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North Korea Threats over U.S./South Korean Military Exercises; Migrants Stuck at Greek Border; Democratic Candidates Spar at Debate in Flint, Michigan; Flint Residents Talk Water Crisis; Questions on MH370 Disappearance Remain; Chinese Outlines Plans to Grow Slowing Economy; Much-Needed Snow in California; Remembering Former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 07, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:37] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Errol Barnett. We appreciate you kicking off your week with us. Our two-hour block of CNN NEWSROOM starts now. Our top story, annual joint military exercises between the United
States and South Korea are under way at this moment. And not surprisingly, the other nation on the Korean peninsula isn't taking kindly to those drills. But the rhetoric we're hearing is stronger this year.
CHURCH: North Korea is threatening an indiscriminate nuclear strike if the exercises continue. And those drills are currently set to go all the way through to the end of April.
Our Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul.
Paula, North Korea always makes threats when these joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S. take place. How different is it this time? And is Pyongyang even capable of delivering an indiscriminate nuclear strike?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, these kinds of threats from North Korea were really expected. Not just because the drills are ongoing and Pyongyang is angered by them every year, but there's been a fair run-up to the military drills as well. A nuclear test in January, a satellite launch in February, which is seen as a long-range missile test, and last week, the U.N. sanctions, very wide- ranging sanctions, described as the strongest in two decades, were passed against North Korea. And then, last week, at the end, Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader, said he wants his nuclear weapons at the ready. This has been a year that has been leading up to this point. It's not just out of nowhere that North Korea is threatening this indiscriminate nuclear attack.
But it's not the first time they have warned of nuclear war against the U.S. and Seoul. Certainly, officials will be listening but no one would necessarily be taking them too seriously or not taking them at their word. North Korea isn't believed to have the capability of being able to launch a nuclear missile against either Washington or against other countries. So, certainly, that's one thing to take into account -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: So, as you say, this is expected. So what impact if any, have the threats had on South Korea and, indeed, these joint military drills with the U.S.?
HANCOCKS: Well, the military drills themselves will go ahead as planned. They've been in the works for many months. They're annual. They happen every year. Washington and Seoul say they're defensive in nature and they are necessary to make sure that the allies can work well together.
From the South Korean point of view, the defense ministry this Monday morning said they were upping their surveillance on North Korea just to make sure there are no provocations, as they put it. They say there's no sign at this point of anything untoward or anything changing, any movements in North Korea.
But, of course, the question is what's capability does North Korea have. When it comes to nuclear, the belief is that they have between 10 and 16 nuclear weapons. This is according to the Institute for Science and International Security assessing that. Also, they claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb, North Korea, but few believe, in fact, that's the case. One U.S. official said maybe there were failed components of hydrogen in the January 6th test. And also there were mixed views on the long-range missile capability of North Korea. Really, it's not believed they have the ability to be able to launch what they say they can launch -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: Which, of course, is critical.
Keeping us up to date, our Paula Hancocks, bringing us that live report from Seoul, South Korea. Many thanks.
BARNETT: We want to get to the growing migrant crisis struck by yet another tragedy. At least 25 people were killed when a boat carrying refugees capsized off Turkey's western coast.
CHURCH: A Turkish news agency said it happened Sunday in the Aegean Sea. The Turkish Coast Guard says 15 people have been rescued.
BARNETT: Meantime, the United Kingdom is stepping up its response to the migrant crisis. Prime Minister David Cameron says the U.K. will deploy a naval ship and helicopter to the Aegean Sea to help reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey.
[02:05:10] CHURCH: Mr. Cameron is one of the E.U. leaders that will meet with Turkish officials in a few hours on this issue. And Turkish prime minister met with the German chancellor and the Dutch prime minister ahead of the emergency summit.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are stuck at the Greek border, unable to move into Macedonia, where authorities have placed tight restrictions on migrant crossings.
BARNETT: CNN's Arwa Damon is at the Greek/Macedonian border looking at the human impact of what's taking place there.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the youngest, this will be among their first memories. Small comfort as parents try to shelter their children from their fear. Not the fear of the bombs they fled. Fear that the better life they risked so much for was just an illusion.
Upwards of 10,000 people are stuck along what was a transit point. This is the Greek side of the border with Macedonia, demarcated by a fence where there used to be none. In recent weeks, Macedonia has only been allowing a few dozen people a day through, and only Iraqis and Syrians. The overarching logic that transit and destination countries are maxed out, and that risks turning Greece into a massive refugee camp.
Ahmed and his family have been waiting around two weeks but they might never make it. His wife does not have her Syrian I.D.
"When the strikes hit, we just ran away," he says. "I happened to have my id in my pocket. Hers was in the house."
They never had a chance to go back and stricter regulations make identification many fled without, mandatory.
Ahmed said they had no idea. His relatives made it to Germany in just six days a few months ago.
The line for food, a sandwich, is a two-hour wait.
(on camera): These women, young mothers from Aleppo, were just telling us that the hardest thing about all of this-- and they can put up with just about everything -- is the uncertainty of it all, not knowing how long they will have to continue living like this. They are, like the others here, aware that there are high-level meetings that will be taking place between European leaders and Turkey, and it gives them the slightest bit of hope that perhaps this misery will end.
(voice-over): Life does morph, as those who fled war know too well. Fazi (ph), who went broke getting here, reopened his Aleppo barber salon, a far cry from the business he used to own back home.
And Amed (ph), one of six siblings, highly entertained by our mic, has big plans for his future, or so we think.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: It does.
DAMON (on camera): It does.
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DAMON (voice-over): Who knows what will happen to these children's dreams, given Europe's anti-immigrant stance, and the reality that, in the last eight months, since the refugee crisis first made major headlines, instead of viable solutions, there have simply been barricades and blame games.
Arwa Damon, CNN, on the Greece/Macedonia border.
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CHURCH: To Syria, where many of the refugees fled from. Russian officials say the cease-fire in the country is failing. State media reports there have been 15 violations in the past 24 hours alone.
BARNETT: They say most of the violations occurred in Damascus. We have yet to hear directly from Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to those reports.
CHURCH: We'll take a short break. But still to come, the gloves are off in the latest U.S. presidential debate. The change in tone between the Democrats. BARNETT: Plus, children of Flint, Michigan, describe what it's like
to live in a city where the drinking water is contaminated with lead.
CHURCH: And one of the most frustrating mysteries. Coming up, we'll look at the disappearance of flight MH370 two years on.
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[02:13:19] CHURCH: For their seventh debate, the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates faced off in Flint, Michigan, a city struggling with lead-poisoned water and a loss of manufacturing jobs.
BARNETT: That's right. This debate takes place two days before the Michigan primary. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were unusually contentious, as well, battling over Wall Street influence, trade agreements, and auto industry bailout. Listen.
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SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I voted to save the auto industry.
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CLINTON: He voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry. That is a pretty big difference.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if you are talking about the Wall Street bailout, where some of your friends destroyed this economy through --
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CLINTON: You know --
SANDERS: Excuse me, I'm talking.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR & DEBATE MODERATOR: Let him run.
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CLINTON: If you're going to talk, tell the whole story, Senator Sanders.
SANDERS: Let me tell my story, you tell yours.
CLINTON: I will.
SANDERS: Your story is for voting for every disastrous trade agreement and voting for corporate America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: They also differ on the federal Import/export Bank, which has provided low-cost financing to foreign customers of U.S. companies. Sanders opposed it because most of the money went to corporations that outsourced jobs overseas.
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COOPER: Senator Sanders, you are the only member of the Democratic caucus to vote against it.
SANDERS: Right.
COOPER: You're agreeing with Senator Ted Cruz on this. Why is he right and the Democrats wrong?
SANDERS: Well, let me tell you I don't want to break the bad news.
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Democrats are not always right. Democrats have often supported corporate welfare.
(CHEERING)
SANDERS: Democrats have supported disastrous trade agreements. But on this issue, I do not believe in corporate welfare.
You know, we are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health. When you watch these Republican debates you know why we need to invest in mental health.
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[02:15:27] BARNETT: A moment of levity from Senator Sanders.
Now for a moment of clarity, we bring in Lynn Sweet, from Washington, D.C. She is the Washington bureau chief of "The Chicago Sun-Times."
Thanks for your time, Lynn.
I mean, the tone of this debate is so much different than what we've seen from Republicans. But let's begin, there are many policy similarities between Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders. But Sanders is running out of time with Clinton leading big in the delegate count. Did you hear anything new from Sanders that could make a substantive difference?
LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Actually, the debate tonight was very interesting, instructive. Our viewers around the globe can look at it as a nice discussion of how American policy works, in a talk between two people that mainly agree, have had differences in votes dealing with approach, and most importantly, the philosophy of governing. I think what's important here is that Hillary Clinton was trying to show that she is willing to take hard votes on bills that don't have everything she wants. And Bernie Sanders is saying, I take a different approach, I should fight for my main issue within a bill.
To get to your question, did he do anything that changes his trajectory? I don't think so because he couldn't -- it was no new topics, the stuff they talked about, guns, mass incarcerations. In the city of Flint, Michigan, where the water is so tainted, they were -- I think this is a quote or a paraphrase, in violent agreement most of the time.
BARNETT: Let's talk more about the location of this. This was in Flint, Michigan. The water crisis was front and center. In many you tills and a priority for cost savings. How much bigger is the infrastructure issue? And do Democrats have an advantage in addressing it?
SWEET: I think the Flint situation is worse and more dramatic than in other places with the potential of lead pipe problems. You have a city with tainted drinking water. That is singular right now in America. Here's what I think is interesting for the global viewers. You never hear the Republican candidates talk about this city in America with the -- where they can't drink the water. It doesn't happen in America, you would think, where you have a whole breakdown in the system of governing that nothing happened. And the Republicans are not talking about it. Part of the reason, the governor of Michigan, who had a role to play, is a Republican.
BARNETT: That governor said it's a systemic issue, it's bureaucracy to blame.
It took 109 minutes before Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, was mentioned at the debate. Sanders says he wins against Trump by larger margins than Clinton. Which case is stronger? SWEET: Isn't that crazy? Who is winning more? Bernie Sanders,
whatever point he was trying to make, the win is the win. The delegate count is what you're looking at now in the run-up to the conventions. If people don't know, you get elected, in the end, not by looking at the state votes -- not by winning states but by winning delegates. Whatever point he was trying to make was imperfect. The difference would be if one of them was not beating Donald Trump. I think on one, it was worth noting, I don't think this is anything that would change minds when he said that.
BARNETT: African-Americans are a key demographic to any Democrat winning the White House. Clinton acknowledged the '94 crime bill that led to massive incarceration of blacks signed by President Clinton, her husband, was a mistake. Does it seem like Clinton is going to be able to hold on to her lead among minorities?
SWEET: She has an overwhelming lead based on the results in the early voting states, it would be hard -- the issues lingering from the 1994 crime bill, which include in the United States, mass incarceration of African-American males, we haven't seen her being punished for supporting, as a first lady, the administration of her husband's administration. And one of her tactics during this, which is interesting, that when it comes up, I want to talk about the future, as if she is the one that can be forward-looking, rather than, as she said, I think in the few times of the debate, when he brought up her record, I don't want to talk about the '90s. But if you do, here's my record. That's a strategic move to separate herself from her husband's record. But when it works for her, she's happy to talk about it.
[02:20:39] BARNETT: It's fascinating stuff.
And if our viewers can believe it, it's just the beginning. We have more states voting, another Democratic debate --
SWEET: Yes.
BARNETT: -- another Republican debate this week.
Lynn, get comfortable.
From Washington, D.C., the Washington bureau chief of "The Chicago Sun-Times," Lynn Sweet.
Thank you for your time.
SWEET: Thank you.
CHURCH: And Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, responded to calls for his resignation at the Democratic debate. Saying, quote, "In the coming days, political candidates will be leaving Flint and Michigan. They will not be staying to help solve the crisis. But I am committed to the people of Flint. I will fix this crisis and help move Flint forward."
CNN's Sara Sidner spoke to young residents of Flint about the anxiety they're facing over their futures.
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DOMINICK ASPELL, FLINT, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: Because I wanted to serve my country and --
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dominick Aspell (ph) is only 18. But his lifelong dream for his future is dead.
ASPELL (ph): That was my dream, to go to the Army. And now that I can't --
SIDNER: The city he loves is now a source of anxiety, partly because of the water crisis and what has happened to his body since.
ASPELL (ph): I start by getting headaches and passing out, seizures.
SIDNER: His family says doctors can't pinpoint exactly why he began blacking out, sometimes several times a week. It means medically, he can't qualify for the Army. He isn't even allowed to drive. His blood test showed very low levels of lead, convincing his mother, the contaminants in Flint's water are to blame. But there's no medical proof.
(on camera): You said you don't know if it's the water. What do you think it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MOTHER: It has to be the water. He just started passing out. Because I just stopped cooking with the water.
SIDNER (voice-over): Aspell (ph) is one of the children who will inherit the city of Flint, a city now a shell of its former self. Reality Trac estimates one in 15 homes has been abandoned. For three- consecutive years, ending in 2013, Flint has had the most violent crimes per capita. And about 40 percent of the residents live beneath the poverty line.
And then came the decision by government officials to save money by switching the water supply. It ended up creating a major health hazard.
The biggest potential harm, hitting Flint's future generations, like 8-year-olds Julian and Nadia, who play like children, but speak about the water.
(on camera): What's wrong with the water?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: They have lead in it. And they have poison because the pipes are dirty.
SIDNER: Do you know what lead does to people who drink lead?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Choking.
SIDNER: At 8, they notice everything, like the number of times they've had to practice sheltering in place in case there's a shooter, and the number of boarded up houses in their neighborhood.
If it was up to them, their future won't be in Flint.
What about you? Why would you leave Flint?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Because this water is poisoned. If I drink it, I'm going to die. And I don't want to die. Nobody wants to die.
SIDNER (voice-over): From 8 to 18, many of Flint's children and their families worry the town is dying.
(CRYING)
SIDNER: The burly soft-hearted young man beside himself because he truly believes he has no future at all.
(CRYING)
SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Flint.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Powerful report there from our Sara Sidner.
Now U.S. presidential front-runners, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, are set for primary wins in Michigan this week. That's according to a new "NBC News"/"Wall Street Journal"/Maris poll of likely voters. Take a look. Trump has nearly doubled the support of his closest rival, Ted Cruz. Trump at 41 percent, Ted Cruz at 22 percent. And farther down, Marco Rubio is four points ahead of John Kasich. Hillary Clinton tops rival, Bernie Sanders, by 17 points in that survey.
CHURCH: Remember, the goal is to accumulate enough delegates to guarantee the nomination at the party's national convention. A Republican candidate needs the support of 1,237 delegates to become the nominee. Donald Trump is closest to that figure. But Ted Cruz is not far behind now. Democrats need a majority or 2,383 delegates, a number that includes super delegates. So far, Hillary Clinton has more than twice the delegates of Bernie Sanders.
[02:25:16] BARNETT: We should note that U.S. Republican presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, picked up additional delegates on Super Saturday.
CHURCH: They won two races. Cruz took the Maine and Kansas caucuses. Trump won the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucuses.
BARNETT: Trump is in the lead, topping Cruz by 87 delegates. Marco Rubio has 149 delegates from wins in Minnesota and, Sunday, a win in Puerto Rico. You see it stacked up there.
Marco Rubio is defending his place in the Republican presidential race, after calls from his rivals to step down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Marco Rubio had a bad night. Personally, I would call for him to drop out of the race. I think it's time now that he drops out of the race. I really think so.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: As we mentioned, Rubio won the Puerto Rico primary on Sunday, adding 23 delegates to his count. But he's still far behind Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Still, Rubio says his campaign is not centered on whether he gets the 99 delegates up for grabs in his home state of Florida.
BARNETT: It's been almost two years since Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared. The search has been unprecedented. So far, unsuccessful. We'll look at where things stand for investigators and the families of those onboard.
CHURCH: Plus, some much-needed snow falls on the drought-ridden state of California. We will tell you much and why it's falling so late in the season.
We're back in a moment.
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[02:30:01] CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett.
Let's update you on our top stories, right now.
BARNETT: Friends and loved ones of those onboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370 are marking nearly two years since the flight went missing. Now, relatives are holding on to hope that this piece of debris found recently in Mozambique might give them some answers. A small team of experts from Malaysia will analyze this debris.
CHURCH: But the question of what happened to the missing plane has experts scratching their heads.
Richard Quest looks at the unprecedented search two years in the making.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT & CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS (voice-over): Two years of searching, tens of millions of dollars spent, countless theories about what happened, and still, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 hasn't been found.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Experts say the plane is in the southern Indian Ocean, where teams, funded by Australia, Malaysia and China, have scoured 70 percent of the huge target area, above and below the waves.
The search is unprecedented in terms of cost and complexity. The remote area is 3,000 kilometers southwest of Perth, where the seas are rough, with depths up to 6,000 meters, and the underwater terrain has mountains and canyons.
Officials are certain they are searching in the right place, especially after two independent reports came to the same conclusion.
And part of the plane's wing, the flaperon, washed up on Reunion Island, an area consistent with oceanic drift models.
Australians officials are testing another piece of plane debris found last week by an American tourist in Mozambique. This location also fits the analysis.
MARTIN DOLAN, ATSB CHIEF COMMISSIONER: We're still are optimistic that we'll find the aircraft in the current search zone. There's nearly 35,000 square kilometers still to cover.
QUEST (on camera): So, we have the where. We still don't have the why. What caused the plane to go off course? Was it a mechanical fault or a nefarious action? We just don't know.
There are those conspiracy theorists that still believe the plane was taken by a government or shot down.
(SINGING)
QUEST (voice-over): For the families of the 239 victims onboard, this two-year anniversary marks the deadline to either settle compensation claims or bring lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines.
The families are also coming to terms with the ticking clock on the search operation. It will be called off this summer, if the plane isn't found and there are no new leads. A stark reality that, for the time being, at least, the plane and their loved ones may not be found.
Richard Quest, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: We move our focus to China, where the annual meeting of the country's parliament is under way in Beijing. China's premier has laid out his economic vision for the country's slowing economy, outlining plans to create at least 50 million more jobs and to restructure inefficient industries.
CHURCH: CNN's Matt Rivers joins us live from Beijing with more on that annual meeting. Matt, let's look at the economic vision of China's premier and how he
thinks he can guide his country out of this slowdown.
[02:35:07] MATT RIVERS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, Rosemary, there has been quite a lot of criticism of the Chinese government and its handling of the economy over the past year or so. And so, what you're seeing as party leaders gather in Beijing, is an attempt to make people more comfort in the government's ability to handle this economic slowdown. That starts with the growth rate that announced by the premier here, in terms of the country's GDP. This coming year, they would hit a growth rate somewhere between 6.5 percent and 7 percent. That's the first time in 20 years they actually gave a range, rather than a specific number. In 2015, they said that the economy would grow 7 percent. And it did not. It actually only grew 6.9 percent. And so, as a way to make sure that they don't miss targets again, the government gave this range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent. And so, that way, they would be able to meet that mark this year a little bit more easily.
Now, as far as other criticisms go, you can look at a lot of things within the Chinese economy that are cause for concern. Some analysts say there's a housing bubble. You can look at big state-owned enterprises and massive amounts of debt. The Chinese government has a lot of challenges it has to face in the coming year. This kicks off the rest of the year in terms of the Chinese government's ability to handle the economy.
CHURCH: It's a problem throughout the world. Let's look at the significance of the slowing economy and the impact, the domino effect across the globe.
RIVERS: Well, China has acted like the world's global growth engine for the last several decades. As China starts to slow down, that's going to have an impact on the rest of the world. We saw it last week. We took a trip down to the southern part of the country, to the city of Dang Won (ph), the manufacturing heart of China. And what we saw was a city that has seen thousands of factories shut down because of rising costs in terms of production. What you're seeing as the economic slowdown continues here in China, that's the front line where the exporters that have really fueled China's growth are starting to close down. Where will the world get its cheap goods from? You can look at Vietnam, you can look at India, as the businesses begin to leave China. But challenges here in China the government is going to have to deal with moving forward.
CHURCH: Our Matt Rivers reporting live from Beijing. Many thanks to you.
BARNETT: I want to get you to this developing story. Our affiliate reports that a shooting in Sydney, Australia, has left one person dead and two others injured. Authorities rushed to the scene in a suburb.
CHURCH: A significant police operation quickly unfolded there. We have yet to learn any details surrounding the attack or the identity of the shooter. But we'll keep you on top of those as they come into us. BARNETT: Now, fresh snow has blanketed California's mountains.
That's a very good thing for the state.
Our Meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us from the International Weather Center to explain -- Karen?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is a crazy weather pattern, aimed at the West coast. We were looking at the last five to seven years in California, where extreme drought has taken its toll on crops, livestock, livelihoods, fires. Well, now, we're looking at this pineapple express. That's a long fetch of moisture aimed at the West coast. But also being enhanced by an area in the Gulf of Alaska. We would get a double-barrel moisture across the region. In southern California, we pick up wind and rainfall there. Before we get too far, I want to show you pictures, mountain snowfall across the Sierra Nevada. And this, the coastal rainfall. Look at this beautiful sight. People have to pull over and put chains on their tires. Some of the ridge crests over the next 12 hours or so, could see wind gusts as high as 160 kilometers per hour, or about 100 miles per hour. Now, most folks aren't going to see wind gusts that high. Maybe 100 kilometers per hour. But reduced visibility. Here comes the rain. We saw one weather system move through. It knocked down trees and power lines and already one fatality associated with the rainfall. That was due to a falling tree there. Looks like the next round of moisture moves on in. And once again, a very heavy surf. We are looking at very significant rainfall. Not just here in northern and central California. But even southern California will pick up on the wet weather, as well. Where we saw the downed trees and the power outages, that was in the San Francisco and the Sacramento corridor where the winds were especially gusty. But as the moisture bumps in across the central and northern Sierra Nevada, that's where we're looking at. Maybe a meter, a meter and a half of snowfall or two to five feet of snowfall expected over the next 24 hours before it moves across and into the southern Rockies.
Here's where our flood watches and warnings are at. Where you see the brighter area, we're looking at coastal flooding possible. This is to the north of the Los Angeles area. Not to be undone, it looks like southern California may pick up a little in the way of wet weather. But the majority of this is going to be from about San Francisco and northward, extending to Oregon and Washington. So, hold on. You think winter is over, it's not just yet -- Errol, Rosemary>?
[02:41:01] CHURCH: OK.
BARNETT: All right, thank you.
CHURCH: Thank you so much.
Well, you may not be familiar with his name, but you probably use his inventions every day.
BARNETT: We're talking about Ray Tomlinson who has died at the age of 74. And he essentially is why you can send e-mails. He invented direct e-mail messages in 1971. At that time, the idea of sending messages from computer-to-computer was pretty revolutionary. CHURCH: He came up with the idea of using the "@" symbol in Internet
addresses, the ones we now use on Twitter and other social media.
Coming up, remembering Nancy Reagan. The former U.S. first lady has died at age 94. We look back at her life, legacy, and her enduring devotion to her husband, Ronald Reagan, during his life and after. That's next.
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[02:45:12] CHURCH: An icon of U.S. politics has passed away. Former U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan died of congestive heart failure on Sunday. She was 94.
BARNETT: A close friend of the Reagans once said there would be no President Ronald Reagan without Nancy.
Suzanne Malveaux has more on Mrs. Reagan's life, legacy and her famous devotion to the man she called Ronnie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ronnie and Nancy, it was truly an American love story.
NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't imagine marriage being any other way but the way that Ronnie's and mine was, and I guess that's just unusual.
LARRY KING, FORMER CNN HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: A little bit of a miracle, too, right? Something in the gods brought you together.
REAGAN: Uh-huh. Fortunately.
MALVEAUX: A relationship not based on politics or power, but simply admiration and affection.
(SINGING)
MALVEAUX: Born Ann Francis Robins, in New York City, she lived and grew up in Chicago, known by the nickname, Nancy.
As an adult, she headed west to Hollywood to become an actress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She signed with MGM. She became part of that family.
MALVEAUX: At first, Nancy Davis was busy. But in 1949, she found her name on a list of Communist sympathizers, in danger of being blacklisted from the business. The person on the list turned out to be another actress with the same name. But Nancy wanted reassurance. She turned to a friend for help, who set up a meeting with the president of the Screen Actor's Guild, a dashing leading man named Ronald Reagan, and thus began one of Hollywood's and Washington's enduring romances.
In fact, one of her last screen appearances was playing opposite her future husband, in a movie called "Hell Cats of the Navy."
Soon after, they wed. They raised a family, including their children, Patty and Ron Jr, and her husband's two children, Maureen and Michael, from his previous marriage to Jane Wyman.
In 1966, Ronald Reagan began a second career as a full-time politician, and was elected governor of the nation's largest state, California.
Nancy was always at his side, and always gazing at him with that loving stare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was for real. That wasn't an actress. The adoration they had for each other.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: May I congratulate you, sir.
(APPLAUSE)
REAGAN: I don't remember thinking anything except, my gosh, here he is and he's president.
KING: My Ronnie?
REAGAN: My Ronnie.
MALVEAUX: After her husband's inauguration, Nancy Reagan's signature was being spotted in gowns, mostly red ones. She also redecorated the White House. Both moves drawing heavy criticism.
(GUNFIRE)
MALVEAUX: But she had her own special grit, especially after an assassin's bullet struck her husband. She never left the hospital? Few knew then how close the president came to dying, just a couple of months into his first term.
REAGAN: Yes.
KING: Touch and go?
REAGAN: Yes, it was. I almost lost him.
MALVEAUX: She also battled breast cancer and survived.
Through it all, she had many admirers and some critics, too. Chief among them, her husband's former chief of staff, Donald Regan, who wrote a blistering book about her, including the fact that she sometimes consulted an astrologer.
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has chosen to attack my wife, and I don't look kindly upon that at all.
MALVEAUX: She also used her influence to launch an anti-drug program, which was reduced to a simple phrase when a young girl asked for advice and the first lady said, simply "Just Say No." REAGAN: I didn't mean that that was the whole answer, obviously. But
it did serve a purpose.
MALVEAUX: After she and her husband left Washington, she needed her stamina more than ever after Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
REAGAN: It's sad to see somebody you love and have been married to for so long, and you can't share memories. That's the sad part.
MALVEAUX: Through it all, she never lost her optimism.
KING: Do you ever feel that fate treated you badly?
REAGAN: No. Huh-huh. No. When you balance it all out, I've had a pretty fabulous life.
MALVEAUX: In 2004, President Ronald Reagan died. In one of her final public appearances, the celebration of the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth, she said --
REAGAN: I know that Ronnie would be thrilled, and is thrilled, to have all of you share in his 100th birthday. It doesn't seem possible, but that's what it is.
[02:50:12] MALVEAUX: Nancy Reagan, a strong woman in her own right, remembered also for her steady, unflinching devotion to her husband, both in and out of the spotlight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: So, Donald Trump's winning streak in the presidential race is producing big laughs on the late-night sketch show "Saturday Night Live."
CHURCH: This weekend's opening skit spoofed a broadcast of a Trump rally, highlighting criticism that some of Trump's supporters are openly racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: What a great, great night.
(LAUGHTER)
I really am running the best campaign, aren't I?
(LAUGHTER)
The media is saying they haven't seen anything like this, not since Germany in the 1930s.
(LAUGHTER)
I mean, everyone loves me. Racists, ugly racists, people who didn't know they were racist.
(LAUGHTER)
People whose eyes are like this.
And this guy loves me, don't you?
Wait. What's that?
Get him out.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: "SNL" made fun of Trump throughout the show. It also worked Hillary Clinton into the satire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:55:14] UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Aren't these people great? They are strong. They are beautiful. And they've been punched in the nose at a Trump rally.
(LAUGHTER)
And speaking of Trump, he is on track to become the Republican nominee. So to all of you voters out there, who have thought for years, I hate Hillary, I could never vote for her, to you, I say welcome.
(LAUGHTER)
Because I've got clowns to the left to of me, jokers to the right, and here you are, stuck in the middle with me.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BARNETT: I'm told that's a reference to a popular song from the 1970s, "Stuck in the Middle with You." "SNL" went on to parody Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, and 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.
CHURCH: You don't remember that, do you?
BARNETT: No.
(CROSSTALK) BARNETT: I have an accurate source on this.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett.
Next hour, we will have live reports from London and northern Greece on the refugee and migrant summit taking place in Brussels. Plus, news as it breaks. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
