bundy, and seven others were arrested Tuesday night after the FBI and Oregon State Police pulled them over on their way to a meeting with community residents. Bundy's brother, Ryan, was shot and suffered minor wounds. But a spokesman for the armed occupier, Lavoy Finicum, was killed.

DAVID WARD, SHERIFF, HARNEY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: It's time for everybody in this illegal occupation to move on. There doesn't have to be bloodshed in our community.

SIMON: Bundy's father said his son called him from the back of a police cruiser moments after the police shootout. CLIVEN BUNDY, RANCHER & FATHER OF AMMON BUNDY (voice-over): My son,

Ryan, had been shot in the arm. Lavoy Finicum, they cold-blooded killed him. He said he was out, had his hands in the air, said he wasn't armed, he wasn't any threat and they, cold-blooded, just killed him.

SIMON: Police say Bundy and Finicum did not obey orders to surrender and shots were fired.

The armed group took over the refuge on January 2nd, in part, to protest the sentencing of two rangers and to make a stand against what they called government overreach when it comes to federal lands.

AMMON BUNDY, RANCHER: They continued to ignore us and pushed us to the point where we felt we had to make a stand to defend our rights.

SIMON: Finicum previously told reporters he was willing to give his life for the cause.

LAVOY FINICUM, MILITIA SPOKESMAN: There are things more important than your life, and freedom is one of them.

SIMON: The sheriff says he had been trying to work with the group to find a peaceful solution but, in the end, they just couldn't meet their ultimatums.

WARD: We don't arm up and rebel. We work through the appropriate channels.

This can't happen anymore. This can't happen in America and it can't happen in Harney County.

SIMON (voice-over): As things remain fragile here, one particular note is the federal complaint, which was unsealed today, mentions that authorities had reason to believe the occupiers had explosives and night-vision goggles. That's the first time we've heard that. But we should point out we don't know if officials were actually able to verify the presence of explosives -- Errol?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Thanks for that, Dan, reporting from Burns, Oregon.

Now a group of organizations is filing suit demanding Flint, Michigan, do more water testing and replace all lead pipes. Michigan switched the city's water source to save money about two years ago. Residents complained, and high levels of lead were found in the supply. Well, investigators want to know when Michigan officials knew that this water was poisoned.

Governor Rick Snyder told CNN's Poppy Harlow he's released the relevant e-mails for the last two years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: We were complying with every investigation in terms of being open, while following the relevant legal processes.

With respect to releasing my e-mails, I did this. This is an extraordinary case. This is not a normal case. The reason I did '14 and '15 is the press, in particular, everybody wanted to know, when did I find something out. So I released the relevant e-mails, my e- mails, that address that issue for the relevant time period.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some were redacted. I'm wondering if you'll release all of them having to deal with Flint water back to 2011. Have you made that decision yet?

SNYDER: Again, I released the ones that were most relevant. When you say redacted, essentially there were a couple that got redacted in terms of they were legal matters that didn't relate directly to water at all in Flint.

HARLOW: Just so I'm clear, it hasn't been decided yet if you'll release them back to 2011?

SNYDER: No. I'm confident we did '14 and '15. I'm confident -- we answered the question that was asked and now we're complying with all the lawsuits and investigations fully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:45:11] BARNETT: Filmmaker and Flint native, Michael Moore, says Snyder should be arrested. Here he is speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: They could have fixed this at any point in time. Once they saw they made the mistakes, like a lot of politicians, they figured, these people are poor, they didn't vote for us, they don't have any political power, and so, you know, we'll see what we can do. Because his first statements, when this first got revealed, he said, oh, lead is seasonal. That was one of his first lines. No one knew what that means. You get lead from paint, you get lead from this or that. He tried to cover it up, tried to change the subject. Again, here we are sitting, still talking about this. Flint doesn't need bottled water sent to it. All right? We need those pipes replaced. Not a single pipe has been replaced since they discovered lead in the water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Snyder says he will remain in office despite increasing calls for his resignation.

Now we want to discuss a virus linked to terrible birth defects because it is causing an alarm. This is something we've been following for weeks. Two U.S.-based scientists believe the Zika Virus has explosive potential to be a pandemic, which is a widespread outbreak. And they are calling on the world health organization to meet and address this. The virus is active in at least 24 countries. Currently, there is no vaccine for Zika, nor any medicine to treat an infection from it.

CNN's Shasta Darlington is in Brazil, considered ground zero of the outbreak.

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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was so excited, but the birth of her second child left this woman more alone than she could have imagined.

At three months, Louise has a big appetite like her first baby, but he was born with a small head and brain damage. Microcephaly.

"People here react like he has some contagious disease," she says. "People look at him when they're on the street."

There was no warning. Doctors only detected the disorder after he was born.

"What gives me strength is the love I feel for him," she says.

Luis will need to be cared for his entire life.

(on camera): So, she's doing this three times a week right now, taking her son to physical therapy. And yet, she goes back to work in March. It's not clear how she's going to do this. And she's the only person in her family who has a job.

(voice-over): Here we've seen the heartache and financial burden this is putting on families. More than 4,000 cases of newborn Microcephaly have been reported in Brazil since Zika was detected less than a year ago. A third of them are here, where babies and moms face endless jabs and tests.

Doctor Angela Hosha (ph), one of the first to make the link between Zika and Microcephaly.

"These babies have brain damage to differing degrees, which means inserting this generation into society is going to be very complicated," she says.

Research continues to establish a cause and effect with the Zika Virus, spread by the same mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever and dengue. There's no vaccine or no cure, which means the mosquito is public enemy number one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the effort is being put on prevention, by having the population of mosquitoes under control.

DARLINGTON: 200,000 troops now going door to door, eliminating the stagnant water that serves as the mosquitoes' breeding ground and educating families.

The health ministry admits it's been losing the war against the mosquitoes, and mothers-to-be across Brazil see their moment of hope turned into moments of unbelievable anguish. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Some in Italy's capital are calling on the government to wake up and recognize same-sex unions. How the government is responding on the other side of this break.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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[02:53:09] BARNETT: Some Italians think it's time for the government to wake up, even holding up alarm clocks at a rally supporting same- sex unions. Italy is the only major Western European nation that hasn't legally recognized these unions. But in the coming hour, parliament will begin to debate this issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And as CNN's Barbie Nadeau reports, this cannot come soon enough for some couples.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andrea and Rubio are a happy family but they want more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Canada, we are married and we had our children. Our children were born through surrogacy in Canada. We jump on flight to Italy and we become two single fathers, living together, sharing the same flat.

NADEAU: Same-sex couples like Andrea and Dario want Italy now to respect their marriage.

They and tens of thousands of others have taken to the streets across Italy to demand equality and basic rights, like tax breaks and inheritance rights.

(on camera): The Italian parliament is now debating a bill that would recognize those rights for same-sex couples under pressure from the European court of human rights deemed that Italy was in breach of human rights by denying them.

(voice-over): It's an issue highly influenced in Italy by the Vatican. The most contentious aspect of the law is what to do with the kids.

MATTHEW FRANCO, POLITICAL ANALYST: They say that the children have no choice.

NADEAU: Matthew Franco is a political analyst. FRANCO: The very sensitive issue is step child option. This is the

problem. I can't see just a division between Catholics and non Catholics. There are Catholics who tend to agree and non-Catholics who don't agree on this law.

NADEAU: Italians are divided.

[02:55:07] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe that no one, of whatever sexual orientation, has the right to have children. And on the other hand, children have rights. And the first and most fundamental right is the right to have a father and a mother.

NADEAU: The Italian bishops and many associations that stand against this bill are organizing a Family Day March this weekend to make their point. They expect as big a turnout as the demonstration they held last June, when tens of thousands of people participated.

The parliament debate could take weeks before a vote, and even if the law passes, it could eventually end in a referendum.

In the meantime, people like Andrea and Dario represent the reality of same-sex marriage, divided and treated differently while trying to stay the same.

Barbie Nadeau, for CNN in Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Barbie Nadeau joins us live next hour.

We have covered a lot of ground this hour. Of course, it is CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Errol Barnett. Connect with me on Twitter any time. It's always good have your company.

Next hour, live reports from Tehran, Nairobi, and news as it breaks. Grab some tea and stay with me.

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