Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Bush, Kasich, Trump Answered Voters Questions at CNN Town Hall; Delay in Syria Cease-Fire Talks; Doctors Without Borders Says Russia, Syria Likely Behind Attacks; Fears of E.U. Break-Up if Britain Leaves; Arrest of Student Leader in India Sparks Outrage, Protests; Trump Fires Back at Pope Francis; ISIS Recruits Child Soldiers; Dangerous Wildfires in Central U.S.; Egyptian Version of "Saturday Night Live" Debuts. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 19, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[02:01:05] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers around the world. We're live in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
A very good day to you.
We begin this hour with presidential primary in the United States, and state of South Carolina, it is set for Saturday. The Republican candidates are making their last minute appeals to voters.
ALLEN: Thursday night Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Donald Trump answered directly to the voters at a CNN town hall. They addressed several issues, from abortion and drugs to health care and ISIS.
But a war of word between Trump and the pope was the hot topic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS (through translation): A person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be located and not building bridges is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I am a very good Christian. Because the pope said something to the effect that maybe Donald Trump isn't Christian. OK? And he's questioning my faith. I was very surprised to see it. But I am a Christian. I am proud of it. OK, for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: All right, during the town hall, Donald Trump dialed back from that earlier comment, saying that the pope is a wonderful guy. However, Trump didn't back down in his criticism of former President George W. Bush over invading Iraq. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I was watching the debate and you made the statement -- I had to apologize to my children for the word that came out of my mouth -- when you said that George W. Bush, our last Republican president, a man I respect greatly, a person that we really fought for when he was up against a lot of pressure, that, that he lied to get us in the war in Iraq. That, that, that stung me very deeply. Given some time passing, perhaps you have rethought that. Would you be willing to rethink that?
TRUMP: A lot of people agree with what I said. And I'm not talking about lying. I'm not talking about not lying. Nobody really knows why we went into Iraq. The Iraqis did not that -- it was not Saddam Hussein who knocked down the world trade center.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What you said was they lied, they said there were weapons of mass destruction there were none, and they knew there were none, there were no weapons there.
TRUMP: Well, there are a lot of people who think that. There were a lot of people that think that. Bottom line, there were no weapons of mass destruction. They said there are weapons of mass destruction. I was against the war when it started.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you think --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Joining us from Charlottesville, Virginia, Larry Sabato, director of the Center on Politics at University of Virginia, and author of "The Kennedy Half Century."
Larry, nice to see you again. Thank you for being us.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA & AUTHOR: Thank you, Natalie.
ALLEN: Here we go. We had Mr. Kasich, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Trump going before the South Carolina voters. Who did you think made the most points, perhaps?
SABATO: The star as always was Donald Trump. He is mesmerizing. You can't take your eyes off of him, whether you like him or dislike him. And he actually made the most news by far of the evening.
ALLEN: With what? The pope situation or another situation?
SABATO: Well, you identified one. There are two areas where I think he made some news. The first, he backed off his criticism of the pope. I think he thought better of it. Even Donald Trump doesn't want to tangle with the man who has a popularity rating of approaching 90 percent in the United States. Pope Francis does. You can argue whether Pope Francis should have intervened at all in American politics. But Trump showed political sense. And he rarely backs off taking a shot at anybody, so I thought that was very significant.
The other, he qualified, for the first time, what he said in the prior debate about President George W. Bush lying to go into Iraq. If you noticed he more or less took that back, or he, at least equivocated as to whether or not Bush lied. He simply said the Iraq war was a major mistake. And actually, many Republicans agree with that point of view.
[02:05:36] ALLEN: He stepped back in that because after the debate there in South Carolina, many questioned going after one of the Bushs, quite popular figure in South Carolina. It was an undecided voter asked him about that at the town hall?
SABATO: Yes, yes, this voter was persistent and shrewd, and simply wouldn't let Trump off the hook. Neither would Anderson Cooper. So he backed off a little bit in suggesting maybe it wasn't a lie. It was just bad judgment. So, you can get Trump to take a step or two backwards if you ask the right questions in the right way. But it is rare.
ALLEN: Absolutely is.
Let's talk about the other two candidates. First, interesting, John Kasich said I am not great of a guy. I'm just doing the best I can. Some one tweeted, "He sound like the anti-Trump."
SABATO: He is. Very, very relaxed. In part, he realizes South Carolina is not his state. He is not going to do particularly well. He has almost adopted a Bill Clinton persona, adapted to conservative Republicanism. He feels everybody's pain. He hugs people. This is not typical for Republican candidates for president.
ALLEN: A touchy-feely Republican presidential candidate.
Then we heard Jeb Bush come out and talk about the best generation was not of the touchy-feely kind of emote-type of male. He talked about that during his time on stage.
SABATO: Yes, and he did it describing his father. But he was actually describing himself. The other fascinating thing is that this is a candidate who began his campaign by dropping his surname. He was Jeb with an exclamation point. He didn't want to talk about the Bush part because he knew that the dynasty problem was a major one for his candidacy. Now, his mother was there. His son was there. His wife was there. And he talked a great deal about his brother the president, and his father the president. So, it's all in for the Bushs for Jeb. Though I think they're going to be disappointed with the vote totals on Saturday evening.
ALLEN: What about, talking about the tweet that went out, the picture of the gun and saying "America" on it. How do you think he handled that one? SABATO: In South Carolina, it is relatively easy to defend something
like that, particularly in a primary. To the country as a whole, I think it was a sour note. And it has been. It is an odd thing for Bush to do and it really, in a sense, symbolizes his campaign. He has never been able to find his groove.
ALLEN: We'll end it on that one.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at University of Virginia. Thank you as always for joining us.
SABATO: Thank you, Natalie.
HOWELL: Now we move on to Syria, where the start of the cease-fire that is planned for the coming hours, it is likely delayed. Both the United States and Russian officials are set to meet today to start organizing that cease-fire.
ALLEN: But the Syrian president has said cessation of hostilities is unlikely.
This video shows Syrian soldiers retaking a key town near the northeastern coast on Thursday.
HOWELL: Let's go live to Amman, Jordan. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is following the story for us there.
Jomana, good to have you with us.
So let's first talk about this delay that it is happening at a time when U.N. trucks are delivering food and medical supplies to people who need it. It seems that until that cease-fire truly takes effect, they do so at their own risk.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George here's what is happening. Basically, after last week's agreement that was reached by the International Syria Support Group in Munich, they released a communique and said they were aiming for two main things in the short term. One, as you mentioned, those aid deliveries to reach, besieged areas. Some of these areas under siege by the regime, some by the rebels, and one major town under siege by ISIS. And of course, we have seen some movement on that front.
[02:10:00] Now, the other goal of the agreement was that cessation of hostilities they said they were aiming to enforce in a week's time. That was a week ago and it is looking unlikely that this would happen on time because, based on the communique, a task force that is led by the U.S. and Russia was to meet and discuss and really reach details of how this cessation of hostilities will be endorsed, who is part of the cessation of hostilities, the areas that are covered, and all the details you would expect for this truce to take effect.
We know this meeting is set to take place today. But there are going to be some really difficult issues for them to try and navigate through. Everyone may agree ISIS and the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria are both terrorist organizations, that they're both side, whether the U.S.-led coalition or the Syrian regime and Russian allies, are going after these two groups, they will disagree on the definition of other groups. While the U.S.-led coalition sees rebel groups there as allies, the Syrian regime would describe them as the terrorists. And, so a bit of negativity when it comes to this, some skepticism about this, taking effect any time soon. George, as we heard from Syrian president, Bashar al Assad, coming out with a statement, saying this is really unlikely to happen. He describes any one who is carrying a weapon outside the government as a terrorist. So he said one of the things that they need to agree on would be the definition of a terrorist. Very difficult issue here.
And of course, in the past 24 hours, we are hearing from the Russians in response to this. The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, according to Russian state media responding to comments by President Assad and saying that -- you know, President Assad saying they're going to fight until victory, fight until the end, and a bit of Russian skepticism about this, a reality check for the Syrians, saying if this is what the Syrian regime wants to do, it is going to be a very, very long time. It will draw out this conflict. According to -- this a quote from Russian media, saying, quote, "They're out of tune with diplomatic efforts made by Russia." So we seen it would seem there is a bit of a rift here when it comes to the Syrian and the Syrian government and the Russian position on this.
But of course, George, as you mentioned, there might be a little glimmer of hope here. In the past few days, we're hearing, in the past couple days, we've heard from the United Nations saying they managed -- their aid deliveries have reached more than 80,000 people in desperate need, who are literally starving to death in the past few days. And this is part of the agreement -- George?
HOWELL: As you point out, Syria and Russia have really walked in lock step for a great deal of time. And now we are seeing a difference in those two countries and their approaches.
Jomana Karadsheh, live for us in Amman, Jordan. Jomana, thank you for your reporting there.
ALLEN: However, Doctors Without Borders says air strikes that hit two Syrian hospitals and a school on Monday were deliberate. And that the Syrian government and its ally, Russia, were most likely behind them. At least, 25 people were killed in those air strikes.
Earlier, a senior adviser to Syrian President Bashar al Assad spoke exclusively with our Hala Gorani about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOUTHAINA SHAABAN, SENIOR ADVISOR TO SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL ASSAD: I think the allegations again the Syrian government, and the Russian in many areas, in many places, in many incidents, are totally unfounded. The only party, the Syrian army, in alliance with the Russian aircraft, are attacking is the terrorist, is the ISIL, and the Nusra, and the terrorist. The only -- the only aim for Syria for Russia is to eradicate terrorism from Syria.
(CROSSTALK)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So these hospitals -- if I can jump in. These hospitals have all been targeted since intensification of the Russian air campaign in Syria began a few weeks ago. The American anti-ISIS commander in Iraq, Colonel Warren, said we were nowhere near Idlib when this MSF-supported hospital was bombed. Saying essentially, it cannot have been us. Do you think it is not possible at all, Doctor Shaaban --
SHAABAN: No.
GORANI: -- that Russians or regime planes have targeted either intentionally or by mistake some of the hospitals?
SHAABAN: No. Give me one good reason why the Russians or the Syrians would attack a hospital. Our hospitals have been destroyed by the terrorists, our schools, our colleges have been destroyed. No way the Syrian army of the Russian aircraft would target any civilian, any hospital. No way they would target anybody, except the terrorists. That's for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:15:11] ALLEN: Doctors Without Borders also says the health care system in Syria has, in effect, collapsed.
HOWELL: The shooting death of a taxi driver by Egyptian police has sparked anger. Hundreds gathered Thursday night in Cairo to protest the death. The security directorate says the officer shot the driver after an argument. It comes amid outrage of the charges of police brutality including the alleged beating two of doctors.
ALLEN: Britain's prime minister is facing off against 27 other European leaders asking them to grant his country a new deal to settle their differences in the E.U. We will have the story coming up for you.
HOWELL: Plus, hundreds of students march in the streets of New Delhi protesting what they call an assault on democracy. What sparked the uproar, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Two women in Australia scaled the spire of the Melbourne Arts Center to protest against the treatment of asylum seekers. The women climbed the 162-meter spire and hung a banner reading, "Let them stay." It is the latest demonstration against Australia's plan to return a group of refugees to an offshore detention center.
[02:20:16] ALLEN: Brave women right there. My goodness.
HOWELL: They are. ALLEN: In Brussels, a critical meeting under way to determine the
fate of Britain's European Union membership.
HOWELL: Britain's prime minister is appealing to his European counterparts to help him strike a credible deal that he can sell to his people. Britain will vote on whether to remain in the E.U. later this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Everyone wants to keep Britain as a member of the European Union. All of Britain's different requests on the agenda were discussed. True, not everyone around the table found it all that easy to agree to those requests, but there is a will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For now, I can only say that we have made some progress. But a lot, still remains to be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The leaders from the 28 European Union countries meeting this week could set the course of the continent for decades to come. Among the reforms on the table, a return of sovereignty to London.
Prime Minister David Cameron wants reassurance that Britain will not be forced to become more involved in the E.U. than it wants to be.
HOWELL: And Britain's demand not to pay benefits to migrants from other E.U. countries, which has been a major sticking point in those discussions, still up for debate.
Now there are growing fears that if Britain leaves the European Union it trigger a domino effect and then unravel the E.U.
ALLEN: CNN's Paula Newton examines the possible scenarios.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A British exit from the E.U. could have profound effect on trade, security and politics. Now officials across the E.U. worry it could set off a domino effect. In France, a Brexit could boost the far right, the National Front Party. There are elections next year and the National Front's Marine Le Pen has said, if she wins the presidency, she will push for a so-called Frexist. There is no end to these acronyms. Italy, too, could demand a new deal. Support for Europe its declining there. And polls show one in three Italians believe they would be better off outside of the E.U. Then there is Poland. Unease over immigration and discontent among younger voters is growing there. Those were two of the factors that helped bring the Euro skeptical Law and Justice Party to power in the last elections.
Now, if the European project were to collapse entirely, unthinkable for some, they warn that the consequences for Britain could be far worse than staying in the union.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: From the E.U. and now on to Uganda, where the provisional results are in for the presidential election there. And the country's current leader, President Museveni, leading with 60 percent of the vote. He's been in power since 1986.
ALLEN: Opposition leader, Basiji is in second with 33 percent of the vote. Early results reflect only 23 percent of all polling stations across the country. A live report about the story in our next hour.
HOWELL: That's right. A clash of values and ideology is brewing in India over the arrest of a student leader at a top university. He is accused of sedition for allegedly shouting anti-Indian slogans at a rally.
ALLEN: The case has sparked a wave protests. Police have carried out raids to look for other students.
Sumnima Udas is in New Delhi for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They arrived in hordes from college after college, carrying roses, chanting, "Free speech is a fundamental right."
(SHOUTING)
UDAS (on camera): Campus protesters turned into this massive movement. The crowds just keep coming. They're not stopping. Tens of thousand of students all headed towards the main square to protest against what they say is an assault on democracy.
(voice-over): It all began last week when students from one of India's top universities organized an event to commemorate the third anniversary of the execution of a Kashmiri separatist. It turned into a protest, with some chanting they wanted to see India broken into pieces. The police clamped down and arrest aid student leader on charges of sedition.
The home minister tweeting, "Any one shouting anti-Indian slogans will not be tolerated or spared."
(SHOUTING)
UDAS: These students say the charges against the student are unfounded. In the name of patriotism, the government is crushing criticism and political dissent.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: We want to be allowed to speak out in the country that we love. Most importantly, if anything we say against, state or government, anything that we are against, we don't want to be called anti-nationalists.
[02:25:04] UDAS: At his first court appearance, lawyers who support the ruling party, beat him up. Even journalists weren't spared.
Today's rally, while much smaller, harks back to protests more than three years ago when Delhi came to a stand still following the brutal rape and murder of a young woman.
(on camera): We haven't seen the anger on the streets since the rape protests in 2012. What these people say, this not just about one student or one university. This is about the very idea of India.
(SHOUTING)
UDAS (voice-over): The country has become increasingly tolerant, they say, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist BJP.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: They are not allowing -- (INAUDIBLE). Like we learn to critique, when we learn to critique. And dissent will always be there.
UDAS: Supporters of the government maintain the crackdown is justified as the nation sovereignty is not up for discussion.
Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: We have a dramatic scene now caught on camera in Hawaii.
HOWELL: Intense.
ALLEN: Horrified onlookers watched as a helicopter with five people on board crashed into Pearl Harbor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Caught on camera there. Navy and fire department boats responded to the scene. They rescued everyone on board.
ALLEN: Amazing.
HOWELL: It really is.
The simple fact it is right there, caught on camera. You see it happen. CNN affiliate, KHON, says a 15-year-old boy is in critical condition. The crash temporarily shut down operations at the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center and the "USS Arizona" memorial there.
ALLEN: Amazing people survived that.
HOWELL: And thankfully, thankfully, given what we saw there. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, U.S. Presidential
candidate, Donald Trump, says it is disgraceful for Pope Francis to question his faith.
ALLEN: We'll get into that one.
Plus, the U.S. comedy show, "Saturday Night Live" is cloned for the Egyptian audience. Ahead, we'll tell you what viewers there can expect this weekend.
HOWELL: Live from Cairo. How about that?
ALLEN: All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:39] ALLEN: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: I'm George Howell.
The headlines we are following this hour --
(HEADLINES)
HOWELL: Turning to the U.S. presidential race, Republicans Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Donald Trump, made appeals to voters Thursday in a CNN town hall. Candidates answered policy questions from the audience and shared some personal stories. South Carolina's Republican primary is set for Saturday.
ALLEN: Pope Francis is weighing in on the election by pointing out one candidate he fundamentally disagrees with. He said, Donald Trump's views on immigration are "not Christian."
HOWELL: That's right, during CNN's town hall meeting Thursday, Mr. Trump reacted to the pope's remarks. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Somehow the government of Mexico spoke with the pope. They spent a lot of time with the pope. By the time he left. He made a statement. I don't know --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You think the government of Mexico somehow got the pope to say this?
TRUMP: I don't think they probably talked about. But they probably talked about isn't it terrible that Mr. Trump wants to have border security, et cetera, et cetera.
I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government. He didn't see the tremendous strain that, you know, the border is causing us with respect to illegal immigration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Trump there, seeming to walk it back just a little bit. Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump had much stronger words against the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The pope said something to the effect that maybe Donald Trump isn't Christian. OK? And, he is questioning my faith.
For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So earlier, I spoke with our religion commentator, Father Edward Beck. Here its part of that conversation on Donald Trump and the pope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Well, of course we did hear from Donald Trump about the comments from the pope. Trump calling it disgraceful. And also, saying this is part of his message that no leader, especially, that "no leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith."
But then you will remember that Donald Trump has insinuated similar allegations against the current president, Barack Obama. These conspiracy theories that he is Muslim and not Christian. He did so as recently as when Mr. Obama visited a mosque.
Listen to this, Father Beck, from what Mr. Trump told FOX News. We'll talk about it here on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think that we can go to lots of places. Right now, I don't know if he -- maybe feels comfortable there. We have a lot of problems in the country, Greta. A lot of places you can go. He chose a mosque.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Question here if Donald Trump can make statements about that, and even some of his fellow contenders for president, is it fair for the pope to, to step in? Is that fair game as well?
FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGIOUS CORRESPONDENT: Well, again, what's good for Donald Trump isn't necessarily from his perspective good for everybody else. He can do it. But nobody should do it to him. And again, it is kind of a double standard.
Remember, George this is the pope who said, "Who am I to judge." So I don't think he is calling out Donald Trump as an individual saying, look, you are a bad person, I'm judging you as a bad person. He is speaking rather objectively that if somebody wants to build walls in stepped of bridges, if somebody is going to treat people who are fleeing persecution, political oppression, poverty, and say, we want no part of you, that is not a Christian perspective. So I don't think the pope is trying to make it personal. But the question was in the context of Donald Trump and, therefore it became personal.
HOWELL: Mr. Trump is getting the support of religious leaders. We know he got support of Jerry Falwell Jr. And obviously is trying to appeal to evangelicals as well. The question that I have for you is given that Mr. Trump its, sparking I guess you could call it a holy war, you know, a war of words with the pope, could this hurt him with Catholics?
[02:35:18] BECK: Well, it could very well hurt him with Catholics, George. Remember, Catholics here in the United States are 20 percent of the voting electorate. He seems to be alienating Catholics on the right and left. His various dubious stance towards abortion, it seems like sometime ago, he was pro-choice. Now he is pro-life. He evolved. Well, Catholics on the right are not too comfortable not really knowing really where does Donald Trump stand on abortion. Catholics on the left say he denies climate change. He says it is a hoax. He is against immigration and reforming the immigration policy as we currently have it. He is going against the pope on both of those issues. So he's alienating Catholics on the left. So I think it is a valid question, how much is this going to hurt him with the Catholic vote. Indeed, if he were to become president, he would certainly need that vote to get into the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: So there was reporting that said well maybe this could help Donald Trump by taking on the pope. But at the same time, the question, will it hurt him, because there are so many people who follow the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
ALLEN: Yes, and his popularity is like 90 percent or above, isn't the pope?
HOWELL: Somehow, Donald Trump defied typical political gravity. Things that would hurt other candidates seem to help him. We will have to see how that plays out.
You can hear more reaction from Father Edward beck in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
ALLEN: ISIS has stepped up its recruitment of child soldiers. Just ahead, we will introduce you to a boy picked to be a suicide bomber. We'll tell you what the militants made him do before he ran for his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:26] ALLEN: Well another horror from the world of ISIS, sadly, to tell you about. A new report shows ISIS is mobilizing children and teenagers at an alarming rate. The results first published in "The Sentinel" look at the deaths of 89 children eulogized in ISIS propaganda. The majority were killed by detonating improvised explosives or as soldiers in battle. 60 percent were adolescent between 12 and 16 years old and 6 percent were younger than 12.
HOWELL: Just more than half died in Iraq. And 36 percent died in Syria. The rest were killed in Yemen, Libya and Nigeria.
ALLEN: CNN has seen firsthand how ISIS is recruiting children.
HOWELL: Our Nima Elbagir traveled to one town in northern Iraq to meet with survivors of ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 5- year-old Sarah was captured alongside her mother by ISIS. Now free, when parents aren't looking, she runs to cover her face. It's what ISIS captors taught her at gun point.
(CHANTING)
ELBAGIR: At an institute in Raqqa, ISIS claims it is their main child soldier training facility.
(SHOUTING)
ELBAGIR: "To jihad, to jihad," they're chanting.
In this propaganda video, spread out on either side of an ISIS trainer, blank face rows of children sit. One boy shakes, visibly. Others unable to raise their gaze. These are the so-called Cubs of the Caliphate, ISIS's army of child soldiers.
"By God's grace," he is saying, "in the coming days, they will be at the front lines of the fight against the nonbelievers."
The front line, south of the Kurdistan regional capital. The Peshmerga commander tells us this is one of their most-contested front lines.
(on camera): Just the other side of river, that's where he says the ISIS divisions are, just the other side of the broken bridge. And it's from there, he says, that desperate children are fleeing, making their way through that river, swimming through the river, undercover of dark, risking their lives to make it here to safety.
(voice-over): But not all manage to escape.
"Many times when we are fighting ISIS, we see children at the front line. They're wearing explosive vests."
(on camera): What's it like for you to have to open fire on children?
"They are brainwashed. When they make it through our lines, they kill our fighters. It's an unbearably hard decision. You've don't know what to do. If you don't kill them, they will kill you." (SHOUTING)
ELBAGIR: U.S. military sources tell CNN, as the ISIS comes under increased pressure on the battlefield, they're relying on child soldiers to fill out the ranks.
This 12-year-old boy was featured in the institute propaganda video. He says he was training to be a suicide bomber. Now re united with his mother, he has asked us not to broadcast his face or voice. He's asked that we call him Nasir, not his real name.
NASIR, FORMER ISIS CHILD SOLDIER (through translation): There were 606 of us. Scariest times were when the air strikes happened. They would lead all of us underground in the tunnels to hide. They told us Americans, unbelievers were trying to kill us, but they, the fighters, they loved us.
ELBAGIR: This, of course, was all part of the indoctrination. Handlers would tell him they were now his only family.
NASIR (through translation): When we were training, they would tell us our parents were unbelievers, unclean, and that our first job was to go back and kill them, that we were cleaning the world of them, of all nonbelievers.
ELBAGIR: Nasir says the youngest of the boys was 5 years old. None exempt from the grueling training.
NASIR (through translation): We weren't allowed to cry. But I would think abut my mother, think about her worrying, I would try and cry quietly.
(CHANTING)
ELBAGIR: Highly stylized and romanticized, ISIS has released videos showcasing the child army. The reality is, of course, very different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): When they arrived to us, they are so skinny. They barely look human. They tell us that they have been in a hell."
[02:45:08] ELBAGIR: Back at the stamp, Sarah's mother hopes the little girl will forget about the head scarves and the face covering, and men with guns who threatened her life.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Some dangerous wildfires raged out of control across the central U.S. Thursday, fueled by strong winds and unusually high temperatures.
ALLEN: Yes, for February.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is following it for us. He joins us now.
Derek, hello.
[02:49:30] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, George, Natalie, all of the necessary ingredients were there across central Oklahoma to help fuel the raging wildfires. Of course, we need certain ingredients for this to take place. Just like Bush fires in Australia or brush fires in South Africa, they need certain sets of parameters for the fires to rage out of control like you are seeing on the screen behind me. See some of the aerial photographs of what they had to deal with in Oklahoma.
So let's talk about these fire ingredients that are so crucial for the spread, unfortunately, of the Bush fires to, to spread across this dry arid landscapes like in central Oklahoma. We need three ingredients. Let's put this as analogy. Let's say we want to stay warm in the wilderness trying to build a fire for instance. We need fuel. Now in Oklahoma, we are coming off an extremely wet season. So this allowed for, lots of grass to grow. It dried out through the course of the winter season. So, there is our fuel. We also need heat. We are setting record across the central U.S. at the moment. 20, 30 cities on Thursday. Broke records standing for a decade or two. On top of this we need oxygen. If we are in the wilderness, trying to build our fire. Blow into the embers to try to make the flame spread, get bigger, larger. In a brushfire situation when the wind pick up. Oxygen is pumped into the flames. It can become dangerous. In fact we see the embers can spread with the strong winds. That's what causes these embers to jump. Spot fires. We get the little pop up fires that help spread or make the, make the wildfire even worse. I want to show you something else. Just to prove my point. About the strong winds and how this just causes the spreading of our wildfires across Oklahoma.
What you are looking at here, visible satellite imagery. I want you to notice something across eastern sections. This is the direction of the wind. We picked this up from space. We can see some of the smoke trails. Just how far they actually traveled into the other counties and other states in fact. There was also a southwesterly wind with one of the larger fires across the Oklahoma panhandle as well. All ingredients were there, necessary for the wildfires to spread on Thursday. Unfortunately conditions do get better by Friday -- George, Natalie?
HOWELL: That's good news.
Thank you.
ALLEN: Thanks, Derek.
VAN DAM: Thanks, guys.
ALLEN: This Saturday is a big night for comedy in Egypt. We'll see how it goes over. The Arabic version of the U.S. comedy show, "Saturday Night Live," "SNL," is set to make its debut there.
HOWELL: It is known for pushing boundaries in the United States. But the Egyptian version maybe has to be a little more careful.
Ian Lee has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Saturday Night Live" has a new home.
(SHOUTING)
LEE: The popular comedy sketch show is now in Egypt.
(SINGING)
LEE: Not this Egypt. Here, "SNL" star, Steve Martin, singing "King Tut.
The Cairo show follows the New York model known as the SNL bible
UNIDENTIFIED EGYPTIAN CELEBRITY: "Saturday Night Live."
LEE: There is celebrity guests --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LEE: -- sketches --
(SHOUTING)
LEE: -- digital shorts --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LEE: -- the news with "Weekend Update --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LEE: -- and live performances.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying, trying to do something original. We are, we are not trying to break taboos in, but look -- on the way we do. A little bit, but not intentionally. And we are trying to make it suitable for, for Middle Eastern audience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are just a couple of bald idiot comedians who try to get on TV and make people laugh about things we shouldn't make them laugh about. LEE: One such topic hard to laugh at, the terror group ISIS, also
known by a more derogatory name in Arabic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They get pissed off from Daesh. We say Daesh. It's quite different THAN if you know the enemy or, you know, all of the inside information that could give you the upper hand in making people laugh.
LEE: "SNL" in Arabic has the blessing of the show's creator and support of the New York cast.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Well come to the "SNL" family and good luck.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Bye.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Bye.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Later.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Yeah, good luck. They're doomed.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Going to be very tough.
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: It is hell, yes. Thank you very much. They were right about that. But it is an amazing kind of hell.
LEE: This woman is one of the four female cast members. Like most of the Egyptian cast, she didn't know "Saturday Night Live."
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: I went on line, looked it up. I started binge watching "SNL." I loved it so much.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Kristin Wigg, she's amazing. She just appears, people start laughing. She is awesome.
LEE: Unlike New York, Egypt has red lines. The cast knows crossing them could shut them down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still do push the envelope. And by some people's standard that's not cool.
LEE (on camera): What do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we will crush them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will -- no, that's a little bit --
(LAUGHTER)
(MUSIC)
LEE (voice-over): For now, their first job is to introduce to the region a different way to laugh.
Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:55:12] HOWELL: They will push the envelope. But how far do they go, you know?
ALLEN: Wish them well. Good luck. Maybe the people in Egypt will watch "SNL" in the U.S. and get an idea of what it's all about.
HOWELL: Best of luck to them.
Pope star, Adele, known for her amazing voice, but she's gaining a reputation for a sense of humor.
ALLEN: She is quite playful.
Take a look what happened when she was a guest on the "Ellen DeGeneres" show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, ELLEN: I will take a large in a small cup.
ADELE, SINGER: I will take a large. But can I have it in a small cup?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large in a small cup?
ADELE: Yeah. Yes, please.
In your purse, there is scissors. I would like, and just start chopping some. Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I chop some off?
ADELE: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want a bag to put it in?
ADELE: Put it in your mouth and chew on it.
(LAUGHTER)
ADELE: I look like a deer in a forest. I feel like a deer in a forest.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ALLEN: I think they found out it was Adele up to shenanigans with Ellen.
Thank you for watching this hour. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: I'm George Howell.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
