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PM Cameron Meets with Cabinet on EU Deal; Tropical Cycle Makes Landfall in Fiji; Republicans & Democrats Vote in Two States Saturday . Aired 5-6a ET
Aired February 20, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:06] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And a very good day to you.
We are waiting to hear from British Prime Minister David Cameron, expected to speak at any moment now on a deal that was reached with European leaders on Friday to keep the U.K. in the E.U.
Mr. Cameron will meet with his cabinet this hour to try to convince them to approve the agreement. Then it would go to a referendum vote. The prime minister has said this is a time for Britons to come together and shape their destiny, but he faces division within his cabinet and within his own conservative party over the E.U. deal.
Let's go live to London. CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is outside number 10.
Nima, good to have you with us this hour.
So, what are some of the major points that have been agreed to in this new deal?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning from London, George.
Well, as the prime minister had promised fundamental reform of how the European union does business, it's now down to his cabinet and his nation to decide whether that is what, in fact, he delivered. In essence, he has agreed to curb on the ability to European migrants to seek social security benefits in this country. There will be a time limit on which they can and which benefits they can have access to. Also, give Britain the option to pull the brake on any financial or fiscal policies they believe will not be in Britain's interest. They'll be able to call a meeting of the European Union leadership and essentially refer it back to the national leadership back here in Britain.
They're also opting out at the core principle, at the heart of the European Union project, which is an ever closer Europe and play well with the European skeptic trend here in the U.K.
This isn't just about Europe. This is also about, of course, about the prime minister's political future and the ramifications that this could have not just in Britain, not just in the European mainland but around the world. The freeing of cabinet ministers from the principle collective responsibility means potentially as he's fighting to convince them to stand behind him, they could be seeing their opinions and perspectives on this, pitting colleagues, allies and friends on opposite sides of the campaign to convince the British people to stay inside Europe come that referendum, which is expected on June 23rd or thereabouts.
The U.S. Senate has already been very vocal about their concerns of the impact this is going to have on the transatlantic special relationship, George, because Britain has always been a bridge between Europe and America. Will this impact Britain's standing not just in Europe but within that special relationship and around the world? And will this give greater credence to countries that will be looking to leave the European Union project if the British prime minister cannot convince his colleagues, his friends and then his people to vote to stay inside Europe?
So much at stake after a marathon negotiation session. Still so much to fight for ahead for Prime Minister David Cameron -- George.
HOWELL: And that would be unprecedented as no nation has left the E.U., Nima. So, you know, what is the general perception about the public with this new agreement that was reached? Is there a sense the U.K. got what it wanted out of the renegotiation?
ELBAGIR: Well, we've already heard from the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, hitting back saying, this isn't what was promised and really he doesn't believe the prime minister has delivered.
It's going to be very difficult, even without these jobs from the Labour Party, because the British people have had a very complicated relationship with the European project, they always have a very complicated, some would call an island mentality when it comes to closer relations with the European mainland. Now at a time when there are concerns about migrant waves washing up on European shores, they are concerned about Europe's ability to police its borders.
Will he be able to convince the British people that this is a Europe that he wants that they want to be a part of? That really is the heart of the question here, George.
HOWELL: Again, we're waiting to hear from Mr. Cameron at any time now. Nima, we'll stay in touch with you and keep our eyes tuned to that shot there outside number 10 for more. Thank you for your reporting.
Let's take a look at the numbers behind the U.K.'s place in Europe. The E.U. countries invest more than $700 billion in the United Kingdom. In 2004, that's almost half of the total investment, according to official figures. Trade supports 3.4 million jobs, according to the London School of Economics European Institute.
Forty-five percent of the U.K.'s exports go to other E.U. states. All 53 percent of the U.K.'s imports come from within the European Union.
[05:05:00] European Union citizens have the right to live in the U.K. and an estimated 3 million are doing so.
But on the flipside of things, only 1.3 million U.K. citizens are living in other E.U. states. The United Kingdom is a net contributor to the E.U. budget, paying about $12 billion more than it received last year.
The most powerful storm to hit Fiji's shores is racing across that country's many, many islands. Tropical cyclone Winston is equivalent to category 5 hurricane and it made landfall just after 7:00 p.m. local time. Forecasters are warning of damaging winds and extreme flooding.
TVNZ correspondent Jessica Mutch has much more from Fiji.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA MUTCH, TVNZ CORRESPONDENT: This is Cyclone Winston leaving the country's outer island of Taveuni, earlier this morning, and its 220 kilometer hurricane force winds and heavy rain. A disastrous combination for the country's low-lying region, prone to sea surges and flash flooding.
RAVIN JUMAR, DIRECTOR, METEOROLOGY FIJI: The advice to the people is that, be prepared at all times and be prepared to embrace these destructive storm force to hurricane-force winds as the cyclone grows closer.
MUTCH: This is just the beginning. The eye of the storm is expected to hit here around midnight tonight. So, the government has activated 700 evacuation centers and is urging locals to prepare for a disastrous storm. Prime minister told Fijians they need to prepare to survive. That's exactly what they were doing when we arrived.
Cyclone Winston wasn't meant to come through here but changed course and now businesses like this one are preparing to protect themselves.
We found Fiji's third largest city going into lockdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People say you need to stock up on water because they're closed. (INAUDIBLE) ATMs, locals are getting all the cash they can from the banks.
MUTCH: Are you nervous?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course. Yes, we're scared.
MUTCH: The island of Vanu Levu (ph) is also expected to take a direct hit, via high winds and heavy rain has already arrived. We're told entire towns are empty and much of Fiji, are bracing for a long night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The most powerful cyclone to hit that island nation.
Derek Van Dam is here with more on it -- Derek. DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that storm was meandering
across the Pacific for days but it took a turn for the worse, quite literally in fact, by taking an about-turn from the original direction it was going and strengthened at the exact same time.
Now, we're starting to see our first images from the fury of tropical cyclone Winston. You can see them coming from Taveuni region in Fiji. And this actually isn't even the location where the direct hit took place. In fact, the direct hit was in the most populated island of Fiji, Viti Levu where the capital is housed, Suva, the capital of Fiji.
You can see how much the ocean is being whipped up. Again, these are the first images coming to us here at CNN.
Now, I want to show you a satellite image from NOAA. This is very important information because it tells us meteorologists a lot of important data. There's the eye wall of Winston. There's the main island of Fiji, that houses the capital Suva.
As it interacts with the island nation, it loses its moisture source, being the central Pacific. Remember, we have very warm waters from the strong El Nino that we're experiencing across this part of the world at the moment. And as the storm loses its moisture source, interacts with land and starts to disorganize that eye wall and it drops the wind speeds around the center of the storm.
It does shows the eye wall made landfall on the island and it was a direct hit. You can imagine the destruction as we go forward over the next 12 hours as we start to pick up the pieces and really assess the damage.
Back to my computer graphics. We'll get a little more detail. This is the current wind situation across Fiji. There's Suva. You can see the large area of darker orange that's indicating winds in excess of 150 kilometers per hour, easily higher gusts within the center of the storm. Again, that is becoming more and more disorganized as time goes on.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has lowered the initial winds, 285 sustained kilometer per hour winds. But higher wind gusts around the center of the storm.
Here's the path. As it continues to March westward, it will weaken somewhat, but still be a very formidable storm. Equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane as it heads over open waters within the next 6 to 12 hours.
[05:10:00] The last storm to make this big of a splash or impact in the island nation of Fiji was December of 2012, tropical cyclone Evan that had max winds of 230 kilometers per hour.
Here's the storm moving westward away from Fiji. By Sunday evening local time, the other concern here is extremely heavy rainfall, in excess of 300 millimeters in a short amount of time. It's a mountainous nation. That means we'll experience the potential of landslides and flooding, so really concerns here, George.
Just to recap, extremely strong winds in excess of 200 kilometers per hour near the center of the storm, coastal flooding for -- from storm surge and flooding from heavy rainfall as well.
HOWELL: And they are seeing really the worst part of it hitting right about now.
VAN DAM: The brunt of the storm is right now. It made landfall 7:00 p.m. local time in the section of Viti Levu.
HOWELL: Derek, thank you. We'll continue to stay in touch with you as we monitor that.
VAN DAM: Thanks, George.
HOWELL: All right. Saturday, a big day in the race for the presidential campaigns, candidates. Many Democrats are holding caucuses in Nevada on Saturday. The polls indicate that the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is too close to call.
Meanwhile, Republican voters head to the polls shortly in South Carolina for their primary. Donald Trump is leading in that state, but the latest polling shows his margin against Ted Cruz has narrowed some.
Let's take a look at the Republican numbers. These polls, the CNN poll of polls shows 34 percent of South Carolina voters who were surveyed support Donald Trump, Ted Cruz at 20 percent. This margin was, indeed, a bit wider just a few days ago.
Marco Rubio comes in third followed by Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and John Kasich. Nationally the top three choices are still Donald Trump, Cruz and Rubio. And the numbers are roughly the same in the South Carolina poll. The bottom standings, though, are a bit different on a national level with Kasich ahead of Carson and Bush.
As the Republican candidates take on each other, the front-runner Donald Trump is criticizing the tech giant Apple. At a campaign event ahead of the South Carolina primary, he turned Apple's battle with the U.S. Justice Department into a rallying cry.
CNN politics reporter Sara Murray has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER (voice-over): Twenty-four hours after taking on the pope, Donald Trump is taking on one of America's biggest company.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First of all, Apple ought to give the security for that phone, OK? What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such time as they give that security number.
MURRAY: His suggestion to black list the tech giant coming as the company refuses to unlock an iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino killers.
TRUMP: How do you like that?
MURRAY: Trump's latest move, a signal he has no plans to water down his bombastic style after a blistering week on the trail in South Carolina.
TRUMP: This guy Ted Cruz is really a liar, I'll tell you what.
MURRAY: In fact, he's using his final hours before Saturday's primary to go for the jugular.
TRUMP: I'll tell you what was good, even Marco Rubio said he's a liar. And when a politician says another politician's a liar, I never heard that before, I felt so good.
MURRAY: But he's also left explaining why he voiced support for the Iraqi invasion in 2002, after spending months claiming he was an early opponent.
TRUMP: The first guy ever asked me about Iraq was Howard Stern. I said, I don't know. I guess so. Then I started looking at it. Before the war started, I was against that war. I was against that war.
MURRAY: Meanwhile, Ted Cruz is fighting his own two-front war, trying to gain on Trump and fend off Marco Rubio.
RUBIO: I need your support tomorrow, so I'm asking for your help.
MURRAY: Cruz swiping at Rubio over national security.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two debates ago when I stood on the stage and saw three Republican candidates, including Marco Rubio, standing up there saying, sure, we should draft women. I remember thinking, you guys are nuts.
MUARRY: And casting him as a shape-shifter on immigration.
AD NARRATOR: Marco Rubio burned us once. He shouldn't get the chance to sell us out again.
MURRAY: While the top tier goes to battle, others are looking to land their closing arguments with a softer touch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I really appreciate one of those hugs you've been talking about.
MURRAY: Jeb Bush even welcoming his family on the campaign trail for his closing argument.
BARBARA BUSH, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: Jeb has been a great son, great father, great husband, married well, and is one of my four favorite sons.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I swear to God when we were on the bus, we were walking down, she whispered in my ear, you really are my favorite. I don't understand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:15:00] HOWELL: As for that situation with Apple, a senior Apple executive says the tech giant is in fine company based on other people that Donald Trump has attacked. The executive said Apple is fighting on behalf of its customers.
To the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they are in a near dead heat ahead of Nevada's Democratic caucuses. The latest CNN/ORC polling shows Clinton with a narrow lead over Sanders among likely caucusgoers in the Silver State, 48 percent to 47 percent.
Clinton is leading nationally but Sanders has narrowed that gap to six percentage points. Clinton is up 48 percent to the Vermont senator's 42 percent.
We will have more political analysis coming up.
Plus, hear from the voice of Hillary Clinton's latest campaign ad, Morgan Freeman, and a CNN exclusive.
And the results of Uganda's presidential election should be in soon. Will the incumbent extend his new rule. A live report as CNN NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: And this just into CNN. We are learning at least 49 people are now confirmed dead after a U.S. airstrike in Libya. And now, the Serbia foreign ministry says two of its embassy workers are believed to be among those killed. The two Serbians were kidnapped in Libya last year. The bombing on Friday targeted a believed ISIS training camp.
Following this story, our Ian Lee joins us from Cairo, Egypt.
So, Ian, thanks for being with us here on the line. What more do we know about the Serbian diplomats who were killed?
IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER (via telephone): George, they were kidnapped last November when their convoy came under attack. This convoy also had the ambassador of Serbia as well. The ambassador was able to get away. These two people, a female communications officer as well as a male driver, they were kidnapped as militants were able to stop their vehicle. They've been held.
There was hope they would be able to be rescued, but we are learning now from not only the Serbian government but also a militant group -- or a militia, rather, that belongs to the ministry of interior in Libya, that these two Serbians were killed in this air strike. That was carried out yesterday by the U.S., which involved two F-15s from the United Kingdom, combined with drones from Italy that struck four targets, four houses, that they suspected had up to 60 ISIS operatives.
[05:20:12] As you just said, we now know of 49 people killed in that strike.
HOWELL: Ian Lee live for us in Cairo, Egypt, following this. Ian, we'll stay in touch as we are expecting to get at some point more responses from the fact again that we're hearing that two Serbian diplomats killed in this bombing.
We are just hours away from learning the final results in Uganda's presidential elections. Early numbers show the country's current leader, President Yoweri Museveni, may be on track to win his fifth term in office. But the hotly contested leadership vote has been marred by accusations of vote rigging. The main opposition leader was detained for the third time this week as police clashed with his support others Friday.
For the very latest, let's bring in Robyn Kriel bringing us the story.
Robyn, good to have you this hour.
What is the latest from Uganda's electoral commission that is announcing these results in Kampala? Are there any new results coming through?
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Results slowly trickling in, George. A couple hours ago the electoral commission in Kampala announcing they counted roughly 8 million of the 15 million people who turned out to vote. A very, very high number. That number praised by election observer officials who praised Ugandans for coming out, despite some technical difficulties at various polling sections, including polling equipment showing up late.
We're expecting final results at about 4:00 p.m. local time, that is in approximately three hours here in East Africa. What we can tell you is that there have been a number of complaints from various electoral officials -- election observers, rather, who say that this process was not necessarily completely transparent.
So, we heard from Oleguson Obasanjo, who is Nigeria's former president, he is the chief of the African union observer. He said the fact some of these electoral materials arrived late was inexcusable. We also heard from the E.U., who was asked about whether it was free and fair. The E.U. said that the people voting in Uganda had to make their own decision about that.
As I said about 8 million of the 15 million votes have come insofar. What we can also tell you is that Yoweri Museveni, the incumbent president, for 30 years, is in the front-running as of yet with those votes being counted with 60 percent.
HOWELL: Can you tell us about the main opposition leader being detained again and these protests that have been happening?
KRIEL: Well, yes. Protests are definitely marred the entire election process. All of last week, as you said, Kizza Besigye arrested three times. He's currently under watch. Kampala police spokesman Patrick Onyango is calling preventive arrest. That is essentially what we can tell, house arrest. This goes the same for another opposition candidate, who is also at his house, not able to leave.
So, preventive arrests at the moment for these opposition officials, a number of complaints coming through. We've seen protests, scuffled after election materials were not delivered on time. Two people died in these protests which had quite a heavy-handed response from the police and military.
In fact, Secretary of State John Kerry from the United States calling Uganda's President Museveni asking that the police and military act a little calmer on the streets, he asked for restraint from Uganda's police and military.
HOWELL: Robyn Kriel, thank you so much. We'll stay in touch as those election results continue to come in.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Still ahead, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they look toward South Carolina. And CNN sat down with one of Hollywood's best known actors to discuss the race for the White House. Morgan Freeman tells us who he is endorsing, ahead.
Plus, Harper Lee, one of the greatest American authors has died. More on her fascinating life here on NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:28:03] HOWELL: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
The headlines were following this hour:
In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron is meeting with his cabinet this hour on a deal that was reached with European leaders to keep the U.K. in the E.U. We are waiting to hear from the prime minister at any time now. This live picture here at number 10 Downing Street. If the cabinet okays the deal, it would go to a referendum for a vote by the British people.
Tropical Cyclone Winston, it is making landfall in Fiji this hour. The most powerful storm to make a direct hit on the country's main island ever. "The Fiji Times" says the government has declared a state of emergency for the next 30 days.
The final results are soon to be in in Uganda's elections. They are expected in a few hours. And early numbers show the current president, Yoweri Museveni may be on track to win his fifth term in office. The main opposition leader was detained for the third time this week as police there clashed with his supporters on Friday.
In the U.S. presidential race, Democrats in Nevada will be holding their caucuses on Saturday. Polls say the competition between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is too close to call.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Republicans go to the polls in a few hours. A new survey shows Donald Trump leads that state, but Ted Cruz is gaining ground.
CNN political analyst Josh Rogin takes a look at what this means, the new poll numbers mean for the candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: What we've seen is a huge tightening of the polls and a narrowing of the differences between front-runner Donald Trump, second place in the polls Ted Cruz and then Marco Rubio who is now polling in third.
What that means is that there's added incentive for each side to really ramp up their involvement and their spending in South Carolina in these last couple of days. That's, of course, what you see happening. Interestingly, though, a lot of the money that is being spent on the South Carolina race is not going to attack Donald Trump.
[05:30:07] A ton of it is going to attack Jeb Bush.
We see a push to get the field narrowed down. The theory is if Jeb Bush does poorly and if the other candidates can erode away his support, maybe he'll drop out. And heading into the crucial Super Tuesday votes a week from now, there will be less candidates to split t vote.
I think if Jeb Bush does well, which means he comes in third or a close fourth, in other words, if he looks almost even with Marco Rubio, then he'll have an argument to take back to his supporters and his donors as to why they should continue. Continue giving him money, continue supporting him. If he doesn't come close to Marco Rubio, there will be pressure on him.
Kasich is expected to stay in the race through March 15th, when the Ohio primary is. That's the one primary he'll probably win since he's the governor of Ohio f he's going to win one. He's not going to drop out. Again, if he doesn't have a real strong showing on Saturday, no one's really going to take him seriously, and there's going to be a lot of calls for him to step aside and let his whatever percentage go to the establishment candidate who has the best chance to beat Trump and Cruz.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: And just a reminder on those numbers, Trump has the support of 34 percent of likely South Carolina voters in our poll of polls. And Ted Cruz has 20 percent.
Among Democrats running for president, a major part of Bernie Sanders' campaign there has been his fight for civil rights. He's made no secret of the fact that he was arrested during a demonstration in the 1960s. And now, we are seeing footage of that alleged arrest.
Bradley Tahman with affiliate WGN Chicago has more from the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TAHMAN BRADLEY, WGN: Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been battling to win African-Americans. Supporters of Clinton have accused Sanders of being absent on issues important to black Americans, but archival video from 1963 appears to show Sanders was on the front lines of the civil rights movement. This person who appears to be Sanders is arrested. The video was first posted online at 63boycott.com.
JERRY TEMANER, SHOT VIDEO OF SANDERS: It was definitely Bernie, although there's a lot of talk now, is this Bernie? Is this is not Bernie and so on?
BRADLEY: Jerry Temaner shot the video 53 years ago. Then he was a young filmmaker recording student protesting racism in schools and housing on Chicago's South Side.
Temaner says when he looks at the footage today, he's sure it's Sanders.
TEMANER: He was evidently at that event and he was evidently at the march on Washington.
BRADLEY : The old footage was unearthed by Kartemquin Films, a documentary group here in Chicago. Gordon Quinn and Rachel Dixon are working on a film about the 1963 Chicago public school boycott. Chicago schools were putting black students in trailers so they wouldn't have to integrate white schools.
GORDON QUINN, FILMMAKER: They were called Willis wagons and there were a lot of smaller protests. Eventually, there was a citywide boycott where over 200,000 kids walked out.
BRADLEY: It appears Bernie Sanders, a young student activist, took up the cause.
RACHEL DIXON, FILMMAKER: I had these photos to reference of Bernie in '63. I was looking through. I kind of paused it. It's not very good quality. Well, the facial shape and the angle, kind of looks like him. I didn't know it, though. I was pretty hesitant, oh, this is definitely Bernie Sanders.
BRADLEY: Luckily, Kartemquin Films had another way to try to confirm the video showed Sanders. Gordon Quinn attended the University of Chicago and was a classmate of Sanders. This is his yearbook. That's the future senator from Vermont.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Both Sanders and his rival, Hillary Clinton, are fighting hard to win support of African-American voters. Clinton just got the endorsement of Representative James Clyburn, the third ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and now one of Hollywood's biggest actors has given his big voice to her latest ad.
It comes a week ahead of South Carolina's Democratic primary. CNN's Don Lemon sat down with Morgan Freeman. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, welcome. You decide to make these series of ads in support of Hillary Clinton. This is an endorsement?
MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: Well, yes. I have to pick somebody, and she's been my choice since she decided, yes, I will go.
LEMON: All right. Let's take a look at the ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLITICAL AD)
FREEMAN: Her church taught her to do all the good you can for all the people you can for as long as you can.
After law school, she could have joined the high-priced law firm, but instead, she worked to reform juvenile justice in South Carolina, exposed racism in Alabama schools, registered Latino voters in Texas and provided legal aid to families in Arkansas.
[05:35:09] Her life's work has been about breaking barriers, and so would her presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's very powerful. Why did you decide to do this?
FREEMAN: This is coming down to the wire. I think it is a very, very important election, not that all of them aren't.
But, we when situation in the world today where everybody is sitting on some kind of a powder keg and there are too many people got matches, if you know what I mean.
So, whoever is going to be part of the world leadership is going to have to have some serious knowledge and smarts, and I think because of Hillary's background, her knowledge, her proven abilities --
LEMON: With foreign policy, as the former secretary of state.
FREEMAN: Exactly.
LEMON: So, this is about -- for you, it sounds like this is about trust, who you can trust?
FREEMAN: Yes. Yes, absolutely.
LEMON: I want you to look at this. This is an exchange from a questioner from CNN's recent Town Hall with Secretary Clinton. It's about the trust issue. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR GIPPLE, IOWA CAUCUS-GOER: I've heard from quite a few people my age that they think you're dishonest. But I'd like to hear from you on why you'd feel the enthusiasm isn't there?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been around a long time. People have thrown all kinds of things at me.
And, you know, I can't keep up with it. I just keep going forward, they fall by the wayside. They come up with these outlandish things, they make these charges. I just keep going forward because there's nothing to it.
They throw all this stuff at me, and I'm still standing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Do you think it's a good enough answer because of the polls show she has a trust issue, she has a trust issue.
Number one, is it a good enough answer? And in your mind, do you think that she has a trust issue?
FREEMAN: Well, not with me, she doesn't.
I don't know. I can't that she doesn't, because are your needing some cases people is to say it just put it out there and it gets legs. The Clintons have been being beat down ever since. Way back.
So, she just is going along with that legacy that she's inherited over the amount of time she's been in politics, which is a long time.
I think this is just made-up stuff, just, you know, political hog wash.
LEMON: You know, the primary coming up in South Carolina. And you said that, can you, this is more about trust to you because South Carolina the big thing is she's got to win the African-American vote. If she doesn't get the African-American vote, Bernie Sanders doesn't get the African-American vote, then they are -- you know, it's toast.
But for you, this goes beyond that. This is again an issue of trust for you and that's why you are supporting her.
FREEMAN: Yes. There was no -- I don't think there was such a thing as a black vote, as a political monolith, you know. That's not going to be the way it works this time.
LEMON: People need to figure out who they can trust, because at this point in time, got, whoever is going to be in control of the Senate, you've got the Supreme Court nominee and the person who is going to sit in the White House.
And as you said, these all elections are important, but this one may be the most important that many of us will vote on in our experience in our lifetimes.
FREEMAN: Exactly. I'm a little fearful. And when you get to that point, you need to stand up and start talking, you know. So, that's why I'm here. People are talking about race and gender and all that and that is always going to go on in these contests.
But, really it's not about that. It's about who can do the job. You have to just stop and think who can do the job.
And we have our shot at getting a very qualified person who happens to be a woman in the number one job.
LEMON: You've seen a lot of presidential campaigns. Is there anything that stood out to you that makes you want to like shake your fist at the television or?
FREEMAN: Makes me laugh. I'm not going to call any names, I'm not going to lay out anything, but it makes me laugh.
LEMON: It's funny to you?
FREEMAN: It's funny.
LEMON: Did you ever think that we'd be at this point politically?
FREEMAN: No. No, no, no. I mean, who would?
LEMON: What's at stake in this election?
[05:40:04] FREEMAN: What isn't? Safety? I mean, trust, security.
The fact that we have this disparity in incomes, that always brings things to a shaking point.
There will be a revolt as a result of that. That's really I think what Bernie Sanders is riding on, that sense of revolt that too much of the country's wealth is squeezed into too smaller space.
LEMON: Yes.
FREEMAN: Because without a middle class, without people being able to make a decent living, we don't go anywhere. We don't grow, we don't thrive.
Yes, here in these cities in terms of where the money is concentrated, it's fine. Go out into hinterland, go to where people are just walking the streets wondering how am I going to get past this month, you know.
LEMON: It's an honor.
FREEMAN: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you. Always good see you. Come back.
FREEMAN: You, too. You know why?
LEMON: Why?
FREEMAN: You're a good looking kid.
LEMON: Wow, thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, sir. It's indeed a pleasure.
FREEMAN: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: CNN's Don Lemon there with an exclusive interview with actor Morgan freeman and his new ad for candidate Hillary Clinton.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Still ahead, she said that she wanted to be the Jane Austen of South Alabama. American author Harper Lee has died at the age of 89 years old. We'll have more on her incredible life, ahead.
And we're also keeping an eye on Number 10 Downing Street in London as the British prime minister, David Cameron, tries to convince his cabinet that he's got a good deal from the European Union ahead of a referendum for that country's membership. We'll bring you his words live as he appears there at that door, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.
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HOWELL: Literary giant Umberto Eco has died. His novel, "The Name of the Rose", sold 10 million copies. The theology-filled murder story set in the 14th century was turned into a movie starring Sean Connery. Eco also wrote "Foucault's Pendulum". He was 89 years old.
Another loss in the literary world, Harper Lee, the famous American author for the book "To Kill a Mockingbird." She has also died. She became famous after she wrote the book but chose to live a quiet life in the southern U.S.
CNN's Anderson Cooper has more on her life and her career.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A life lesson delivered by the fictional Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch in the 1962 film "To Kill a Mockingbird".
The movie looks at the racial injustice of the 1930s through the eyes of Finch's daughter, Scout. These characters were first brought to life in a novel by Harper Lee, in a novel that became a classic for all generations.
Nelle Harper Lee was born April 28, 1926, in a small town of Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a lawyer and served as inspiration for her book "Civil Rights Hero". She studied law at the University of Alabama and became editor of the school's humorous and literary magazines.
By age 23, she abandoned law and moved to New York to become a writer. There, Lee reunited with her childhood friend and fellow writer, Truman Capote, assisting him in the research that led to his breakthrough novel, "In Cold Blood". Their unique friendship played out on the big screen in the award-winning movie "Capote".
Lee's first novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960 and received the Pulitzer prize.
In 2007, President George W. Bush presented Lee with the Medal of Freedom.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: All of us are filled with admiration for a great American and a lovely lady named Harper Lee.
COOPER: But for most of her life, Lee stayed out of the spotlight.
In one of the few interviews she ever granted, she offered a glimpse into her thoughts, saying, "I want to do the best I can with the talent God gave me. All I want to be is the Jane Austen of south Alabama."
In 2015, the literary world was stunned by the discovery of a second Harper Lee manuscript titled "Go Set a Watchman." Completed in 1957, "Watchman" was actually written before "To Kill a Mockingbird" and features Scout and Atticus some 20 years later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is really the publishing event of the decade.
COOPER: That excitement lit up the small town where Harper Lee grew up and lived in her twilight years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To have another book, we are charmed.
COOPER: But many fans were disappointed in the portrayal of the characters they knew and loved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple of the tweets expressing the devastation of fans out there.
"The idea of Atticus Finch being racist is like Spielberg doing a sequel in which E.T. punches Eliot in the face and steals his lunch money."
COOPER: "Watchman" still became a best seller, the fastest selling book in Harper Collins's publishing history.
Through all the fanfare, Harper Lee remained quiet, rarely seen or heard from, but forever remembered for inspiring the world through her written words.
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[05:52:57] HOWELL: A classroom in central London spoke via Skype to another classroom all the way in Syria. And although they're worlds away with very different day-to-day lives, the students soon found common ground in singer Adele.
CNN's Phil Black has this report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A classroom in central London.
STUDENTS: Hey!
BLACK: Another in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Linked together by a patchy broadband connection and a mutual desire to learn more about each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to say.
BLACK: At first, they don't seem that different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My favorite song is "Roar" by Katy Perry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love my friends because they have a good heart and they are very kind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My favorite sport is football.
BLACK: But it's soon clear their daily lives have little in common.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to tell you about problems. The most important is poverty and early marriage for girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reasons why students might drop out is because they might leave the country or something like that. Usually, it's not because of young marriages.
BLACK: The children of Syria, also Palestinian refugees, proved they know too much about war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need protection. During this crisis we are in a problem. We need security and peace for our school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I changed house and different places, so I changed three schools. We need safe places. And return peace and security to our country.
BLACK: She explains why she wishes her school had a psychologist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we need someone to talk with him because we feel afraid in this war.
BLACK: But then the Damascus children shift the mood with a joyous surprise. Turns out they're huge Adele fans.
(SINGING)
BLACK: And they all sing the chorus together.
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[05:55:05] BLACK: This extraordinary experience was organized by the United Nations and a private media company.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These things, and anything we can do to help you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Send us money?
BLACK: You get the feeling --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have our love.
BLACK: None of these children will quickly forget.
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BLACK: Phil Black, CNN, London.
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HOWELL: And finally this hour, there are fear -- there's fear and concern in Nairobi as wildlife officials track two escaped lion. The pride got loose from the national park near the Kenyan capital overnight. The park was protected by electric fence and a river. So, it isn't clear how they got out.
One lioness and a cub have been recaptured unharmed. The two are believed to be in an area that is densely populated and built up and home to one of Africa's largest slums. People are asked to call a toll free number if they spot these cats.
We thank you for joining us. I'm George Howell at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. For our viewers in United States, "NEW DAY" is next and for our other viewers in the world, "AMANPOUR" starts in just a moment.
We're keeping an eye on Number 10 Downing Street where the British prime minister is soon to come out to explain his new deal with the E.U.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
