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North Korea Threatens U.S. and South Korea With Nuclear Strike; Border Bottleneck At Greek/Macedonian Border; Clinton And Sanders Clash In Sharpest Debate Yet; Donald Trump And Ted Cruz Scored Double Wins On Super Saturday; At Least 25 Killed When Boat Capsized Off Turkey's Western Coast; ISIS Claims Responsibility For Suicide Bombing In Hillah, Iraq. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 07, 2016 - 3:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Lashing out. North Korea threatens the U.S. and South Korea, with a nuclear strike, amid annual military exercises.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Border bottleneck. E.U. and Turkish leaders meet for an emergency summit while thousands of refugees remain struck at the Greek/Macedonian border. We'll take you there live.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know...
(CROSSTALK)
Bernie Sanders, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Excuse me, I'm talking.
ANDERSON COOPER, DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE MODERATOR: Let him respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clash over jobs in Wall Street, in their sharpest debate yet.
BARNETT: Yes, indeed. A very warm welcome to our viewers watching all around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us, as we begin our second hour of CNN Newsroom.
The U.S. and South Korea are conducting their annual joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. And it should come as no surprise that neighboring North Korea isn't pleased. CHURCH: The rhetoric is even more severe than usual this year.
Pyongyang is threatening an indiscriminate nuclear strike to respond from what they call aggression from their enemies.
BARNETT: The joint exercises are set to continue through the end of April.
Our Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul with more on this. Paula, more threats from North Korea but how is this different than what we usually hear from Pyongyang?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Errol, it's really as expected at this point. This is day one of eight weeks of joint military drills which anger Pyongyang every single year that they happen and they do happen every year. So, it's not really a surprise in any way.
But of course, the rhetoric has increased. It's more bellicose than it has been in the past. North Korea has threatening nuclear war before the fact they're threatening indiscriminate nuclear war at this point. It's not a very really large difference from what they have said before. And certainly the drills will go on as usual. They are massive drills this year. The largest ever, we're hearing.
Three hundred thousand Korean soldiers, 17,000 U.S. soldiers involved in this and North Korea, every year considers it a dress rehearsal for an invasion, a practice to take over the country and the regime. But Washington and Seoul consistently say they are defensive in nature and they happen every year.
But certainly, the tensions are higher this year than they have been in the past couple of years because there has been such a run-up this year. There's been a nuclear test, a satellite launch seeing as a long-range missile test.
U.N. sanctions against North Korea, and then at the end of last week, you had the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un saying he wanted his nuclear weapons at the ready for use when he needed them. Errol?
BARNETT: And we always hear such strong language coming from North Korea. Perhaps you can compare it to a drunk man on the street with a big mouth but not a lot to back it up. What is the North's capability to carry out the type of threats that it's made?
HANCOCKS: Well, they have nuclear capability. The exact amount of that capability that is very difficult to tell, certainly, think tanks across the world and officials have been trying to figure it out.
The latest assessment we have, they may have between 10 to 16 nuclear weapons. This is the information we have from the Institute for Science and International Security. There are worst-case scenarios that they may have about 100 weapons by the end of 2020.
They also have claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb back at the beginning of January that has been discredited outside of North Korea. Although one U.S. official tells CNN, they may have had failed components of hydrogen within that test. And there were also mixed views on the long-range missile capability of North Korea.
So, certainly, they are threatening to attack certain areas, certain cities, certain parts of the cities in Washington and Seoul, with the nuclear weapons. But the overwhelming assumption is that they don't necessarily have that ability at this point. Or they certainly haven't tested a reentry, for example, of the rockets.
The U.S. Officials do believe they may have the capability of miniaturizing a nuclear weapon on to a warhead to be able to be put it on a rocket. But they don't have the reentry capability. Or at least they have not tested that at this point. Errol?
BARNETT: Yes. As you say the U.S./South Korea drills will continue for eight more weeks. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that these threats are not carried by the North.
Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul for us 4 minutes past 5 p.m. there. Paula, thanks.
[03:05:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: E.U. leaders will meet with Turkish officials in the coming hours to tackle a migrant crisis at an emergency summit in Brussels. Turkey's prime minister met with the German chancellor and Dutch prime minister, ahead of Monday's meeting, to discuss ways to ease the influx of migrants arriving in Europe.
BARNETT: Now the summit comes after at least 25 more refugees were killed when their boat capsized off the Turkish coast. This was on Sunday. And keep this in mind. It's estimated that more than 134,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean in just the first few months of 2016. But Turkey's prime minister says progress has been made to solve the crisis. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMET DAVUTOGLU, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER (TRANSLATED): Important progress has been made. Turkey took some steps. The European Union pledged to take some steps and indeed took those steps. We believe that this is a humanitarian crisis. Turkey has been carrying this burden on its own for almost five years. Europe became a part of this issue in 2015. We are happy to see that Europe is now aware of the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: For more on the migrant crisis, we have team coverage for you. Our senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon is near the Greek/Macedonian border.
CHURCH: And chief diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson is following the crisis summit from London. So, let's start with you, Nic. This joint plan appears to rely on Turkey preventing migrants from leaving its shores. Is that the answer, and how is this going to work if that's the case? How might Turkey be compensated, perhaps? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, if you
break it down really, really simply, Europe is looking to protect itself from this wave of migrants. And it's looking along the chain of how they get to Europe, to cut that chain. And they are sort of vocalizing it as a -- not so much putting the emphasis on the migrants themselves but the smugglers and the networks that get them across the Aegean Sea, from Turkey to Greece.
So, they want to cut it there. So, they will have a discussion there and what they want to agree with the Turks is that anyone picked up in Turkish waters goes back to Turkey. And that Turkey does more to stop people trying to cross that short bit of sea, the Aegean Sea to get into Greece.
Frontex, the European frontier agency and NATO have got or NATO at least have got warships in that area now to help both the Greek authorities and the Turkish authorities. That's one thing.
But the next step in the chain is the so-called Western Balkan route. And this doesn't involve Turkey in so much as this stage in the process since beyond Turkish borders. But they want to close that Western Balkan route. That's all the countries that from Turkey to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria.
They want them all to agree to host and take on the migrants that arrive in their countries as per the agreement, rather than waving them through. All of this is done to sort of cut the pressure on Europe. They want to give more aid to Greece, as well.
But of course the biggest focus is at the beginning end of the chain, with Turkey. Turkey has received European Union funds. And the European Union wants to see Turkey doing more than it is already.
CHURCH: Yes. The problem here, it doesn't really get to the cause of it, does it? If the migrants and refugees can't leave Turkey at this point, where do they go? And what happens to them next? Now, on paper, it probably looks fairly simple. But the reality is the numbers that they're dealing with here.
ROBERTSON: The numbers are staggering. An estimated 1.3 million migrants coming into Europe last year. So far as we just heard there are over 134,000 deaths along the way. The idea here is that, the implication would be, is that Turkey would harden its external borders to take more effort to sort of give migrants refugees, inside Turkey, a better opportunity to stay.
But it also says that what the European Union would do, would be to help Greece by returning sort of non-desperate, if you will, migrants that have no reason -- economic migrants, if you will, that are come -- trying to come to Europe, return them to their countries very quickly.
But if we go back to September of last year, the European Union agreed to quote a system that said, you know, between Italy and Greece, where most of the migrants were arriving, that Europe would divide up and reallocate and allocate quota system. A 160,000 refugees would be sent. And the idea was that 160,000 would
take care of the problem, which was 10 times that number almost. A 160,000 refugees would be spread out across Europe on a quota system will so far, less than 1,000 of those have been sent out.
[03:10:02] So, what Europe has decided among -- what the European Union nations have decided among themselves, hasn't been working out. The internal borders, the Schengen Borders are under a huge amount of pressure. And this is a struggle to keep Europe as a unified with free travel, for normal Europeans internal inside those borders.
BARNETT: And, Nic, based on what you've said there, we want to cross over to our Arwa Damon who is on the Greek side of the border with Macedonia. There is a growing humanitarian bottleneck there.
Arwa, I'm wondering what the people you've talked to think of today's talks, if they they're going to go anywhere. And also psychologically, how do these families manage living in limbo after some of them fled from certain death?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a couple of things to highlight here, Errol. First and foremost, these brightly-colored tents you see behind us, they extend all of the way, as far as the eye can see. And this is because this was a transit point. And it could hold up to 1,500 people.
But now, there are upwards of 10,000 individuals, including a significant number of women and children that are stranded here and talked to most of them. And they will tell you that they are feeling the effect of that crackdown along the Turkish shoreline.
Many of them have tried anywhere between three, five, up to seven times to actually make it through Turkish waters to the Greek Island. But despite the crackdown, what we see there is a very evident, is that people will keep trying until they make it.
The other issue is that, in Europe's effort to try to, as Nic saying they protect their external border on what they have. And this is the first physical border that people will reach, once they hit this West Balkan route, is effectively almost completely shut it down.
Macedonia at this stage is only allowing at best a few hundred people to actually cross through. And that has resulted in this significant bottleneck. And in as many aid organizations have been warning, turning -- potentially turning Greece into a massive refugee camp.
I speak to the people here and they have already been through so much, as we have been reporting for months now. In terms of what they've gone through in their homelands fleeing the wars of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. But also having come this too far to have to wait to have to live with this uncertainty of not knowing how long they are going to be here, not knowing exactly what is going to happen.
And a lot of them, yes, they are very aware that these meetings are going to be taking place today. They are placing hope on the fact that maybe are result of these meetings is going to be the borders opening. But the reality is that that is not going to be the case. Because
Europe at this stage is not going to want to continue implementing this policy avoiding people through, rather they are going to be.
It really seems continuing to try to shut down, to try to build more barricades to try to allocate blame and responsibility to other nations. Which is almost having the most catastrophic effect on those most in need. Because the measures to try to ease the burden of their journey throughout the various stages of this trip have not yet been put into place.
BARNETT: All right. Arwa Damon, live for us there on the Greek/Macedonian border. And Nic Robertson joining us live from London as these talks get underway. Thanks to you both for joining us.
CHURCH: We'll take a quick break here. But still to come, the democrats came out swinging on Sunday night. The combative tone at the latest U.S. presidential debate.
BARNETT: Plus, nearly two years after the disappearance of MH370 a deadline is looming for families of the missing.
CHURCH: Plus, we will explain how NASA astronaut Scott Kelly grew taller during his year in space.
[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.
We start in the English Premier League where red cards were flying on Sunday. Manchester United travel to West Brom. Juan Mata received his first red card to the United after second cautionable offence.
West Brom would take full advantage and go on to win 1-0. The different fortunes for Liverpool and Crystal Palace, already down 1-0. Liverpool's James Milner will be sent off after second yellow. But the 10 men red would equalize before Christian Benteke before the game- winner with a penalty very late into stoppage time. Liverpool win, 2- 1.
To spain, where all conquering Barcelona faced Eibar in La Liga action on Sunday, looking to further extend their lead at top of the table. And Lionel Messi would make sure of that he would get his break on the afternoon to help the Catalans prove to have 4-0 victory. Barcelona now extend their unbeaten straight to 36 matches.
To the NFL now, where according to the Denver Broncos, famed quarterback Peyton Manning is set to announce he will be retiring on Monday, just a month after his team Super Bowl 50 triumph over the Panthers. Manning will be going out as champion and the lead quarterback with the most wins. His legacy also includes two Super Bowl titles with different teams. Five NFL most valuable player nods and numerous passing records.
And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley. BARNETT: Have you had enough primaries or caucuses yet? Well, too
bad. There's another U.S. presidential primary coming up Tuesday in Michigan. And because of that, the democratic candidates fought hard to underscore their differences in their seventh debate.
CHURCH: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders squared off in Flint, Michigan, as city struggling with lead poisoned water and the loss of manufacturing jobs overseas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Please, welcome Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Please, welcome former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
SANDERS: I believe the governor of this state should understand that his dereliction of duty was irresponsible. He should resign.
CLINTON: I agree. The governor should resign or be recalled. We're going to stop this kind of job exporting and we're going to start importing and growing jobs again in our country.
COOPER: Senator Sanders. I'll let you -- I'll let you...
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: Can I ask her a question.
COOPER: Yes, go ahead.
SANDERDS: I am very glad, Anderson, that Secretary Clinton has discovered religion on this issue.
(APPLAUSE)
But it's a little bit too late. Secretary Clinton supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements written by corporate America.
CLINTON: I voted to save the auto industry. He voted against the money that ended saving the auto industry. I think that's a pretty big difference.
SANDERS: Well, if you are talking about the Wall Street bailout, where some of your friends destroyed this economy...
CLINTON: You know...
SANDERS: ... through -- excuse me, I'm talking.
COOPER: Let him his run.
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: I believe that the recklessness, the greed and the illegal behavior of Wall Street drove this country into the worst economic downturn in the history of the United States -- modern history of the United States of America. And I will be damned if it was the working people of this country, who have to bail out the crooks on Wall Street.
CLINTON: I think that Donald Trump's bigotry, his bullying, his bluster, are not going to wear well on the American people.
[03:20:07] SANDERS: I would love to run against Donald Trump. And I'll tell you why. For a start, what almost -- not all, but almost every poll has shown, is that Sanders versus Trump does a lot better than Clinton versus Trump.
Now we are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health. And when you watch these republican debates you know why we need to invest in mental health.
(CROWD CHEERING)
CHURCH: And while Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were on the debate stage in Michigan Sunday night, democratic voters in Maine gave Sanders a win.
BARNETT: That's right. This follows his Super Saturday victories in Kansas and Nebraska. However, Clinton is still in the lead with more than double the numbers of delegates of Sanders.
CHURCH: Well, U.S. republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz scored double-wins on Super Saturday. Trump took the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus. Cruz won the Maine and Kansas caucuses.
BARNETT: Now despite winning Puerto Rico's republican primary, Marco Rubio still remains far behind in the delegate count. You see him there in third place. His rivals are calling on him to leave the race. But Rubio vows to win his home state of Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Marco, Marco Rubio had a very, very bad night. And personally I'd call for him to drop out of the race. I think it's now that he drops out of the race. I would love to take on Ted one-on-one. That would be so much fun. Because Ted can't win New York. He can't win New Jersey. He can't win Pennsylvania. He can't win California. I want Ted one-on-one, OK?
CRUZ: Maybe right now, you're supporting Marco Rubio or John Kasich. What is becoming more and more clear, if you want to beat Donald Trump, we have to stand united as one. That is happening in Idaho and across the country.
MARCO RUBIO, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never missed my campaign on one state. But I can tell you this, we will win the State of Florida. We will beat Donald Trump there the way we beat Charlie Crist.
(CROWD CHEERING)
I have experience -- I have experience of beating people who say who they're -- who don't say who they truly are. I have experience of beating people who portray themselves to be one thing but are actually something else. And you are going to find that out March 15th in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All right. Well, for more on the presidential race, we are joined by Jacob Parakilas, he is the assistant head of the U.S. and America's Program at Chatham House. Thank you so much for being with us. A lot to cover.
So, let's start with the CNN democratic debate. And this was the most aggressive exchange between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders that we've seen so far. What moment stood out? And who do you think won in debate?
JACOB PARAKILAS, CHATHAM HOUSE ASSISTANT PROJECT DIRECTOR: I don't think that one side of the other necessarily won exactly. I mean, I think Clinton and Sanders are essentially locked into their lanes, as it were. Clinton is making her case to as the sort of the candidate who knows how government works, who can use government to advance the causing people.
And Sanders is making the case that he would bring a fundamental change to government. At this point I think their supporters are pretty much going to support them one way or another. And the vast of trajectory of the race is on, then I think ultimately the more likely outcome is that Clinton will win.
So, I don't think this debate really fundamentally altered the trajectory of the race. And I think that's what Sanders would need at this point.
CHURCH: Interesting. But both Sanders and Clinton both called for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to resign over the Flint water crisis. Sanders has been saying that all along. But this was the first time that we heard that from Clinton. What changed her mind do you think, we're both to see this as politics at play?
PARAKILAS: Clinton has been pretty strong about the Flint water crisis. She's the first time she called for Governor Snyder to resign. But she's been critical of the governor and the state government handling of the Flint water crisis for quite some time.
So, I don't think this is a fundamental change in strategy. I think it just reflects to sort of an additional push on her part for the upcoming Michigan primaries. And I think people will sort of -- will see that for -- as basically just a stepping up on the rhetoric, rather than a fundamental shift.
CHURCH: And of course, however, aggressive this democratic debate got Sunday night, it certainly didn't sink to the level of personal attacks that we saw in the latest GOP debate. What impact might that start difference in approach have on voters, do you think?
PARAKILAS: I think it's a bit too early to tell. I mean, to watch the republican and democratic debates is to watch almost two separate elections going on amongst two completely different parts of the country. You know, the democrats are talking about the economy. They're talking about issues of racial justice.
[03:25:00] The republicans are talking about national security and terrorism. And sort of the -- the history of the Obama administration, in ways that are almost completely incompatible. So, the way that the eventual democratic and republican nominees interact really hasn't been set yet.
And the ground on which the general election will be fought, I don't think anyone knows. It might come over from the republican side and be about terrorism and defending the country. Or it might switch over to the democratic side and be much more about pocketbook issues. Be much more about how people feel about the way the economy is going and what can be done to sort of strengthen the middle class.
CHURCH: Well, let's look at the republican side. Donald Trump is leading the race. Ted Cruz, though, appears to be making this a two- man race. Him, the second man, how likely is it that Cruz could derail from this nomination? Or is he unstoppable at this point?
PARAKILAS: I don't think unstoppable is the word. The question is whether Cruz can win outright or whether he can simply hold Trump to below the sort of 50 percent-plus one magic number of delegates that Trump would need to win on the first ballot at the convention.
And if you get to the convention, then you're in very in unchartered territory. Because there hasn't really been a forefront in the convention in modern American history. If we continue on the current trajectory the likeliest outcome is that Trump gets slightly less than 50 percent. Cruz is a little bit behind him. And Rubio is well behind Cruz.
And that would result in a very, very unpredictable situation on floor of the convention, where there would be a lot of back room dealing. There will be a lot of attempts to get delegates to support one candidate or the other. And I don't have any idea. And I don't think anyone has any idea of what comes out of that.
I think what we know is that if Trump goes into the convention with the largest number of delegates and doesn't emerge from it with the nomination, he will make the case that that was an undemocratic exercise and that he will run as a third party candidate in November. And that would almost certainly hand the election to Hillary Clinton.
CHURCH: Yes. It's going to be interesting times for sure. Jacob Parakilas, thank you so much for sharing your prospective on this. We appreciate it.
Well, a short break here. But the claims and counterclaims are flying fast and furious during Sunday's democratic debate. You can get a reality check on what was said on a web site of cnn.com/politics.
BARNETT: But still to come this hour, ISIS is claiming yet another suicide bombing in Iraq. We'll discuss what maybe causing the recent uptick in violence.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Hello and welcome to those of you watching from the United States. And a warm welcome back to those of you watching from all around the world. This is CNN Newsroom. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. It's time to check the main stories we've been following this hour.
Joint military exercises like these between the U.S. and South Korea, are drawing the ire of North Korea. Pyongyang says it will launch an indiscriminate nuclear attack if the drills continue as planned. They view them as a sign of aggression. The drills are set to continue through April.
BARNETT: U.S. democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head-to-head in a contentious debate Sunday in Flint, Michigan.
This is two days ahead of the state's primary to have battled over trade agreements and ties to Wall Street and gun control.
CHURCH: At least 25 people were killed when a boat carrying refugees capsized off Turkey's Western Coast. A Turkish news agency says it happened Sunday in the Aegean Sea. The Turkish Coast Guard says 15 people have been rescued.
BARNETT: Now, ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing in Hillah, Iraq. Police say a truck struck with explosive detonated at a busy check point which leads to two Shiite holy cities. The blast killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 100.
We're joined now by Jomana Karadsheh live from neighboring Jordan. Jomana, just tell us about this latest ISIS attack. And if it represents an uptick in violence from the militants.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Errol, what we know from security forces and security officials in the city of Hillah, south of Baghdad, that's the capital of Babble province. They say that a suicide bomber driving a fuel truck detonated at this busy checkpoint outside the city of Hillah.
And the latest casualty figures we're getting that 39 people at least were killed and more than 100 others were wounded. The attack taking place around noon on Sunday. This is a very busy time coming out of the weekend. Sunday is usually busy. And these checkpoints, Errol, you need to imagine.
Usually you have long queues. You have cars with families lots of civilians there and of course, also the security forces who are manning these checkpoints always present a soft target for suicide bombers for attacks like this. And as you mentioned, ISIS claiming this attack its latest claim of a suicide bombing in Iraq, in recent weeks and promising more attacks, Errol.
BARNETT: And historically, Jomana, ISIS seems to lash out with these types of suicide attacks when they're on the back foot. Are they operating from a place of strength or weakness in Iraq?
KARADSHEH: Well, we need to look at this attack, as you mentioned, doesn't come out in isolation. It is the latest in a series of attacks we've seen. According to our own count more than half a dozen suicide bombings only in Iraq in the past 10 days or so. All of them targeting as we mentioned soft targets, whether it's mosques, funerals, in this case, a checkpoint, markets.
All these sort of attacks in heavily populated Shia area. Areas a tactic that we have seen ISIS and other militant groups in the past, Sunni militant groups in Iraq, really aiming and targeting the predominantly Shia population in the country.
And, Errol, this comes at a time when we heard U.S. officials and Iraqi officials saying that ISIS is not gaining territory that it lost territory. And the group has in Iraq lost territory in the northern part of the country and in the west in Anbar province.
We haven't seen ISIS carry out a major offensive taking land like we have seen in the past in Iraq. But the group is definitely sending a message, Errol, that they are still capable of carrying out these deadly, deadly kinds of attacks. That there is no shortage of suicide bombers, it seems, at this point for ISIS. So, it is not to be underestimated the capabilities and the abilities of this group, to strike and cause so much carnage and human loss in that country.
[03:35:08] And of course, the biggest fear always, Errol, is when they go after the Shia targets, at a time when a sectarian tensions are really high in the country. There is always the fear that it could re- ignite that sectarian war that we saw grip Iraq for a long time between 2005 and 2007, claiming thousands of lives.
BARNETT: Yes. Iraq still remains a fragile place in this attack at the very least as a reminder of how deadly ISIS can be and how important to fight against them is. Jomana Karadsheh, live for us in Oman, Jordan this morning just past 10.30 there. Jomana, thank you.
CHURCH: Well, stocks in the Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Monday after China laid out its new plan for the country's slowing economy.
BARNETT: That's right. We have a live look at the numbers here for you. You see Australia's S&P ASX 200 is up more than a percent. The Shanghai Composite up almost 80 percent. Japan's Nikkei pulling back .6 of a percent. And Hong Kong's Hang Seng, fractionally down at the moment.
CHURCH: Now we mentioned that those plans, too, that were laid out over the weekend, as China parliament kicked off its annual session in Beijing. The country's top economic planner said the economy is not heading for a hard landing. An outlined plans to create at least 50 million more jobs and to restructure inefficient industries.
BARNETT: Now Chinese President Xi Jin Ping touched on cross straight relations with Taiwan at a panel meeting, warning the island against any moves towards independence and saying he'll never allow Taiwan to be, quote, "split off again."
CHURCH: Well, CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now live from the Chinese capital with more on the annual parliament session. So, Matt, let's start with this vision from China, on how to deal with this economic slowdown.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Well, it is really the top priority issue for Chinese leaders here in Beijing, as they're here for this or so sessions for its parliament. And one of the things, the hard numbers that we heard in a speech given by the Chinese premier on Saturday was a growth rate for the GDP for the country moving forward.
That will be between 6.5 and 7 percent. Now Chinese leaders gave that range which is something that they haven't done in 20 years. Over the past 20 years, what we've seen is they give a specific number. So, for instance, in 2015, the same speech saw a 7 percent growth rate set.
And what ended up happening was that it came in at 6.9, the 2015 GDP. That was something that government officials did not want to happen again. They want to meet their expectations. And so, this year, they give themselves a bit of wiggle room heading or giving that number between 6.5 and 7 percent.
Because it's a recognition on the part of Chinese that their economy is slowing. And that the reality of 10, 12, and 13 percent growth in GDP year over the year is just not something that's going to happen anymore.
CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Matt Rivers, bringing us that live report from Beijing.
BARNETT: Now the search for MH370 has been unprecedented. As you know that two years later it's still unsuccessful. We'll look at where things stand for investigators and the families of those on board.
CHURCH: Plus, a NASA astronaut returns to earth at least one inch taller. How you can grow in space. We'll explain.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Australian police say that a hostage situation in Sydney has been resolved, this after several tensed hours. The incident left two people dead in a suburb of Ingleburn, including the alleged shooter. Two other men were wounded. And we'll bring you further details as they come into us here at CNN.
CHURCH: Friends and loved ones of the 239 people on Malaysia Airlines flight 370 are marking nearly two years since the flight went missing.
BARNETT: A day of remembrance was held Sunday in Kuala Lumpur where the flight originated. The deadline is also looming to follow claims against the airline. Saima Mohsin has the latest on what families are now facing.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A day of remembrance, as the two- year anniversary approaches since MH370 went missing. Families have flown from around the world to Kuala Lumpur, where the plane was last seen as it took off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUITA GONZALES, STEWARD PATRICK GOMES' WIFE: It's important so that at least people remember that MH370 has not come home yet. And we want them to keep on remembering so that at least it helps us remind the government that it's not over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSIN: But with the two-year anniversary comes a two-year deadline. Under the International Montreal Convention, any court action to claim damages must be taken within two years from the date the aircraft should have arrived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE NATHAN, MH370 PASSENGER DAUGHTER: There's been no evidence no information in the investigation. Nothing concrete enough to make a sound decision. Like anything you do is just a gamble at this stage. You only have this very limited options and you're put in a very tight corner with a very tight deadline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSIN: And with this deadline comes a twist. In February last year, parliament passed Act 765, stipulating among other things, that MH370 families have to ask Malaysia Airlines for permission to file a lawsuit against Malaysia Airlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARUNAN SELVARAJ, MH370 FAMILIES LAWYER: It's really absurd. I've never heard it before. When someone saying you have to get permission from them to sue them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSIN: Lawyer Arunan Selvaraj is representing some of the MH370 families. He tells me there's another twist. Malaysia Airlines will only give consent if families agree to certain conditions. If they sue MAS, they can't sue anyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SELVARAJ: So, you can't sue the government, you can sue the VCE, you can't sue the immigration, you can't sue Boeing, you can't see anyone else, except MAS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSIN: CNN has asked Malaysia Airlines about the conditions and its awaiting a response. There's also a concern about the renaming and restructuring of Malaysia Airlines under at 765. From Malaysia Airlines Systems Berhad to Malaysia Airlines Berhad. Why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELVARAJ: They seem to be cherry-picking all the assets and liabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSIN: The voice of the group slams the move as a blatant and despicable act of irresponsibility and cowardice by MAS. Openly aided and abetted by the Malaysia government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELVARAJ: They are empting everything out from the old company and the new company is saying, look, that's the old company. You can't sue us. Then you can't sue the new company. So, eventually, when people sue MAS, if they want to go for MAS, there's nothing left in MAS.
MOHSIN: In a statement, the airline says MAS remains committed to ensuring a fair and equitable compensation. MAS have insurance coverage in place to meet its obligation to pay compensation to next of kin.
While Malaysia Airline says, quote, "A 166 families have commenced compensation proceedings, many are yet to file." They remain in denial, unable to accept the disappearance or that their loved ones may never return.
Saima Mohsin, CNN, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
BARNETT: The U.S. political world is mourning the death of former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
CHURCH: She died Sunday of congestive heart failure at her home in California at age 94. President Obama seen here with her in 2009, says she redefined the role of first lady.
BARNETT: A close friend one said there wouldn't be President Ronald Reagan, without her. Suzanne Malveaux has more on Nancy Reagan's life's legacy and tireless devotion to the man she called Ronnie.
[03:45:03] SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ronnie and Nancy. It was truly an American love story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY REAGAN, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: I can't imagine marriage being any other way but the way that Ronnie's and mine was. And I guess that's unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit of a miracle, too, right? Something in the Gods brought you together.
REAGAN: Fortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A relationship not based on politics or power. But simply admiration and affection. Together we're going a long, long on way
Born in 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 suspected 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 Actors Guild, a dashing leading man named Ronald Regan. And that's began one of Hollywood's and Washington's most enduring romances.
In fact, one of her last screen appearances was playing opposite her future husband, in a movie called "Hellcats of the Navy." soon after they wed. They raised a family, including their children Patti 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT REAGAN'S CHIEF OF STAFF: It was for real. That wasn't an actress. The adoration that they had for each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I congratulate you, sir.
REAGAN: Then I don't remember thinking anything except, my gosh. Here he is and he's president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My Ronnie?
REAGAN: My Ronnie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: After her husband's inauguration, Nancy Reagan signature was appearing in designer gowns, especially red ones. She also redecorated the White House, both moves drawing heavy criticism. 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touch and go?
REAGAN: It was. Almost lost him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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 Reagan, who wrote a blistering book about her, including the fact that she sometimes consulted an astrologer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: He has chosen to attack my wife. And I don't look kindly upon that at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: She also used her influence to launch an anti-drug program, which is reduced to a simple phrase. When a young girl asked for advice and the first lady said simply just say no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: I didn't mean that that was the whole answer obviously. But it did serve a purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: After she and her husband left Washington, she need her stamina more than ever, after Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: It's sad to see somebody you love and have been married for so long, and you can't share memories. That's the sad part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Through it all, she never lost her optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you ever feel that fate treated you badly?
REAGAN: No. No. When you balance it all out, I've had a pretty fabulous life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: I know that Ronnie would be thrilled, and is thrilled, to have all of you share in his 100th birthday. Doesn't seem possible. But that's what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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.
[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone. I'm CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. This is your weather watch.
And looking at North America, a very active pattern. But quite different, depending on which side of the coast you're going to be on. West Coast, the pineapple express is full-on. It is going to bring tremendous amounts of wet weather. And snow levels that are going to be some of the lowest that we've seen in quite some time.
The eastern seaboard, though, a little bit of hiccup, as far as a little bit of rainfall. But then after that the temperatures warm up very, very dramatically. Look for some thunderstorms and windy weather conditions all across the central plains.
But for Dallas, we'll see some windy and stormy weather conditions, 23, the expected high there. And showers, expected for Los Angeles, and for San Francisco, might expect an isolated thunderstorm. Atlanta 21. New York City, 15 degrees.
But the pattern is going to be a wet and stormy one, as here's Hawaii. And we've that long lounge of moisture stretch all the way across the Pacific and directly at the West Coast. There could be some localized flooding here. The mountains are going to be a skier's paradise. But look at those above-normal temperatures from the Great Lakes to the Deep South.
BARNETT: Now a year in space proved to be a bit of a stretch, so to speak, for Scott Kelly. Surely you heard about this. The NASA astronaut came back to earth 1.5 inches taller.
CHURCH: So, what makes an astronaut grow in space? CNN's Jeanne Moos has the tall tale it's true.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If your answer to this...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you wish you could grow taller?
MOOS: ... is yes. You could try growth supplements.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're guaranteed to grow taller by 2 to 6 inches.
MOOS: Or even...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can grow 3.7 centimeters taller.
MOOS: Or you could do what commander Scott Kelly did go to space for almost a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Kelly, back on mother Earth.
MOOS: Kelly arrived back. After growing about an inch and a half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a phenomenal called spinal elongation.
MOOS: Without gravity compressing the vertebrae, the space between discs expand slightly and the spine gets longer. The physical impact in space flight on Scott Kelly is being measured against his twin, former astronaut, Mark Kelly.
SCOTT KELLY, NASA ASTRONAUT: My brother Mark.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Theoretically, he would be a little bit taller than his brother. It actually goes away pretty quickly. So, when you get re-exposed to gravity as he walks around.
MOOS: He is back to his old size. Sometimes the increase in an astronaut's height even required NASA to go up a size in space suit. Though, the growth spurt didn't prevent Kelly from donning a gorilla suit in space.
When Isaiah Thomas heard about the size increase, the Celtics point guard tweeted "I need to go to space ASAP, Lol." Now if you think of this is no big deal, hey, a measly inch has become part of the presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: He is calling me little Marco. And I'll admit, the guy -- he is taller than me, he's like 6'2".
TRUMP: It's actually I'm 6'3", not 6'2" but he said I had small hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Even space isn't going to make your hands any bigger, Donald. As for testing the twin astronauts cartoonist did hold depicted one year exposure to the silence of space versus one year exposure to a presidential race, it's enough to make an astronaut race back to the space station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff. MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
[03:55:03] BARNETT: And you know he will never let his brother forget. I was taller than you for a few minutes.
CHURCH: For a moment, yes.
BARNETT: Now Donald Trump's winning streak in the presidential race is producing big laughs on the late night skit shows Saturday Night Live.
CHURCH: Yes. This weekend opening skit spoofed a CNN broadcast of a Trump rally, highlighting criticism that some of Trump's supporters are openly racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a great, great night. I really am running the best campaign aren't I? The media is saying they haven't seen anything like this, not since Germany in the 1930s.
I mean, everyone loves me. Racists, ugly racists. People who didn't know they were racist. People whose eyes are like this. And this guy loves me, don't you? Wait. What's that? Get him out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: SNL made fun of Trump throughout the show. It also worked Hillary Clinton into the satire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't these people great? They are strong. They're beautiful. And they've been punched in the nose in a Trump rally. 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. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, Rosie helped me with this last hour. That apparently is a reference to a popular song from the 1970s, "Stuck in the middle with you." SNL went to parodied republican candidate Ted Cruz and 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.
CHURCH: That's your fact checker, yes. That's correct. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Early Start is next for those of you in the States. For everyone else, stay tuned for more CNN Newsroom.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
