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Republicans Stump in Nevada; Democrats Fresh Off Nevada Caucuses; Michigan Shooting Rampage Kills Six People; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Syrian Attacks; Deadly Protests Deplete Water Supply in New Delhi; London Mayor Against Deal to Stay in E.U.; Report: U.S. Secretly Agreed to North Korean Peace Talks; Russian Campaign Against Obama; Egyptian Version of "Saturday Night Live" Debuts. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 22, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:11] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, can Donald be denied? After two blowout primary wins in a row, does Donald Trump have a lot on the Republican nomination for president?
The Uber driver accused of a killing rampage in Michigan allegedly picked up passengers in between shooting his victims.
And some schools are closed and water is being rationed after protesters shut down one of the main water supplies to New Delhi.
Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. Welcome to another hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
Republican presidential hopefuls are back out on the campaign trail ahead of Tuesday's caucuses in the state of Nevada. Senator Marco Rubio has been talking up his success in earlier races, always finishing in the top three. But Rubio is really battling for second place with Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The two Cuban American senators virtually tied for second place in Saturday's South Carolina's primary.
Donald Trump, the big winner, plans to campaign in Nevada on Monday, but he was in Atlanta on Sunday, predicting his winning streak will just keep going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We had such an amazing victory yesterday. Incredible.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Incredible. That was something. And the week before, I'll tell you what. We're just going one after another. Are we going to win Georgia?
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And Donald Trump says he will pinch the Republican nomination by -- long before July. He also believes that Hillary Clinton, no great prediction here will probably not be the Democratic nominee.
For more on this, we're joined by Democratic strategist Dave Jacobson, Republican consultant, John Thomas.
OK. So let's just look ahead beyond Nevada. Let's look towards Super Tuesday because if we get into a situation where we still have the situation with Trump, Rubio, Cruz, maybe even Kasich, you got this divided field. This is a perfect situation for Donald Trump.
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: This is exactly what Trump wants to happen. He wants there to be no establishment consolidated lane. And quite frankly, if you look at the establishment candidates, why should they drop out? Right? Because each one believes --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Because it would be the right thing to do for the party?
THOMAS: Well --
VAUSE: You put it out there.
THOMAS: Well, but that sounds like -- because each candidate believes that they are uniquely qualified to defeat Hillary Clinton and move the country forward.
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: They believe that to their core. And add on top of that that Ted Cruz has the money to go the distance. Marco Rubio does. And Kasich doesn't need it because he just --
VAUSE: He enjoys doing it right.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: So for Donald Trump, this is kind of the best result he could have hoped for, was this close finish between Rubio and Cruz, right? Because if one of them had sort of been a really strong second, the race would have been in the low numbers there, then it would have been clear that this was really a three-man race but it's not.
DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Right. This would have solidified his frontrunner status. Right? I think the real question is, now that everyone was saying Marco Rubio was the frontrunner among the establishment candidates or at least among that lane, it's really just him and John Kasich at this point, the question is, can he sort of consolidate that establishment support? Money, super PACs, senior staff, key endorsements. Can he do it quick enough before Super Tuesday, so that he can actually win a state? Right. Because the real question is, like, can he actually win a state?
(CROSSTALK) VAUSE: Can he really win the nomination without winning a state?
JACOBSON: Well, and that's thing is so far it's all about managing the expectations game with the second and third and fourth finishes. At some point you have to win a statement because expectations only get you so far.
VAUSE: Were you listening to the speeches on Saturday? Everyone was a winner.
JACOBSON: Everybody. Everybody.
VAUSE: Trump won. And Rubio won and Ted Cruz.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: And Carson won. Right.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: Every child wins a prize. I mean, but -- you are going to get to this point now where, you know, you either somebody stops Donald Trump or Donald Trump does something so outrageous, so unbelievably scandalous that his campaign blows up. Who would that be?
THOMAS: Like getting a fight with the Pope?
VAUSE: I mean, I --
THOMAS: I don't know what else could there be?
VAUSE: Kills kittens on stage?
THOMAS: I don't think -- look, this guy as a reality show host is very seasoned. He's not going to make a mistake of that proportion on the debates coming up.
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: He's a pro. Let's be honest. And he knows how to work the media and say things to get coverage and then walk them back. I don't think anything like that's going to happen. Right now Donald Trump's loving it, and if things keep up, he'll be the nominee.
JACOBSON: I think there's got to have to be some sort of game- changing political earthquake that sends shockwaves across the Republican Party to really change the dynamic here. You know, this is a guy --
VAUSE: Like what? It's always --
JACOBSON: Right.
VAUSE: To get somebody to fall out?
JACOBSON: Right. I guess, I mean, conventional wisdom doesn't apply to this guy.
THOMAS: That's right.
JACOBSON: There is no political gravity. Attacking the Pope, attacking President Bush in a state like South Carolina, which propelled him to victory or at least to Republican nomination when he ran back in 2000. I mean, what else can this guy do? Right?
THOMAS: At this point, Donald Trump is not really in control of whether or not he gets the nomination. It's a question of, does the field consolidate.
JACOBSON: Right.
THOMAS: Hillary Clinton has the reverse problem. She is in control whether or not she gets the nomination.
VAUSE: OK. We'll get to the Democrats in a moment, but you talked about Donald Trump controlling the air waves and dominating the news cycle. He's been amazing at it.
[01:05:06] And this is one of the ways that he has completely and totally rewritten the rule book for this political campaign.
Let's look at the money that was spent cost per vote. This is fascinating. When you look at the amount of money in South Carolina, there it is. Jeb Bush, my goodness, $228 for each vote. I mean, Rubio, he's spending 50 bucks a vote. Then we get down to Cruz, $33 a vote. Carson, $9 for his vote, whatever that was, and Trump, though, $3.75.
And like you say, John Kasich is just doing what John Kasich does.
THOMAS: Yes.
VAUSE: But that's amazing. You know, Donald Trump wins with, what, bigger than 10-point margin.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: Spends almost four bucks a vote. Jeb Bush finishes almost last and drops $200.
THOMAS: Because what this chart doesn't tell you -- we've done an analysis at my shop of roughly, the earned media coverage as it relates to each candidate. So far to date on the Republican side, Donald Trump has earned 78 percent of earned media coverage and the rest, the other 22 percent, has been split amongst all the other candidates. Remember when there were, what, like 15 others?
VAUSE: Is it possible to put money value on that 78 percent?
THOMAS: There absolutely is.
VAUSE: What is it?
THOMAS: We haven't put it on yet.
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: But -- easily.
VAUSE: Yes.
THOMAS: So the fact -- and it comes with more credibility than purchase has. I think the problem Jeb Bush has it, we can make great ads for a candidate, but if it's not true and authentic to the --
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: To who the candidate is, and quite frankly, if the electorate is not buying what we're selling, doesn't matter. We can advertise all the day.
JACOBSON: Right. And I think moreover, it actually translates in my opinion to more money than the $150 million that was spent on Jeb Bush's behalf, whether it was a super PAC or his actual campaign because those are on commercials that a lot of folks just TiVo through and sort of fast forward through. You know, the reality is when you're on actual news coverage on something that people actually want to watch, something that's tangible, that they care about --
VAUSE: Well, that's always been the big thing. That has a lot more clout.
JACOBSON: Right. It's more meaningful for sure.
VAUSE: And we've got the situation where 20-second Instagram video can destroy, you know, ad right.
JACOBSON: Yes.
VAUSE: OK, let's get to the Democrat side of things because for Saturday's event, the caucus is coming up. You saw that preview the Democrats running for the White House are now focusing on South Carolina. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton face off in the Democratic primary there this coming Saturday and fresh off his loss to Secretary Clinton in Nevada, Senator Sanders was making his case at a rally in South Carolina on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: South Carolina has the opportunity to make American history, and I hope you will.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hillary Clinton is crediting her win in Nevada to months of organizing by her campaign. She also said to CNN that she has work to do to convince independent voters that she is trustworthy. That is a big, big understatement, isn't it? THOMAS: That's been the fundamental problem of her candidacy since
the get-go is that more than half of Americans question whether or not she is trustworthy. And that is the number one issue when voters -- this kind of swing voters in November are looking. They want to know not just who shares your values but who you can trust to look after you.
JACOBSON: Right. I think that's the appeal of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Right? These are guys who sort of tell it like it is. They're authentic, they're believable and sincere. And she's lacking in that sort of description at this point. I think she's got to figure out a way to sort of flip that narrative and break through it, and come up with a way to sort of be more genuine or at least believable to the American people. She addressed it today on CNN.
VAUSE: Or at least appear to be that way.
JACOBSON: Well, she -- look, she did that in 2008. That's how she won New Hampshire. Didn't she shed a tear? And that was her moment of authenticity?
VAUSE: We had that ad with the young Latina girl in Nevada.
THOMAS: Right. Strong ad.
VAUSE: It was a great ad. It really connected with a lot of voters. And you hear some have said that that could have been one of the turning points in the Nevada caucuses.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: But one thing, let's look at this video. We have Bernie Sanders who actually did a surprise visit to a church in South Carolina. And if you want to know the kind of problems that Senator Sanders is going to have in the next week or so, take a look at this. You know, this is a guy who is used to a rock star welcome wherever he goes, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. And everyone's like, dude, I'm having my lunch.
THOMAS: Yes.
VAUSE: So my point is, I guess, after Nevada, it doesn't get any easier for Bernie Sanders.
JACOBSON: No, I mean, look, Nevada was the first of sort of the two firewall states for Hillary Clinton, right? And she had a resounding victory yesterday. On the heels of a very sort of close race, there was a perceived sort of dead heat. Polls came out the day before the election showing an essential tie, basically a potential Iowa election turnout, and -- or sorry, in terms of where they ended up.
VAUSE: Yes.
JACOBSON: But that -- ultimately that low expectation sort of led to a resounding victory for her, gave her the jolt of momentum and electricity that she needed to sort of move her campaign forward, vindicate her at a certain level and propel her towards South Carolina now where she's going to win in double digits.
VAUSE: Yes.
JACOBSON: I don't see the polls shrinking between now and next Saturday.
VAUSE: Sanders will be a couple of states along the way. It's not all over for him. But it is going to be hard.
THOMAS: The math gets harder and harder. Hillary's cracked the code as it relates to African-American voters. She knows how to win them. Bernie Sanders' fundamental problem here is that he thinks that economic inequality is more important than racial inequality to African-Americans and it's simply not. Whereas Hillary will speak to racial inequality first and economic inequality second.
[01:10:05] VAUSE: You know, everyone talks about Hillary Clinton having a lock on this nomination as she went from the inevitable to the maybe, to the challenged, and now she's back to being oh, well, we think that she might get there.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: And the reality is she probably will. She probably always was getting right there.
THOMAS: Right. Right.
VAUSE: But, you know, just take this out of the Democratic race and move to the general election. This campaign that Bernie Sanders has run and the scare it put into the Hillary Clinton campaign is going to make her a better candidate come the general election.
THOMAS: I suspect it has. It sharpened their team. It's made them hone their skills. Fight for every vote. It's good. But on the flipside, it's also reminded voters that she's not this inevitable candidate that's going to win in November in a walk. It's not necessarily the case.
VAUSE: The issues of trust.
THOMAS: It has.
VAUSE: You know, the ties to Wall Street, you know, the speaking engagements, the $600,000, that she's not really --
THOMAS: And there's still more to come out with that. Every day there's another e-mail, and then she won't release her transcripts for all of her Goldman Sachs speeches.
JACOBSON: I will say the one thing about Bernie Sanders being in the race, and instead of this sort of being a coronation for her, it's increased attention and focus on her. Right? She's got all this intense media coverage which she wouldn't have had had this been a real coronation and she's sort of locked it up the nomination after Iowa or after New Hampshire, right? So now that she's sort of been in the news for many, many months,
that's free advertising for her. Right?
VAUSE: Sure.
JACOBSON: And so that's going to position her well as we approach the general election.
VAUSE: Obviously what this has done is it got the campaign into that sort of fighting mode and fight fit if you like, or match fierce. They never expected to do it.
THOMAS: I think Hillary also made a fundamental miscalculation early on. She's making up with African-American voters but she thought this election was about experience. It's not on either side.
VAUSE: Last word.
JACOBSON: For sure it's a change election. I mean, elections are about choices, and people want change. They want transformation and something new. And you're seeing that sort of shift in her message. And so I think she needs to capitalize on that and continue it as she gets closer to Super Tuesday states.
VAUSE: OK. David, John, thanks a lot. Always good to speak with you guys.
THOMAS: Thanks, John.
JACOBSON: Thanks for having us.
VAUSE: We appreciate you coming in.
OK. Ahead of the Democratic primary in South Carolina. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will come face-to-face with voters right here on CNN. Chris Cuomo hosts a Democratic town hall live from Columbia, South Carolina. You can see it Wednesday. That will be 1:00 a.m. in London for the diehard political people who are tragic.
And the five remaining Republican hopefuls will face off in a debate in Houston, Texas. CNN's Wolf Blitzer will be your moderator and you can see it here Friday at 1:30 a.m. in London for the truly committed.
OK. That is your political news. We shall move on now. New details are emerging in the wake of a shooting rampage in the U.S. state of Michigan. The suspected gunman was an Uber driver, and according to one rouse, he continued picking up passengers between shootings.
Mourners gathered in Kalamazoo on Sunday to honor the six victims. Police described the seemingly random attacks as the stuff of nightmares.
Here's Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is sickening when you consider the details. Investigators saying that this suspect, a 45- year-old male from Kalamazoo, casually carried out this shooting spree. He was working as an Uber driver and in between each shooting was still picking up fares.
That suspect was eventually taken into custody at around 12.30 in the morning. Investigators seized a semi-automatic handgun from this person. And in a searched of his residence were able to discover even more weapons that working on figuring out if any of those weapons were connected or used in the commission of these crimes.
What's really unsettling to investigators here is this suspect here, they describe him for all intents and purposes -- intents and purposes as an average Joe. Someone with no criminal history, no criminal record, and certainly no indication that he would have the capability of carrying out something like this.
Six people left dead, another two critically wounded. Among them, a mother of three who was the first to be shot. The second person still recovering in the hospital. A 14-year-old girl who was so gravely injured that investigators initially announced her dead. She has had surgery, is still in grave condition. Investigators worry about her outcome.
As far as that suspect is concerned, he is expected to make his first court appearance sometime on Monday and will face murder charges.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Jason Dalton's neighbors describe him as quiet, even nice. He passed a background check for Uber. One of the passengers who rode with Dalton just before the shootings described what it was like escaping that car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT MELLEN, SUSPECT'S UBER PASSENGER: We got maybe a mile from my house, he got a telephone call. And after that telephone call with, he started driving erratically We're kind of driving through medians, driving tough the lawn, speeding along, and then finally, once he came to a stop I jumped out of the car and ran away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Investigators have been speaking with Dalton, but so far they've yet to find a motive.
An encouraging diplomatic sign for Syria, but it comes on an especially violent day.
[01:15:01] Syria's state-run news agency reports at least 122 people were killed, dozens more were wounded in a series of bombings. ISIS is claiming responsibility. Jomana Karadsheh has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dozens killed and wounded in several bomb attacks in Syria on Sunday. In the city of Homs, two car bombs packed with explosives detonated in Al-Zahra neighborhood in the center of Homs. This is a busy commercial and residential area. According to officials the car bombs detonated near a busy bus terminal.
Now this is not the first time that we've seen an attack like this in this same area. This is the fourth such attack in three months. All attacks, including Sunday's, have been claimed by ISIS. This area is a predominantly Alawites one. That is the sect -- the minority sect of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
In the capital Damascus, triple bombings targeting Sayyida Zeinab, a predominantly Shia area in the southern part of Damascus. This is home to a holy Shia shrine and it has been targeted several times in the past.
Now ISIS claiming responsibility also for the attack, saying it was carried out by two suicide bombers and a car bomb also. Now they say that the target of this attack was Shia militiamen. It is also -- this area is known to have a large presence of Shia militiamen loyal to the Assad regime, many of them coming from countries like Iraq.
The violence coming on the same day as we heard from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking at a press conference here in the Jordanian capital. Secretary Kerry saying U.S. and Russian officials who have been working on the details of that cessation of hostilities agreement that was supposed to go into effect on Friday. Now he says they have reached a tentative agreement, saying that now we are closer than we have been to seeing that temporary truce on the ground. Here is what Secretary Kerry had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have reached a provisional agreement in principle on the terms of the cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days. It is not yet done, and I anticipate that our presidents, President Obama and President Putin, may well speak somewhere in the next days or so in order to try to complete this task.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: But the kind of violence we saw unfold in Syria on Sunday is unlikely to cease anytime soon. The violence that is claimed by groups like ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, the al Qaeda affiliate in the country, the two extremists organizations that are not part of any negotiation or any cessation of hostilities agreement.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A monster of a storm has pumped Fiji, tearing homes apart and causing widespread damage. We'll have the very latest on the recovery effort. That's next here on CNN NEWSROOM L.A.
Also India's capital facing a water crisis after deadly protests cut off a main supply source. More in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:13] VAUSE: In Fiji, a record-breaking storm has come and gone but has left behind devastation and heartache. Care Australia says tropical cyclone Winston has killed at least 17 people in the South Pacific island nation.
Fiji's prime minister says there is widespread damage and flooding and power remains out across many of the islands. A state of emergency is now in effect for 30 days as the cleanup continues.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more details from the International Weather Center.
So, Pedram, the storm is gone, but the wet weather is still there and there's some bad news on the horizon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
VAUSE: And, Pedram, just in the last moment or so some news coming in from Care Australia saying the death toll now stands at 20 and fallen phone lines as well as some road blocks continue to hamper those recovery operations.
Pedram, thank you.
Well, India has deployed troops to northern state after a deadly protest there crippled one of New Delhi's main water supplies.
Here's Sumnima Udas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This city of 25 million people is bracing for what officials call an unprecedented water crisis because protesters in the neighboring states of Fariana have damaged a key water supply canal. So in areas like this taps are already running dry. Nothing's been coming out for the past two days. So how are you managing? You have a dairy here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are baking --
UDAS (voice-over): He says he's been lugging buckets and jugs of water from home to run his business. It's OK for now but it's soon going to get very difficult and expensive.
(On camera): No water means most people are having to buy these water jugs. Normally they cost about 30 rupees. That's 50 cents. But there's a bit of a black market going on because of this water crisis, so this jug right now costs 100 rupees. That's a dollar and a half.
(Voice-over): The heart of the violent protests, Fariana, is not far from here. The agitators belong to the state's dominant cause, called Jats. They've been looting, setting public property on fire. They're demanding a place for reservations in India's education and government jobs quota system. It's an affirmative action plan India put in place decades ago to uplift those belonging to disadvantaged lower class.
The system has also been touted as one of India's success stories, but resentment is growing as jobs become more scarce. At least 10 people have died due to the violence. Paramilitary troops have been deployed with shoot-on-site orders. Hundreds of trains have been cancelled, highways blocked. But in the capital, it's the scarcity of the most essential commodity that's hurting people most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no water for cooking. There is no water for washing those dishes. It's like all untidy. The kitchen is unhygienic now. When you go to the washroom you have to think twice. Are you going to use your flush? Because if your flush is not working properly the basic sanitation is not in place so you can't go back there again. How do you take baths?
UDAS (on camera): It's worth noting that many people in Delhi do use groundwater and often rely on water tankers because there's never really been a 24/7 water supply from the state to most households. But still, people here say they're preparing for the worse.
Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A short break. When we come back, a party divided. Britain's prime minister warns against an exit from the European Union but London's mayor supports a split. Why he says it's the right choice. Just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:47] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: One of Britain's most prominent conservatives has come out against a deal to stay in the European Union. London Mayor Boris Johnson says he will campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the E.U. It marks a significant break from the leader of Johnson's own party, Prime Minister David Cameron.
But as Erin McLaughlin explains, the decision was not an easy one for Johnson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris Johnson's argument is very sympathetic to how many people here in the United Kingdom feel, that membership in the E.U. is eroding Britain's sovereignty in key areas, such as human rights, border rights control and employment. He also had some very strong words for the European political project as a whole, saying, quote, "It's in real danger of getting out of control." It's a position that he said that he's held for some time, written papers on it. So perhaps Sunday's announcement comes as no surprise, though he said he did struggle to make the decision. Take a listen.
BORIS JOHNSON, LONDON MAYOR: After a great deal of thought, I don't think there's anything else I could do. I will be advocating the vote leave -- or whatever it's called. I understand there are many of them. I think that is basic, because I want a better deal for the people of this country, to save them money and to take back control.
MCLAUGHLIN: Boris Johnson is an extremely popular conservative figure, and he seemed to have sway on this issue. According to a recent poll, a third of the people responded saying that they could be influenced by Boris Johnson's stance on this topic.
The most influential person, however, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who, on Sunday morning, on "The Andrew Marr Show" on the BBC, made an impassioned plea for the United Kingdom to stay in the E.U. Take a listen.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If Boris and others really care about being able to get things done in our world, then the E.U. is one of the ways in which we get them done. Having that seat at the table in the E.U., just as be being a member of NATO, is a vital way that we project our values and our power and our influence notice world.
MCLAUGHLIN: Campaigning starts Monday. The referendum date is set for June 23rd. And there is a lot at stake not only for the United Kingdom but for the European Union as a whole. The U.K. is, after all, the second-largest economy in the E.U.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:35:05] VAUSE: The "Wall Street Journal" is reporting the United States secretly agreed to peace talks with North Korea just before Pyongyang tested a nuclear bomb. Now the U.S. State Department has responded on Sunday saying North Korea proposed the talks and the U.S. pulled out after they refused to include the issue of de- nuclearization.
For more, let's go to Paula Hancocks live from Seoul.
Paula, clear this up? Who's got this right? Who went to who? Who initiated the talks? And who pulled out? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it's not clear at this
point. We have got that State Department statement where John Kirby, the spokesman, has said that it was North Korea who approached the United States, proposed these talks, and the U.S. did carefully consider them, but he said that they had to have de-nuclearization as part of the discussions, North Korea refused, and that is where it ended.
But the "Wall Street Journal" saying that the Obama administration had actually dropped one of its longstanding requests that they -- that the North Koreans actually take the first steps of de-nuclearization before they sit down and start discussing, claiming that that was U.S. officials, unnamed sources familiar with the deal. So it's unclear at this point.
But the interesting fact is that they are potentially, or they were, at least, going to be talking. We do know that Pyongyang for some time now has been saying that they want a peace treaty signed with the United States.
Back in 1953, after the Korean War, there was only an armistice signed. There was never a peace treaty. So technically, North and South Korea are still at war. And since Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader, took power, he has been increasing the calls for this peace treaty. Last month, he said that if there's a peace treaty signed, if the U.S. and South Korea decide not to go ahead with these joint military drills they do every year, which annoy Pyongyang every year, then they would stop their nuclear tests. But it's not clear who asked who to speak at this time -- John?
VAUSE: I guess the new development in North Korea, Paula, they have a new military chief now? That was after Kim had the predecessor executed?
HANCOCKS: That's right, yes. And we saw them over the weekend. There was a military drill in North Korea, and we saw photos, at least, emerge on Sunday from Kim Jong-Un guiding that -- those military drills. We've had the -- the newcomer named as well. This is really through state-run media, the only way that many observers and the rest of the world find out who's in and who's out and what sort of personnel changes have happen in North Korea. It shows that the purge is still ongoing. Some had assumed that they would have calmed down a little, suggesting he was in complete control of the country, but we can see that those purges are continuing. The allegations, what we understand from South Korean officials, is that they believe that the previous military chief was executed for treason. And so that's one of the reasons that he was executed. Of course, this is something we can't independently confirm. It is all, as I say, reading between the lines of state-run media and from officials here and in Washington -- John?
VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live this hour in Seoul.
Pope Francis is again calling for an end to the death penalty. He's asking Catholic leaders to suspend the process to mark the Holy Year of Mercy. Pope Francis as well as his predecessors have repeatedly spoken out against the death penalty. This time, he used the Bible to try and bolster his case, saying the commandment "Thou of shall not kill" applies to the guilty and the innocent.
A short break here. When we come back, the images are startling and they're appearing all around Moscow. The anti-Obama campaign, and who's speaking out about it. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:42:04] VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. Australia's immigration minister says Baby Asha will be sent back to an off-shore detention center on Nauru Island. She was moved to a community center on Monday after treatment at a hospital for burns suffered on Nauru. Supporters hoped she would be allowed to stay but the immigration minister says medical assistance is not a ticket out into Australian society.
If online videos and posters around Moscow are any indication, there is a growing anti-Obama movement under way. Matthew Chance reports, one image has the country's only opposition member of parliament speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are now quite literally demonizing the U.S. president. This video projected anonymously in the center of the Russian capital shows Barack Obama complete with horns. "He's responsible for tens of thousands of deaths," is the message, "from Syria and Ukraine to Libya." Portraying the U.S. president as a killer is the latest anti- American trend here.
This is one image now trending on social media, an Obama poster at a Moscow bus stop, masquerading as an anti-smoking ad, "Smoking kills more people than Obama," it reads. "Don't smoke, don't be like him." It's now been taken down.
But one Russian lawmaker, the only opposition M.P. in the country's parliament is speaking out.
"It is shameful and disgusting," he told me. "And is no doubt sanctioned by the authorities," he said.
DMITRY GUDKOV, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION M.P.: I think that the main goal is to distract attention from domestic issues. Russia is entering the crisis and it's a very serious crisis, and just some fears, we'll have an oil crisis decline, we have a deficit in the budget, a lot of problems with salaries, pensions and so on, and the Russian government needs somebody to blame. So Obama is a very suitable target for government.
CHANCE (on camera): He's a scapegoat?
GUDKOV: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) CHANCE (voice-over): The current anti-Obama campaign seems to have started with this, a video appeal to the United Nations with Russian students calling for Mr. Obama to be punished for thousands of lost lives. It's now emerged that at least one of the speakers works for the youth wing of Russia's ruling party, although, the Russian authorities deny they're behind the anti-Obama campaign. Nor is the personal criticism apparently shared by many ordinary Russians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I think he could be a good man if he's the president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I just don't believe he's a killer, although a president of any country can be accused of it.
CHANCE: In Russia, of course, it's only Americans, like in this recently posted video showing dozens of Russians falling to the floor as if dead. "The U.S. president kills 875 people every week," reads the sign. But there is no sign of this anti-Obama campaign coming to an end.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
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[01:45:23] VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, "Saturday Night Live" is a comedic mainstay in the United States, and now it's trying to replicate that success elsewhere. Probably not where you might expect.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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[01:49:28] VAUSE: The Daytona 500, often referred to as the great American race, lived up to that on Sunday. Denny Hamlin won a photo finish, claiming first place by a record One-one-hundredth of a second. He started the final lap in fourth place, passing three drivers on his way to that razor-thin win. And it's his first victory at the Daytona 500.
A telescope has detected one of the biggest black holes ever. The holes are actually invisible so you can't see them. But astronomers can tell they're there and how large it is by measuring the speed that stars move around it. The black hole in this galaxy has 21 billion times the mass of our sun. That's more than 5,000 times bigger than the one at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. These are a glimpse into the distant past because the light which we're looking at there took 300 million years to reach us.
"Saturday Night Live" is a cultural mainstay in the United States and parodies everything from pop culture to politics, and has done so for decades. Over the weekend, comedians in Egypt launched a new version, and it brings some unique challenges.
Here's Ian Lee.
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(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 FEMALE: "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 to do something original. 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 (ph), 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) VAUSE: Well, a moment everyone dreads, losing your wallet. Sometimes you get lucky, it's returned with everything inside. That's exactly what happened to one New Yorker, sort of.
And Jeanne Moos explains.
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(SINGING)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He went to a concert in Brooklyn, and when Riley Flaherty got home, he realized, uh-oh, lost my wallet.
RILEY FLAHERTY, LOST WALLET: Had a classic freak-out moment.
MOOS: But the really freaky part happened later.
FLAHERTY: Two weeks later, this crazy envelope shows up. "Dear Riley Flaherty, I found your wallet and your driver's license had your address. So here's your credit cards and other important stuff."
MOOS: That's the good news, even although he had already replaced his license and credit cards. The bad news?
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS REPORTER: "I kept the cash because I needed weed."
FLAHERTY: The metro card, well, because the fare's $2.75 now, and the wallet, because it's kind of cool.
MOOS: At least the wallet-napper has good taste. It's a handmade leather wallet.
Riley posted the letter on social media, writing, "Thanks, I think."
(on camera): Next thing you know, the letter's on the front page of the paper, and it's being read on national TV.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS REPORTER: "Enjoy the rest of your day. Tootles, Anonymous."
MOOS: Tootles? What kind of half Good Samaritan, half thief talks like a teenager.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Tootles.
FLAHERTY: The iconic thing is we could have been good friends. We both like LOCO, same taste in wallets.
MOOS: It's such a New York thing, a little selfish, a little selfless.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS REPORTER: Anonymous's honesty is actually kind of charming.
FLAHERTY: We've got this pot-smoking modern-day Robin Hood out there. [01:55:13] MOOS: Sending a hand-scrolled letter with a Charlie Brown
stamp. Maybe that's a clue. Maybe Charlie Brown did it.
CARTOON CHARACTER: Good grief.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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VAUSE: Good grief.
You're been watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. The news continues with Rosemary Church after a short break. You're watching CNN.
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