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Iran Prepares for Election; Trump Continues to Roll; US and China Agree on Strong Reposne to North Korean Actions; UN Reports Aid Drops Reached 110,000 People; Romney Speaks about Trump Tax Returns. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 25, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[3:00:01](COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL HOST: Decision time. Iranians prepare to head to the polls for an election that could redefine the country's relations with the West.
Trump triumphant, Donald Trump looks ahead after his third win in a row. Can any of his Republican rivals stop him?
And a river of trash, the Paris of the east drowning in a sea of refuse.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.
Alright, we begin in Iran with people are getting ready for elections on Friday that could drastically change the future of the country. For the first time on the same day, Iranians will elect their lawmakers to parliament, and also to the assembly of experts which will appoint the influential supreme leader. The elections are the first since a deal was reached to limit Iran's nuclear program. And our CNN international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, joins us live from Tehran. So, Fred, this election pits reformers against conservatives, which side is expected to dominate, and what is the sentiments on the streets right now?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary, it's absolutely unclear at this point in time which side is actually going to dominate in the elections, but I can tell you both sides are definitely coming out and making their case, and both sides are really in a fierce campaign, and you can feel that in the tense mood here on the streets in Tehran. We were out yesterday. The entire city is plastered with election posters with campaigners. Here what we saw in Tehran.
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PLEITGEN: Campaigning Iranian style. Volunteers for the reform movement hand out flyers in Tehran's traffic. They say their confident but not certain they'll win. It's unclear what will happen because the Iranians only make up their mind in the last minute, he says, but the moderate position is much better than that of the conservatives. Tehran is plastered with election posters as a fierce battle between the reformers around President Hassan Rouhani, the conservatives around the powerful clergy unfolds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Many observers view the upcoming elections as extremely important and also as a referendum on Hassan Rouhani's policies of opening Iran up to the West.
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PLEITGEN: The divisions were exacerbated by the recent nuclear agreement, designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.
TRANSLARTOR: We support the Rouhani government and the nuclear deal, this reformist says. We should have a parliament to support and not block Rouhani's policies.
PLEITGEN: But many conservatives view that as a threat. Death to America, they chant at this hardline rally. They believe Iran has opened itself to American infiltration with the nuclear agreement.
TRANSLATOR: We consider the nuclear deal to be American interference, she says, and we will fight against it and hopefully defeat it. Our nation will not allow America to influence our affairs.
PLEITGEN: The decisions Iranian voters make this Friday could do more than just alter the makeup of its parliament. They could also influence the country's course toward the West, and some believe the stability of its political system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, as you can see, people here very much aware of what is at stake in these elections. I can tell you, some of the attacks in these campaigns have been absolutely vicious. That conservative rally that we went to yesterday was under the motto, no to England, where the conservatives are accusing the reformers of being influenced by Great Britain. There's, of course, a lot of hard feelings toward Britain here because of colonial times. And really, you could feel that these attacks are absolutely vicious. The campaigning is really, really strong at this point in time because both sides know there is a lot at stake, especially when you look to the very immediate future, but also to the long-term future of this country's political system and also of course its economy as well, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Alright, Fred Pleitgen, joining us live there from Tehran, many thanks to you.
Well, the White House says the United States and China have agreed on a strong response to North Korea's, quote, provocations. Reuters reports Thursday, the U.S. will submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council for new sanctions. Richard Roth has the details.
[3:04:57] RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The U.N. Security Council is poised for another round of sanctions against North Korea. China and the United States have spent weeks discussing the latest resolution at odds over just how punishing the text should be. It hasn't been release yet. Its possible sanctions could include preventing North Korea from certain international ports or a crackdown on the banking system. Anything is possible at this point. The frustration is so deep at the Security Council after North Korea's latest missile test and nuclear test. Security Council ambassadors telling journalists that there is an agreement between China and the U.S. and now the text is being circulated among other members of the 15-nation panel. There were loggerheads. But John Kerry the U.S. secretary of state said considerable progress was made between China and the U.S. Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
CHURCH: The United Nations says its first aid drop in Syria has reached at least 110,000 people. A world food program plane dropped 21 tons of relief items on Wednesday. The U.N. estimates around 200,000 people need aid. Earlier, the humanitarian chief criticized the Syrian government for placing obstacles to keep food and medical supplies from getting through. Now this influx of aid comes ahead of a planned cease-fire in Syria this weekend. CNN's, Jomana Karadsheh, joins me now for more on this from Amman, Jordan. And Jomana, I want to talk about the fact that there has been a lot of skepticism now, since this cease-fire that is due to go into effect on Friday. But now, we're hearing from the United States, a reluctance there, a sense that there is a problem with Russia. How has that been received in the region?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, Rosemary, there is a lot of skepticism since this deal was announced, since this talk of the cessation of hostilities going into effect, whether it's from regional countries here, or whether it is from the Syrian opposition. The main issue here, you know, when you talk about a deal like this is cessation of hostilities and agreements for any sort of temporary truce, it's got to have a bit of trust there, at least some good faith, which is clearly lacking when it comes to this conflict. A lot of the opposition figures that we've spoken to have always really voiced their skepticism when it comes to the intentions of the Russians and the intentions of the Syrian regime. They've said that they're concerned that this is a time when they're going to use this to try and advance as we have seen over the past few weeks. The Syrian regime backed by the Russians, have been able to gain ground in some parts of the country. So the opposition's a bit skeptical, saying they might use this time and, you know, little that could be a loophole in the agreement that says they're still allowed to go after organizations that are considered terrorist organizations like Jabhat al-Nusra. They're concerned that we'll see a repeat of what we've been seeing for the past few weeks, as they've accused the Russians and Syrians of attacking the Syrian opposition under the pretext of attacking Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, so a lot of skepticism there. We're also hearing this from the United States, and U.S. officials also voicing their concerns. They really don't trust the Russians 100 percent, as it would seem now. So we're going to have to wait and see what happens. You know, publicly, there are talks of the cessation of hostilities going into effect that the Russians are working with the United States here, but some U.S. officials are voicing their skepticism. And, again, we heard that from President Obama yesterday saying, we need to be realistic here, the situation on the ground is very complicated. While everyone might want to see this pause in the bloodshed in Syria, realistic look at the situation, it is too complicated, Rosemary, a lot could go wrong here, and we'll have to wait and see what happens on Friday. And of course, it is the civilians were caught in the middle who will be waiting more than anyone else to see what happens.
CHURCH: And Jomana, if the worst case scenario and things do go wrong, what next? What's plan B here if the cease-fire doesn't work?
KARADSHEH: Well, Rosemary, we heard the plan B talk come out from two days ago when we heard Secretary of State John Kerry during the senate hearing saying that being questioned, being grilled by different senators, asking him about this cessation of hostilities, what happens if it doesn't work. Right now, at this point in time, the U.S. is focused on the cessation of hostilities, hoping that this would be a first step towards maybe a longer-term kind of cease-fire because they still publicly say the solution they see ahead is a political solution for the situation. You cannot have any negotiations as we have seen in the past, political talks, any sort of peace talks have failed in the past while the fighting is ongoing on the ground. And we heard Secretary Kerry talk about a plan B, but U.S. officials are telling CNN that there's no such thing as a real concrete plan B in place. They will be looking at different measures if this doesn't work out. And it all stems from the skepticism when it comes to what Russia is really going to do versus what Russia is saying there. And these -- the plan B, so far, according to Russian -- to U.S. officials, Rosemary, is looking at things like more sanctions against the Russians and U.S. officials saying making public information about what they say are deliberate strikes on civilian targets in Syria, that sort of thing. No real military plan B's at this point.
[3:10:11] CHURCH: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, watching this story very closely from her vantage point there in Amman, Jordan, many thanks to you.
Donald Trump has landed his first endorsement from a member of the U.S. congress in the race for president. Republican, Chris Collins of New York had previously endorsed Jeb Bush, who suspended his campaign last week, of course. Collins says the country needs a chief executive, not a chief politician.
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CHRIS COLLINS, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Of all the candidates standing today, Donald Trump is the chief executive. He has spent 30 plus, 40 years running a very complex enterprise, and what comes with that is the ability, you know, to handle all types of issues that will come at our next president.
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CHURCH: Donald Trump is hoping to ride the momentum of his big win in the Nevada caucuses, right through to Super Tuesday. Twelve states will hold primaries or caucuses on March 1st. But before that, the five Republican contenders will meet Thursday at a CNN debate in Houston, Texas. Jim Acosta, reports.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's first campaign event after his win in Nevada says it all.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, everybody.
ACOSTA: Eyeing the Bible belt states up for grabs on Super Tuesday, next week. Trump appealed to Christian conservatives by sitting down with televangelist, Pat Robertson.
TRUMP: You inspire us all.
ACOSTA: Trump talked about forgiveness, perhaps even for his arch rival, Ted Cruz.
TRUST: Maybe. I can forgive. Every once in a while there will be somebody that went too far, over the last few weeks. You know, things were said that were lies. I've got to be a good person today, at least for the next hour, I'm sorry.
ACOSTA: But Trump isn't spending much time talking about his opponents, he's busy envisioning his days in the White House. The ultimate political outsider saying he would likely want a political insider as his vice president.
TRUMP: I do want somebody that's political because I want to get a lots of great legislation that we all want passed.
ACOSTA: And strong conservatives for the Supreme Court.
TRUMP: Pro-life. Very, very smart, I mean, like Judge Scalia. He was a perfect representative.
ACOSTA: On day one of a Trump administration, the GOP front runner vows he'll scrap Obamacare, approve veteran's health care, and end the president executive actions to slow deportation of the un-documented.
TRUMP: Especially the one on the border where people are allowed to come in, just pour into our country like Swiss cheese.
ACOSTA: Trump is heading into Super Tuesday with a lead that is ballooning quickly, with five times the number of delegates as his nearest rivals.
TRUMP: The establishment, the media, the special interests, the lobbyists, the donors, they're all against me.
ACOSTA: Trump is also running a new ad, warning that D.C. establishment is out to get him, and he's making the case Republicans should consider how he's expanding the party, and get on board.
TRUMP: We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated. And you know what I really am happy about, because I've been saying it for a long time, 46 percent with the Hispanics, 46 percent, number one with Hispanics.
ACCOSTA: The contenders vying to be the anti-Trump insist the race is far from over.
TED CRUZ, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't get this wrong. We can't be fooled by P.T. Barnum. The time for the clowns, and the acrobats, and the dancing bears has passed.
ACOSTA: Cruz went back to delegate rich Texas to secure the endorsement of that state's popular governor. Marco Rubio is urging supporters to pick a candidate who can actually win in November.
MARCO RUBIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't just elect someone that's angry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: He may be way ahead, but Trump is not slowing down. He's got a bunch of events lined up to the south of southwest to set the table for Super Tuesday next week. And all of the early polls indicate Trump has a chance to clean up and force some of his rivals out of the race. Jim Acosta, CNN, Las Vegas.
CHIURCH: Former U.S. presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, says he thinks there could be a bombshell in Donald Trump's tax returns. He is urging Trump and other Republicans to release their returns. Trump denies there's any bombshell and says he will decide in the coming months whether to release the returns.
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[3:15:16] MITT ROMNEY, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think there's something there. Either he's not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay, or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to the vets or to the disabled like he's been telling us he's been doing. And I think that's -- the reason that I think there's a bombshell in there is because every time he's asked about his taxes he dodges and delays and says, well, we're working on it.
TRUMP: Well, because my returns are extremely complex, and I'll make a determination at the right time. I'm in no rush to do it. Nobody's been bringing it up except a Mitt Romney. And the reason he brings it up is that he lost in the last election, and lost very badly. So, I don't know why he's bringing it up, but tax returns are very complicated.
CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about the race for the White House is the Washington Post, political writer, Philip Bump. Thanks so much for being with us. Well, anti-Trump establishment Republicans will likely panicked right about now in the wake of Trump's big win in Nevada. So how do they stop him and what sort of horse trading might be going on to try to prevent him from becoming the party's nominee?
PHILIP BUMP, POLITICAL WRITER WASHINGTON POST: Sure. Well, I think the problem is no one knows how to stop him. I think, everyone thinks -- everyone thought for months that he would just sort of fall apart, people wouldn't vote for him, he wouldn't be able to campaign, that's all been proven incorrect, obviously. And I think no one has any idea what to do at this point. I think there's a lot of pressure on candidates like John Kasich to drop out of the race hoping that his support goes to Marco Rubio. I'm sure there's a lot of pressure on Jeb Bush, to come out and endorse Marco Rubio. But the problem is, with three candidates in the race, with Rubio, and Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, all doing fairly well, they're all going to split enough of the vote that Donald Trump with 40 percent of the vote. If he keeps getting that, he can rack up delegates and win the nomination.
CHURCH: So, which candidate is better position to fight Trump in a two-man race, Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio, and can they realistically stop him? Some say Trump already has this in the bag.
BUMP: Right. Well, both of them, if you look at head-to-head polling, if you look at Trump versus Cruz, and Trump versus Rubio, both of them actually beat him in recent polling, but the problem is that it doesn't see like we're going to get to that point, and if we do, it will probably be too late to stop Donald Trump anyway. I mean, the challenge is that Donald Trump keeps adding delegates, since last October when it's all theoretical, and you know, can you beat him, and what can we do, and what if we put these people up against one another. Ted Cruz isn't going to drop out before March 1st, which is when Texas votes. Marco Rubio's not going to drop out before March 15th, which is on Florida votes. And by March 15th, half of all the delegates that will be allocated will be allocated. So it's a lot of winner take all states. So the problem is there's a time crunch and you have 3 strong candidates, none of whom going to want to drop out.
CHURCH: And I do want to ask you this too because 2012 Republicans nominee, Mitt Romney, has entered the fray, suggesting there may be a bombshell in Trump's tax returns. Trump struck back calling him a fool and a tough guy. But what do you make of all this? Is there anything to it, and what about the timing?
BUMP: I have no idea if there's anything to it. And the irony of this, of course, is that during the 2012 campaign, senate then -- senate majority leader Harry Reid accused Mitt Romney of having some good things in his tax returns which has turnout was not the case. I think the Mitt Romney is probably the head and shoulder, the establishment Republican, he is the guy who embodies the establishment wing of the Republican party. And I think essentially what he's doing he's stepping back in, he's starting to actually take this fight on as something the Republican party definitely needs him to do, but I don't think Trump supporters are going to be people who are swayed by what Mitt Romney has to say.
CHURCH: Interesting. Alright, Philip Bump, thank you so much...
BUMP: My pleasure.
CHURCH: For talking with us. Appreciate it.
And CNN's, Wolf Blitzer will moderate a Republican debate in Texas. It is the last chance for the Republican presidential contenders to face- off on the issues before the Super Tuesday contest next week. And that is at 1:30 in the morning Friday in London right here on CNN. Let's take a very short break. But next on, CNN Newsroom, Apple versus the FBI, the tech giant's CEO is speaking out on why he refuses to help investigators hack into the phone of a terrorist. We'll have that for you in a moment. Stay with us.
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[3:19:46]KATE RILEY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN world sport headlines. The latest batch of Champions League knock out games has taken place, and while there were no goals between PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid, it was a profitable night. Manchester city, the citizen never progressed past their last 16 rounds, but have one foot in the quarterfinals after winning 3-1 at Dynamo Kyiv. Goals from Sergio Aquevo, David Silva, and Yaya Toure's capped off an impressive display, and more than justify Manuel Pellegrini's decision to field a weaken side in the FA cup last weekend at Chelsea. The disgraced outgoing president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, and UEFA chief, Michel Platini have had their bans from all football related activity upheld, that said, there suspension have been reduced from 8 to 6 years by FIFA appeal committee. The pair were punished after they were both found guilty of breaching surrounding a $2 million disloyal payment, which was made to Platini. What does this all mean? It appears that the door may be open for the two to be involved at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Meanwhile, transparent voting booth will not be used during Friday ballot to decide the next FIFA president. It was the idea put forward by Prince Ali of Jordan, because the felt voters will be able to use cell phones to take photo of who they voted for, which might influence the final count. And that's the look of all your sports headline, I'm Kate Riley.
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Stocks in China plunged on Thursday with the Shanghai Composite closing down more than 6 percent. Japan's Nikkei and Australia's ASX 200 finished higher though. Trading has just ended in Hong Kong with the Hang Seng, you can see it there, down more than 1.5 percent, and there you see the numbers from Shanghai, pretty stunning. All right, well, in a new report from the New York Times, Apple engineers say they are working on new security measures that could make it impossible for the U.S. government to break in to a locked iPhone. Now this comes amid a heated battle between the tech giant and the U.S. justice department. A judge ordered Apple to help Federal investigators unlock a phone that belonged to one of the shooters in the deadly attack in San Bernardino, California, last December. Apple CEO is not backing down from his refusal to crack the terrorist's iPhone. In a new interview, Tim Cook says doing so would badly undermine the privacy of hundreds of millions of iPhone users.
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TIM COOK, CEO APPLE: This case is not about my phone. This case is about the future. What is at stake here is, can the government compel Apple to write software that we believe would make hundreds of millions of customers vulnerable around the world, including the U.S.
REPORTER: And you'd have to write that system in order to unlock that phone. COOK: Yes. The only way we know would be to write a piece of
software that we view as sort of the software equivalent of cancer. We think its bad news to write. We would never write it. We have never written it. And that is what is at stake here. If we knew a way to get the information on the phone that we haven't already given, if we knew a way to do this that would not expose hundreds of millions of other people to issues, we would honestly do it.
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CHURCH: And the U.S. attorney general says the mission to protect public safety is threatened by legal disputes between tech companies and the government. Apple has until Friday to respond to the court order.
Well, lower petro prices around the world are making it easier for many people to get around these days, but not in China. Prices there have not budged in weeks, even though crude oil is near rock bottom. And that's making for some frustrated drivers. Matt Rivers has more now from Beijing.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Beijing, a liter of fuel costs about 5.56 Yuan, about $.85 U.S. cents. And while prices keep falling across most of the world, here in China gas is as cheap as it's going to get.
TRANSLATOR: I'm jealous, very jealous.
RIVERS: Meet Liu Jianguo, he's 52, has a wife, one daughter, she's in med school, and that blue Buick is his chariot. He earns a living driving people around, which means lots of time spent here at the gas station. The government sets fuel prices, but despite the plunging cost of oil, prices here haven't changed since mid-January. That's when Chinese officials set a price floor. When crude oil trades below $40 a barrel, prices at Chinese pumps freeze.
[3:25:41] TRANSLATOR: It's China. The government sets the prices. When it's expensive, you pay more. Less when it's cheap. What can ordinary people do about it?
RIVERS: Resignation and a bit of frustration from Mr. Liu, a familiar sentiment from Chinese consumers wondering why their government won't let them join in on the cheap oil party. Officially, state media says it's for environmental reasons. Cheap gas would mean more people buying, which means, more pollution in a country where there's plenty of toxic smog already. And there's likely another reason for this price floor centering on a different kind of green, profits. They plummeted at the big Chinese state-owned oil companies last year because of cheap oil. Many expert suggest that this price floor is a way for the government to try and ease that pain by not letting prices get too low. Whatever the reasons, Liu Jianguo says costs everywhere else in Beijing are going up. It would be nice if fuel went down.
TRANSLATOR: Everybody thinks the lower the better. RIVERS: Then he'd have more money to reinvest in his car, maybe put
towards his daughter's tuition. At the very least, he'd have more cash to spend on the chestnuts he likes to eat while driving around. Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Thousands of migrants are in limbo. Coming up, it is getting harder to enter some European countries, and that has the U.N. worried.
Plus, a river of rubbish clogging the Lebanese capital keeps growing as locals wait for a fix.
And fierce storms batter the eastern United States, the funnel clouds and their devastating aftermath just ahead.
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CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers all across the globe. I'm rosemary church. I want to update you on the main stories we are following this hour.
The U.S. and China have agreed on new expanded sanctions for North Korea. Reuters reports the U.S. will submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council, Thursday. This comes after Pyongyang's nuclear test in January, and a satellite launch earlier this month.
Donald Trump has landed his first endorsement from a member of the U.S. congress in the race for president. Republican Chris Collins of New York had previously endorsed Jeb bush, who suspended his campaign last week. Collins says the country needs a chief executive, not a chief politician.
The United Nations says its first aid drop in Syria has reached 110,000 people, but double that amount still need help. A world food program plane dropped 21 tons of relief items on Wednesday in Del al- Zor. The food and medical supplies are for citizens besieged by ISIS.
Austria and its neighbors to the south are united on tighter border controls for the tens of thousands of arriving migrants. But the U.N.'s high commissioner for refugees says blocking the migrants' path will lead to chaos and disorganization. Kellie Morgan, reports on the concerns about a deepening humanitarian crisis.
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KELLIE MORGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stopped in their tracks. A train full of migrants who just crossed from Greece into Macedonia, unable to continue their journey into Europe.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Just wait, just wait. What's problem? Just -- tell us.
MORGAN: The problem is this. Migrants not from Syria or Iraq are being denied passage through the Balkan countries, including Serbia. UNINDENTIFIED MALE: So what I should do? What we should do? What
Afghan do? If did not -- I said after.
MORGAN: Even welcoming countries such as Austria have now controlled the numbers they'll allow into the country each day, the restrictions rippling down along the route creating bottlenecks and deepening the desperation. Nowhere more so than in Greece, where 95,000 migrants have already arrived this year, dwarfing the numbers last year, the United Nations insisting the restrictions be lifted to prevent further chaos.
[3:30:29]FILIPPO GRANDI, U.N. HIGH COMMISSION ON REFUGEES: We are seeing on the one hand increasing closures, and on the other hand no openings. Relocation has to happen. That's for the people that are right here, relocated throughout Europe, according to quotas that have already been established.
MORGAN: Quotas that have already been rejected by Hungary, which was among the first countries to erect razor wire fences to keep migrants out. Now with colder referendum on the matter intake which he deems a breach of sovereignty.
VIKTOR ORBAN, HUGARIAN PRIME MINISTER: We Hungarians feel, I'm convince, that the government is responding to public censure now. We think, introducing reassessment quotas for migrants, we are the backing of the people equals an abuse of power.
MORGAN: And the international of the relative annual report Wednesday, describing the European response to the crisis as shameful.
SALIL SHETTY, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY GENERAL: I think what we're seeing is a political and ethical crisis where countries like Hungary, for example, are busy trying to pan der to the more populist parties, and this is totally not in line with their international obligation position and with the European position, and I think they have to be brought into line.
MORGAN: But the European position is increasingly divided. Borders that have long been open for the Schengen agreement continue to close. Belgium, the latest to suspend the accord, out of fear migrants facing eviction from Calais so-called jungle in France will head for the border. Kellie Morgan, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Beirut is normally a picturesque city, but a disgusting river is flowing through the Lebanese capital. The city's main landfill has been shut down for month now, leading mountains of trash in the street. Nick Paton Walsh got an up close look at what's happening.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where once flowed beauty, now the river is of trash. Yes, the picture does need a second look. It is not a fake. Piled up over four months, the household waste Lebanon's woefully dysfunctional government can't deal with. All around Beirut it lies on the street, but here, one staggering eyesore of an apparent 2 million tons.
Lebanon is gifted with incredible natural beauty. In fact, you could see cedars there just sat above this unnatural river. But bear in mind, this is just the cold of winter and already the stink and the smell here is intolerable. Imagine what the summer sun will do to this.
In the winter, too, the rain drains toxins from it. And add them to the water table some say a health catastrophe is brewing. One official told us, though, look, at least it's organized, tell that to locals.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not healthy at all. It's cancer.
WALSH: Diseases, cancers, we're dying here, Ali says. Look at what they're doing. The solution is we die slowly. Our concerns are our children, Ali adds. We can tolerate it, but what about our kids?
Last summer, anger at this basic failure of the state was just beginning. The trash collectors lost their contract, rotting garbage, a metaphor protesters said for the decay in leadership here. Still, even after this, nothing was solved. An elaborate plan to ship it all to Russia fell apart Friday. Now there is no plan. No recycling. No end to the disposables this tiny country will consume. And summer's burning heat is closing in. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN. Beirut.
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CHURCH: Unbelievable there. Well, a powerful and deadly storm system has been ripping across the eastern United States. An early report from the national weather service says 16 tornados were spotted Wednesday in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. Four people were killed in Virginia. Authorities say a funnel cloud in the central part of the state injured seven people. So let's get more now on this rare February tornado outbreak. We turn to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, who joins us from the international weather center with details, 16 tornados, incredible number.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN WEATHER WATCH: Incredible number, yes, especially for this time of year. And, Rosemarie, of course, we touch on this so much when it comes to the United States, the number of tornados we see in the U.S. and the graphic we show you so often tabulate to about 1200 tornados in a calendar year for the United States in general. But look at the month of February, 29, that accounts for about 2 percent of all the tornados we see in the entire year. That's how many you would see for the entire month of February, climate logically speaking now. I want to show you exactly what transpired not only just on Wednesday alone, but also on Tuesday across United States, the southern United States, upwards of 37 tornados were reported on Tuesday. You add on another 16 or so tornados come Wednesday afternoon. Total number takes it up to 52 reported tornados. Keep in mind, 29 is what would you expect for an entire month, and of course, this is what occurred across that region in just a matter of 24-plus hours. And you take a look, that number right there puts it among the most prolific February tornado outbreaks. The number of fatalities on the lower end compared to previous tornado outbreaks in recent years, but of course, seven fatalities is too much when you're related, or family and friends that we're talking about across that region. But the storm system still not done with yet, across the northern fringe of this still seeing wild weather taking place, scattered thunderstorms, tornado watches, a thunderstorm watch, I would say across this region of Massachusetts, and also state of Connecticut at this hour. On Boston harbor, in particular, in fact, take a look at what's happening, I'm telling you, not very often in the month of February you would see this, at this hour, in Boston, it is warmer than it is down in Tampa, Florida. That's how wild the pattern is as far as a southerly flow, very unstable atmosphere to support a strong thunderstorm in the early morning hours. But, of course, that again being the severe side of it, there is a wintery side of this, we're going to see snow shower from Cleveland out towards Detroit and Grand Rapids at this hour as well. To the tune of about 2400 flights were canceled there on Wednesday across the United States. We had upwards of 3600 flights delayed as well, associated with the weather that was very wintry in nature across parts of the country, but the snow cover is only 22 percent for the entire country. This is the lowest snow cover in February with all of that said, so again, a little flip-flop of weather. Rosemary, I'm going to leave with this, pictures coming out of Death Valley, California, one of the hottest and driest places on our planet, typically is a barren, we have a lot of rainfall due to El Nino in recent months, a lot of seeds that are laid down beneath the desert floor. The cover -- the protective layering of the seeds have been stripped away by rainfall, and now the flowers are blossoming to a spectacular sight in one of the driest places in world, Rosemary.
[3:35:15]CHURCH: Incredible. Desert flowers are certainly gorgeous. Thank you so much, Pedram. Appreciate it.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
CHURCH: It has been 30 years since the People Power revolution in the Philippines. Filipinos took to the streets to recall the historic events. In 1972, then President Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under military rule. Marcos, was re-elected in a snap election, but huge protest followed. After more than a million people demonstrated, Marcos was deposed in 1986. Current president Benigno Aquino spoke on the anniversary, he denied the Marcos era was a golden age in the country, but instead called it a very painful time.
And still to come, a CNN exclusive, join us as we investigate a South African prison accused of mistreating its inmates.
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CHURCH: CNN was given exclusive access to Pollsmoor, one of South Africa's most notorious prisons. It has been dogged for years now by allegations of overcrowding and inhumane conditions. David McKenzie, joins us now from Johannesburg with a closer look. So, David, what did you find when you entered this notorious prison?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, you know, Nelson Mandela, South Africa liberation hero, spent time in Pollsmoor prison in the '80s, and even then, they complained about the conditions. It's no secret in South Africa with a huge prison population that there are issues. But what has been hidden until now is the level of the problems for those detainees inside the remand center, take a look.
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MCKENZIE: Walls designed to keep dangerous inmates out of sight, or so hiding allegations of abuse, disease outbreaks, severe overcrowding. Until now, we've been given exclusive access inside Pollsmoor prison.
We're here in the one section, that's the most overcrowded sections of the Pollsmoor remand centers, some of the cells more than 300 percent over capacity.
Statistics can be hard to grasp. The horrific reality is not.
This single cell crammed with 86 detainees, it was designed for 19. They all share one shower and a toilet, but often, it's just a bucket. No mattress, no nothing, this smell, this many bodies in such a small space is suffocating. The filth is so extreme, skin disease is endemic. Contracting tuberculosis an almost certainty. Inhumane conditions for even the most hardened of convicts, but all of these men yet to be convicted.
MCKENZIE: How many of you have been here for more than two months?
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: The worst thing is to see how the people must lay on the floors next to each other. Even during the night when we want to go to toilet, we have to climb over them.
MCKENZIE: Clive has been stuck here for two years and two months, awaiting trial.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Animals should live like this but not human being.
MCKENZIE: It seems very unfair to them.
CECIL JOHEN JACOBS, ACTING HEAD POLLSMOOR REMAND: I understand that, but unfortunately, we don't invite them in correctional services. We don't invite any of them here. They come here because they do alleged crimes.
MCKENZIE: He says Pollsmoor was designed during apartheid. When prisons were meant to break black inmates, but rehabilitate them.
MCKENZIE: It's inhumane. JACOBS: It's inhumane, it's a fact.
MCKENZIE: Jacobs wanted to show us what wardens are up against. Today like each morning, hundreds of remand inmates head off to court. Some will be let off. Some convicted. But the majority will just be brought back, where hundreds more will join them each week, inside this prison hell.
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MCKENZIE: What is extraordinary, Rosemary, is some of those detainees who haven't been convicted stay there for months, sometimes years, even if they can't afford bail, which is sometimes as low as the equivalent of $5. They're stuck in there. Maybe those trials, their trial is thrown out. They're found innocent, they're released, but the damage is already done. The court system officials say is so overburdened, it cannot cope with the high crime rates, with sometimes investigation work by the police that is getting a huge amount of stumbling blocks, overburdened by the crime rate. And in a country where, you know, more than 50 percent of the youth is unemployed, this is really a sign of the difficulties that South Africa is facing, more broadly in its young democracy, Rosemary.
[3:39:45]CHURCH: Simply horrifying conditions there. Our David McKenzie, reporting for us live there from Johannesburg in South Africa, many thanks to you. Let's take a very short break here. We'll have more, CNN Newsroom, when we come back.
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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ski watch time, Pedram Javaheri with you today watching the snow showers that are expected to move in from Quebec out towards a place like Ontario, eventually will bring in some snow shower, and you're not in the very narrow band, I notice much of it is stays north of a lot of these ski resorts, we have labels here for you, so surely we're looking at some of the areas picking up, potentially, just shy of 1 foot of fresh snow in forecast. The temperatures back behind it very cold, how about minus 6 to minus 11 degrees, we do expect to dry out very rapidly behind this as well. I notice, even across portions of New England, it is cold enough to support the snow showers, the moisture limited because all of that is confined well to the north, at this point, keeping it quiet. Machine groomed, the best we can do killing the resorts, about half the trails are open. Okemo, doing pretty well, as far as trails are 71 percent considered open right now, out around the intermountain west though it is quiet as they come for late February. Look at this, dominant area of high pressure. Sunny skies for just about everyone. In fact, CNN Weather, Brandon Miller sharing this photograph with us from winter park ski resort, beautiful views. The slopes set up shop watching the sun come up across portions of the Rocky Mountains. The forecast looks as such, 6 to 8 degrees, again sunny skies expected here, very little in the way of any moisture to be expected. With packed powderly conditions trails almost all a go across this region of the intermountain west. And here's a look across the areas of California.
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CHURCH: Google's most famous robot now acts even more like a human. The company released a video of Atlas showing off its updated skills. The robot can pick up a box with ease, even after being knocked from its hands. And when atlas is pushed over from behind, it picks itself back up. Atlas uses sensors in its body to keep balance and lasers in its head to navigate. The robot was created for disaster recovery jobs that are not safe for people. U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump is no stranger to attacking
his rivals, but the Republican front runner says he also has a lot of love to give. Our Jeanne Moos reports on the Donald's endless love affair with everything.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is a man in love with love. And we're not just talking about his wife, Melania.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love my kids. I love the bible. I love our police. The Beatles, I love. And do we love our vets? I love the evangelicals.
MOOS: But the Donald's latest love left some dumbfounded.
TRUMP: We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.
MOOS: Instantly, #ilovethepoorlyeducated, started to trend. It ended up on merchandise. It was mocked on twitter, Make America dumb again. The Donald seems smitten with various demographics.
TRUMP: We won with women. I love the women.
MOOS: But why stop at love?
TRUMP: I cherish women.
MOOS: Of course there is geographical love.
TRUMP: We love Nevada. I love Iowa. I love Las Vegas. I love the country.
MOOS: And there is passive aggressive love.
TRUMP: I love protesters. I love the New York Times, it's great.
MOOS: But the kind of love that tends to worry his recipient is often followed by a but.
TRUMP: I love the Mexican people. I love the Muslims, I think they're great people. I love China.
MOOS: But.
TRUMP: They are ripping us.
MOOS: There is one sure way to win a Trump's affection.
TRUMP: So Kanye West, I love him because he loves Trump.
MOOS: Even when the Donald expresses his devotion to a cookie.
TRUMP: Oreos. I love Oreos.
MOOS: In the next breath he bites back.
TRUMP: I'll never eat them again.
MOOS: He's boycotting Nabisco because it moved some jobs to Mexico. Trump's never-ending supply of love is apparently contagious.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you.
TRUMP: I love you folks very much. We love you.
MOOS: For the Donald, love is blind.
TRUMP: I don't know who the hell's in this room, but whoever it is, I love you.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos.
TRUMP: I love you.
MOOS: CNN.
TRUMP: Everybody loves me.
MOOS: New York.
TRUMP: Everybody loves me.
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[3:45.06] CHURCH: We love you all. And Facebook is in the headlines today, for finally giving people the chance to do more than like something. Users have complained that it felt wrong to hit, like, if someone posted about a sad life event. Well, now you can use emojis to express a wider array of reaction, including sad, angry, and wow. One thing we didn't get, the dislike button. But founder Mark Zuckerberg hinted at earlier in the year. And thanks for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Max Foster is up next with another edition of, CNN Newsroom, have a great day.
