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North Korea Claims Having Miniaturized Nuclear Warheads; Israel Calls Iran Missile Test Nuclear Deal Violation; Contentious Democratic Debate Wednesday Night; Trump Tries to Unite Republican Party; Key ISIS Operative Gives U.S. Chemical Weapons Intel; Saudi Rehab Center Deals with Islamic Radicals; A Look Back at Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami; Lingering Dangerous Radiation around Chernobyl; Families Forced from Homes in Rio Prior to Olympics; Is Trump Really Self Funding. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 10, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(HEADLINES)
[02:00:31] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome to those of you watching all around the world. I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for joining me, solo today, for two hours, on CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin this hour with a pair of missile launches in different parts of the world that are raising international concern. First, Japan is condemning Pyongyang for firing two short-range ballistic missiles that landed in the sea off the Korean peninsula. And Israel is calling Iran's latest ballistic missile test a violation of the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers. We'll get more on Iran in a moment.
But first, let's bring you the latest information on North Korea's missile launch from Paula Hancocks.
Paula, we've been talking the past few weeks about increased rhetoric from North Korea despite new firm sanctions. In fact, yesterday, you told me that likely prompted the north to turn up the heat, so to speak. Detail Pyongyang's latest move here.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Errol, this happened about 5:20 this morning. Two short-range ballistic missiles were fired, landing just off the east coast of North Korea. We understand they could have been scud missiles, with a flight range of about 500 kilometers. And certainly, this does concern many people. A U.S. senior administration official told CNN it has, quote, "raised huge concern in the administration." It's being watched around the world. Another uptick in the tensions here in Korea. It could have been part of North Korea's winter military drills. It could have been in reaction to the ongoing military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, the largest they've ever held. We do know that North Korea is angered by those ongoing drills.
BARNETT: Paula, you wonder, as you say, this raises concerns. When is North Korea not raising concerns? Does this change the military posturing by South Korea or the U.S. at all? As you say, the planned annual military drills are still ongoing. HANCOCKS: Yes. We don't expect those to be affected in any way. The
U.S. said they are defensive in nature, South Korea said the same. They'll go on unabated. We know the surveillance of North Korea has been increased according to the South Korean defense ministry, not just today. That was from a previous threat. That is, as you would expect, watching to see if there's any indication, there could be an imminent attack. There doesn't appear to be movement from North Korea. The hope is that it's just rhetoric at this point.
And really, the expectations from experts and most people is that North Korea is not likely to launch a nuclear strike. It would be suicidal. The concern is if there's a miscalculation from the North Korean leader. Whether he estimates a South Korean response to any so-called provocation he might carry out, or an error from a soldier from either side of the border that could escalate quickly -- Errol?
BARNETT: A small error could cost lives.
Paula Hancocks live from Seoul. We'll check in with you next hour.
We turn to Iran where a senior military official says his country will never stop its ballistic missile program. That's according to Reuters. That military official says Iran never agreed to U.N. resolutions on his country's missile work. And all of this comes on the heels of a report from Fars New Agency that Tehran launched missiles Wednesday marked with hate messages directed at Israel.
CNN's Elise Labott has details and reaction from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the second day in a row, Iran test fired two missiles it designed to hit Israel, with the words "Israel must be stamped out," stamped on one of them in Hebrew. There were similar launches on Tuesday. And the White House says it is expecting more.
It's a bold show by hardliners that Iran will push ahead with its missile program, despite the threat of new sanctions.
The U.S. says these missile tests don't violate last year's nuclear deal. But in Israel, today, the vice president put Iran on notice.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to reiterate, which I know people still doubt, if, in fact, they break the deal, we will act.
(SHOUTING)
[02:05:14] LABOTT: Iran's supreme leader continues to thwart U.S. hopes that the landmark deal will usher in better relations with Iran.
Since the deal was reached, Iran has fired rockets near warships. And in January, Iran seized 10 U.S. sailors who drifted into Iranian waters, holding them for 15 hours and releasing embarrassing video of their capture. (SHOUTING)
LABOTT: Just last month, chants of "Death to America" were still the mantra in celebrations of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The chief U.S. negotiator of the nuclear deal says, after decades of hatred for U.S., don't expect Iran to change overnight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those that are calling for activities and relationship with Iran, I believe are wrong. We have a very long way to go.
LABOTT (on camera): The U.S. says it sees no signs that the gains of reformists in the parliament elections will moderate Iran's behavior.
Wednesday is the anniversary of the disappearance of former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, who disappeared nine years ago on Iran's Kish Island. The U.S. again calling on Iran to make good on its promise to determine what happened to him and end this long ordeal for his family.
Elise Labott, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: To U.S. politics now, and possibly the most contentious debate yet between the Democratic presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders met in Miami Wednesday night, clashing over immigration reform and health care. Just wrapped up a few hours ago. Sanders kept up attacks on Clinton's ties to Wall Street. And Clinton tried once again to accuse Sanders of voting against the U.S. Auto industry bailout. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think in the coming weeks and months, we're going to continue to do extremely well, win a number of the primaries, and convince super delegates that Bernie Sanders is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump.
(CHEERING)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I did not send or receive any e-mails marked classified at the time.
I'm not concerned about it. I'm not worried about it. And no Democrat or American should be, either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get indicted, would you drop out?
CLINTON: Oh, my goodness. That is not going to happen. I'm not even answering that question.
(CHEERING) SANDERS: I will not deport children from the United States of America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you promise to not to deport immigrants who don't have a criminal record?
SANDERS: I can make that promise.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes or no, can you promise tonight that you won't deport children, children that are already here?
CLINTON: I will not deport children. I would not deport children. I don't want to deport family members either, Jorge. I want to, as I said, prioritize who would be deported, violent criminals, people planning terrorist attacks, anybody who threatens us. That's a relatively small universe.
I fully support President Obama's intention under the Constitution to nominate a successor to Justice Scalia.
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: And I believe --
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: I believe no state probably understands this better than Florida. Let's remember three words, Bush versus Gore.
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: A court took away a presidency. Now, we have a Republican Congress trying to take away the Constitution. And we should not tolerate that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: For the first time in CNN's history, Errol will interview Errol. I want to introduce you to CNN political commentator, Errol Louis, who joins us from New York.
Errol, it's great to have you.
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be with you, Errol.
BARNETT: This debate follows the Michigan primary, where Sanders wins by a hair. But polls predicted a big Clinton win. It exposed a slight weakness Clinton has with young African-Americans there. Might the same be true for Hispanics and Latin Americans?
LOUIS: She has other weaknesses, as well. There were Independents that deserted her. We knew that while she had a problem with young voters, she had a problem with voters under 40, which is not just Millennials now. Now, we're talking about young adults. Across the board, she's got some real weaknesses. And let's keep in mind, it wasn't like she was supposed to win by a little. The latest polls before voting in Michigan had her up by 20 points. She has real cause for concern here.
BARNETT: During this debate, she did seem to break with President Obama's deportation policy. She assured voters she would not deport children who are undocumented. What did you make of that?
[02:10:00] LOUIS: This is something that she and Senator Sanders have been competing on, trying to see who can do the most to move away from the president's policies, to move more in favor of helping undocumented citizens, live in the country, stay in the country, get some path to legalization, some kind of legal status. It's tremendously popular among Latino voters. But these are relatively new positions for Hillary Clinton. It exposes another problem for her, that she's been part of this administration. With the record deportations under the Obama administration, she might want to go in a different direction. She can't claim to have no hand in it. And Senator Sanders is trying to exploit that.
BARNETT: As we look forward to Tuesday, March 15th, you have voters heading to the polls. If you look at the polling, Clinton is ahead substantially in Florida and in Ohio. You mention some of the weaknesses. But is there enough time for Bernie Sanders to gain enough delegates to get to the nomination threshold?
LOUIS: Those are two different questions. Bernie Sanders could have a better-than-expected showing in Ohio. Ohio, right near in Michigan, is a parts supplier, I mean, is part of the same -- what we call the Rust Belt. They have tons of -- not necessarily with the auto manufacturers are, but a lot of the parts are made in Ohio. And this is a region of the economy, where they feel like free trade and a lot of the trade deals that Clinton has supported, have not been good for them. She faces some real exposure there. Bernie Sanders is -- it's not so much that he is planning or hope to win a majority of delegates at this point. If he can stay close to Hillary Clinton, if he can go to the convention with a good showing, he might be able to convince some of what are called super delegates, who are not bound to support one delegate, to flip and come over to his side. That's what he is trying to bank on. It's a long shot, for sure, but it is a plausible way to get the nomination.
BARNETT: Errol Louis, our CNN political commentator, joining us from New York. What a fantastic name you have. Just want to say that again.
Thanks for your time today.
LOUIS: Thank you, Errol.
BARNETT: All right. What are the Republicans up to? Its front- runner, Donald Trump, is calling on the party to unite behind his candidacy. That's despite some party supporters and leaders working very hard to stop him.
Chris Frates has more no that. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I see getting in the delegates. It's like the fighters. That's the ultimate way of doing it. If you knock them out, if you knock them out, nothing can happen.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is sounding like a winner after taking Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii and delivering a major blow to his rivals.
TRUMP: They're pretty much all gone. OK? Pretty much. They didn't do so well.
FRATES: And now, the billionaire is looking for a knockout win on Tuesday in the first winner-take-all contests in Florida and Ohio.
TRUMP: I think we're going to do well in Florida. It's my second home. I love Florida. I love Florida.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: I love Florida, a special place. And I think we're going to do really well.
I think we're going to do well in Ohio.
FRATES: A news CNN poll shows Trump beating his rivals. In Ohio, John Kasich is trailing Trump by six points. In Florida, Marco Rubio is down by 16 points.
But the GOP establishment is working to stop Trump in those two key states, hoping to deny him the 1237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's only two candidates in this race that has any plausible path to getting to 1237. As this race continues and continues to narrow into a clear two-man race, head-to-head, Donald Trump loses and loses badly.
(CHEERING)
FRATES: Cruz is the only other Republican the win last night, scoring a "W" in Idaho.
CRUZ: God bless the great state of Idaho.
FRATES: And earning an endorsement from former rival, Carly Fiorina.
CARLY FIORINA, (R), FORMER CEO, HEWLETT-PACKARD & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Then, I checked the box for Ted Cruz and I'm here to tell you why.
(CHEERING)
FRATES: Cruz is running third in Ohio and Florida, likely leaving the job of stopping Trump to Kasich and Rubio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:14:22] BARNETT: Chris Frates reporting there.
Meanwhile, one of Trump's rivals could be getting an endorsement from Jeb Bush ahead of the Florida primary. That's a key race. The former Florida governor and former presidential candidate met with Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz on Wednesday. He is scheduled to see John Kasich on Thursday. What's going on here? A Bush spokeswoman said the candidates asked for the meetings.
Still to come this hour, Donald Trump says he doesn't owe anyone political favors because his campaign is self-funded. We've heard this many times. After the break, we'll look at whether that's true.
Plus, these photos may be evidence of another ISIS chemical attack. What the U.S. is learning from a detained member about the terror group's weapons program. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS REPORT)
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BARNETT: The U.S. is trying to determine if an air strike in northeastern Syria killed a top ISIS leader. Some say Omar the Chechen al-Shishani was critically injured last week. The Pentagon describes him at the ISIS minister of war. The U.S. State Department offered a reward of $5 million for information that could lead to his capture.
Meanwhile, Iraqi officials are investigating whether ISIS may have carried out a chemical attack in the country's north. A health official says these photos show the people wounded were exposed to a toxic chemical. And we're learning more about U.S. operations against the ISIS chemicals weapon program in Iraq.
Here's our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military has been secretly interrogating the man it believes is the head of ISIS' chemical weapons program.
(SHOUTING)
[02:20:02] STARR: For nearly a month, trying to get him to offer up crucial intelligence.
Top intelligence officials spelling out the threat.
UNIDENTIFIED GENERAL: Neither ISIS nor al Qaeda has walked away from their desire to develop biological and chemical capabilities that they could use on the West.
JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ISIL has also used toxic chemicals in Iraq and Syria, including the blister agent, sulfur mustard.
STARR: U.S. intelligence has confirmed 12 instances of ISIS using mustard agents against civilians in Iraq and Syria, including this attack against Kurds last year.
Officials say the detainee provided enough information in recent days for U.S. warplanes to conduct limited air strikes in Iraq against suspected chemical sites.
But there is reason for skepticism. First, ISIS didn't appear to react to a key operative disappearing.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It appears they didn't miss him. This tells me it's more of a mid-level functionary.
STARR: The U.S. said he traveled regularly, making his disappearance into captivity less obvious.
And there's also no immediate indication the U.S. met the military goal, taking out the entire chemical weapons enterprise.
LEIGHTON: It is difficult to take out the entire chemical ability of ISIS, because the types of chemicals they are using, like mustard agent, can be produced very easily.
STARR (on camera): The Obama administration is going at great lengths to keep all of this out of the public eye. But U.S. officials say it is very likely that ISIS could still reconstitute the mustard agent program and begin to manufacture it again at a time and place of its choosing.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: I want to read you an important quote here, "A humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions." That's what the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is warning could happen around an important dam in northern Iraq. The fear is that the 130-meter high dam in Mosul could collapse. And the 30-mile lake behind it will flow into the highly- populated city and into Baghdad. We talked about this many times. It would take one to four hours for the waters to flood Mosul and two to four days to reach Baghdad, flooding much of city and water up to 10 meters deep. Nearly two million Iraqis could be at risk. The U.N. is calling on the international community to support the repair work that the dam needs.
Let's look at your weather. Turbulent weather, in fact, has rocked parts of the United Arab Emirates.
Our Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us with details on that.
Derek, what's happening?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Errol, you know it's a problem that you have more rain in 24 hours than would be in the entire year for this particular location. It was serious and came down very quick. It's been a rough, turbulent week in the UAE as you mentioned. I want to show you video coming out of this region. This is Abu Dhabi. You can see how strong the winds actually were. And just how heavy the rain actually was. We'll show you other damage, pictures in one second. But there was hurricane-force wind gusts, with the line of thunderstorms that move through. And when you see a year's worth of rain in 24 hours, that's going to lead to major problems. Get to region. And the United Emirates, with strong storms. Here is the satellite loop. You can see that band, that moved through Abu Dhabi, the yellow, with the colder cloud tops. And the wind gusts, 126 kilometers per hour. Enough to suspend flights for several hours at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. And look at that rainfall volume. That's measured on Saturday. Just shy of 300 millimeters. Can you believe that? That led to flooding. And scenes like that with the strong winds, damaging one of the garages there and damaging some of the cars. If you look at the average over the past year, February into March, is typically the wettest time of the season for Abu Dhabi. Just over 40 millimeters expected this time of year. We saw so much of that in a short period of time. Fortunately, the storm system is moving to the north and east. Now, we have our eyes set on Afghanistan, into Pakistan and northern India. Heavy mountain snows for that region. As you get in the lower elevations, significant rainfall. Maybe in excess of 50 to 100 millimeters.
The central, southern sections of the United States, have encountered their fair share of heavy rain. We had heavy flooding and a foot of rainfall, into Louisiana and Texas. That's led to flooding across the bayous and the low areas in Shreveport. It's not going anywhere anytime soon. We have the potential for flooding that will continue over the next several days. In fact, into Louisiana and Texas, we could see this event last through Monday.
[02:25:20] BARNETT: Really. And you want people to stay off the roads, be safe. You talk about the storm in the UAE. There's a highway between Abu Dhabi. I used to live there. People constantly speed on that thing.
VAN DAM: That's right.
BARNETT: You won't be able to slow down.
VAN DAM: That's right. They want people to heed the warnings. Turn around, don't drown. If there's a flooded road, you don't want to try to traverse it.
BARNETT: Good advice.
Derek Van Dam, see you next hour.
VAN DAM: Thanks, Errol.
BARNETT: A dramatic development in a long-running bribery investigation in South America. Brazil's former president has been placed under investigation by prosecutors in Sao Paulo. This is into money laundering allegations tied to Brazil's state-owned oil company. Prosecutors allege that he benefited from the scheme while he was president and after he left office. The popular former leader denies any wrongdoing.
Now, it may look like a spa, but it's actually a rehabilitation center. Coming up, we take you inside an effort to reform Islamic extremists.
Plus, CNN visits Fukushima five years after the worst nuclear disaster. You'll see the challenges survivors have to face every day, in a live report. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:01] BARNETT: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Errol Barnett.
Here are the top stories we are following for you right now.
(HEADLINES)
BARNETT: In Saudi Arabia, prison is one aspect of dealing with Islamic radicals, another facet is rehabilitation.
Nic Robertson traveled to Riyadh to get a firsthand look at the kingdom's rehabilitation center.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the laundry.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): OK.
I'm going past a basketball court.
(voice-over): I'm not in a resort on holiday.
(on camera): Do you have a problem with any of them trying to escape from here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): And not in a jail. I'm getting a guided tour of Saudi Arabia's state-of-the-art jihadi rehab center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have several units like this one.
ROBERTSON: More than 3,100 men have been through here, the Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Advice, Counseling and Care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 122, the success rate, among them, 80 percent.
ROBERTSON: The center's slick PowerPoint is shown to visiting prime ministers, international counterterrorism officials and me. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a group of religious, psychological
counseling, social training, sports programs.
ROBERTSON: He's talking about the staff.
(on camera): The majority of people are from a religious discipline. Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because that's as an organization use Islam.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): I can't talk to the jihadis in rehab, but I can talk to this man.
(on camera): If I had met you in Afghanistan, when you've been to Osama bin Laden's training camp, if I met you then, would you have killed me?
(voice-over): "Yes," he says. He did five years in jail and graduated the rehab program, and credits the center for turning his life around. But still doesn't want his identity shown.
(on camera): Each one of these, it's one of the inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
(voice-over): Officials credit success with getting in the minds of the jihadists, with imams, sociologists, psychologists, even art therapy, but admit there is no silver bullet to success.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a high chance of relapse. And you talk about the problem and there is a problem, relapse is common. But with that small percentage, I think it's good.
ROBERTSON: Everything is done to make the jihadists comfortable, open up, so their terrorist ideas can be discussed and changed.
(on camera): It might look like the beneficiaries here are getting pampered, but Saudi Arabia knows it's under pressure to tackle this extremist threat. There's nothing better than groups like ISIS that would like to take control of this country, home to Islam's two holiest sites.
(voice-over): The former jihadi derides ISIS as chaotic compared to al Qaeda. He shocks me, claiming the ISIS attack in Paris was a fabrication of the West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): The -- the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's not often I'm at a loss for words. But I'm struggling.
(on camera): The families who lost the loved ones in Paris are very real. It's not a fake. I was there. (voice-over): Success at this center is measured in no repeat offenders. What the former jihadis really think when they leave is their own business.
Nic Robertson, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:34:57] BARNETT: Nic Robertson with that eye-opening and eyebrow- raising report.
Now to this. Just before 3:00 in the afternoon, on March 11th, 2011, life on the northeastern coast of Japan changed disastrously. A powerful earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami tore through the coastal area around Sendai. Frightening images. 20,000 people died or went missing. Hundreds of thousands of shocked survivors were left homeless.
This exclusive CNN drone video shows the area today, some five years on. You can see it is stark, abandoned, scarred, and tragic. And for the entire nation, it won't be forgotten. But the most enduring disaster of Fukushima was the meltdowns at the plant that left the area a radioactive wasteland.
CNN's Will Ripley traveled into Fukushima's no-mans-land, and he joins us from Tokyo.
Will, what did you see?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We saw, Errol, as you described, an area living in that moment, almost five years ago, five years tomorrow. It's hard to believe because people here in Japan, and around the world, remember where they were when the earthquake happened, when the horrific tsunami waves moved in, and in subsequent days learned about the meltdown. For many people, life goes on. But we traveled on the Japanese coast and met many more that are living with reminders of that day. They still can't go home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (voice-over): Whenever this man wants to check on his home, he has to wear this to guard against radiation. He only comes a few times a year to the house his family has owned since before World War II. Each visit, more difficult than the last. Each room, devastated. Poison does little to keep the rats away.
"It's painful," he says. "My wife doesn't want to come here. The house is getting more dilapidated."
(on camera): This room hasn't been touched since the earthquake. You can see the calendar, March, 2011. There's laundry hanging. It was done right before the earthquake hit.
(EXPLOSION)
RIPLEY: The shaking lasted six minutes. (SCREAMING)
RIPLEY: Tsunami waves soon after --
(SHOUTING)
RIPLEY: -- icy cold, consuming coastal towns.
Five years ago, on March 11th, 2011, almost 20,000 people died. Many, spared by nature, would soon face a manmade disaster.
His house is three kilometers, less than two miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. His town sits empty. More than 6,000 people once lived and worked here.
Today, they're allowed in for just five hours at a time.
(CROSSTALK)
RIPLEY: Nearly 100,000 Fukushima residents are still evacuated. Nearly 19,000 still living in what was supposed to be temporary housing. Some choose to stay. Others have nowhere else to go.
This woman used to live within walking distance of her children. Now, they barely see each other.
"I had a happy life," she says. "The disaster made a lot of families fall apart, including mine."
She also lived with his parents and children and grandchildren. Now, they're in several cities.
(on camera): What did you grow here?
(voice-over): The soil on his farm, contaminated.
"I'm sad," he says. "I'm empty."
A feeling shared by so many here, five years later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: Tomorrow, here in Tokyo and all over Japan, there will be ceremonies to mark 3/11. This is Japan's 9/11. But the people we met, they said they don't want ceremonies. They want to go back to their homes. For the people in the village, Errol, they don't know if they will happen. They haven't started to clean up the contaminated soil. People are living in the cramped, shoddy housing that was supposed to last for two years. They don't have permanent homes so they are really living in limbo. And it's a constant memory of everything they lost. And the families are being divided as a result of this.
BARNETT: It's an insight to see what is going on five years on. We'll certainly mark those commemorations tomorrow here on CNN.
Will Ripley, live for us in Tokyo.
Now, to another nuclear disaster, this one in Ukraine. Nearly three decades ago, a catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant spewed radiation across Europe. Now, a new report from Greenpeace says there is still dangerous lingering radioactive activity around Chernobyl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:40:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, in the regions where these people live, the rate of disease is higher. For children, this rate is roughly twice as high, as in the so-called clean places. Here, we also have a higher rate of breast cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Experts says people have continued to eat foods with high radiation levels. And Greenpeace says the Ukrainian government lacks the money to protect its people from contamination.
A Donald Trump presidency. Coming up, the Republican candidate tells us what would be different in the U.S. if he wins the White House.
Plus, forced out by the Olympics. Brazilian families fight back against government efforts to make way for the summer games. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Welcome back. A group of Brazilian families are being forced from their homes in Rio de Janeiro just a few months before the Summer Olympics. Many saying they were pressured to taking a government buyout. Others are resisting.
CNN's Shasta Darlington reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A surprise operation that started at 6:00 a.m., protected by dozens of police, and left Luis Silva salvaging what he could.
"Today, my house was demolished," he says. "I built it brick-by-brick and spent 25 years of my life right there."
Now, little is left of this village, once a quiet area that acquired a powerful neighbor.
Just a week before, Silva let us into his home, with a surprise upstairs.
(on camera): This is literally one of the last houses left standing. What is unbelievable is right over here, that's the Olympic park, still under construction. That stretch of dirt used to be a line of houses. [02:45:11] (voice-over): The first evacuation started in 2013.
About one-third of the 800 families were told their homes had to go to make way for the Olympic park, including Silva's. Many more families agreed to trade their homes for cash or new housing. Others clashed when police came to evict them last June, images caught on amateur video.
When we talked to residents last year, they said they felt like they were being squeezed out, as the rubble built up around them.
"They're using pressure," one resident told us. "They're going door- to-door, telling us we're going to lose everything if we don't accept their offer."
According to the Rio mayor, residents asked to leave. At a press conference this week, he finally presented a housing project for the handful of families still left, to be built on the same site. It has 30 houses and two schools, he says. And insists the whole thing will be completed when the Olympic Games kick off in five months' time.
A bitter pill for some left. A glimmer of hope for the families still resisting, flying Brazilian flags in defiance. But mistrust runs deep. And only seeing will be believing.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: In the U.S., Republican presidential race, it's all about Florida and Ohio right now. You see Donald Trump says victories there would knock Marco Rubio and John Kasich out of the race.
But check out this new CNN/ORC poll. It shows 40 percent of likely Republican voters support Trump in Florida. And Rubio has half of that. This is his home state. In Ohio, 40 percent of Republican voters support Trump. 35 percent are backing their governor, John Kasich.
Earlier, the front-runner talked with our Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, A.C. 360: How does the GOP differ under Donald Trump and under President Bush and under --
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: It would be smarter. It would save money. It would have balanced budgets. It would have many more products made in the United States. It would have smart trade, not free trade.
Just so you understand, I'm a free trader. The problem with free trade, and it's a very big problem, we need smart leadership. To have successful free trade, you need a smart group of people at the top. We don't have that. We have people that are grossly incompetent.
We're dealing against China. I've made a lot of money dealing against China. I own a Bank of America building in San Francisco. I own 1290 Avenue of the Americas. I got it by competing against China. I didn't get it because of China. I got it -- I competed against them. I won. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, Trump's business acumen and money have been some of his major talking points. He says he is not beholden to anyone because he is so wealthy. How true is that?
"CNN Money's" Cristina Alesci separate fact from fiction.
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CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump has labeled himself an outsider.
TRUMP: I am a nonpolitician.
ALESCI: His brashness, his experience, even his campaign finances, but how much of what he says is true?
TRUMP: I have never seen lying that goes on in politics.
ALESCI: Let's start with the claim that he's financing his own campaign, which Trump is happy to remind us about.
TRUMP: I'm self-funding my campaign.
I'm self-funding my campaign.
I'm self-funding. I'm doing my own money.
ALESCI: Is he? Well, it's not that simple. Trump is provided about $18 million to that campaign. But he's cut a check for only $250,000. What makes up the difference?
TREVOR POTTER, FORMER FEC CHAIRMAN: The rest of it is a loan. The reason you make it a loan, if it's a loan, and you do well, and you raise money from other people later, you can pay yourself back.
ALESCI: If Trump can raise funds, he can make the money back. In fact, he's already raised nearly $8 million from individual donors, not outside groups.
TRUMP: I'm not getting millions of dollars from all of the special interests and lobbyists and donors.
ALESCI: That's mostly true. Three super PACs have raised $2 million. For outside money, that's a small amount compared to most of the other candidates. When you look at how much his campaign has raised overall, it's a similar story. That's because he hasn't needed the money.
POTTER: He has been able to get media markets because the press is doing a great job of doing that for him. I walked past a flat-screen TV and there's a huge picture of Donald Trump, talking at his Trump rally.
[02:50:08] ALESCI: Political ads are a major expense for most campaigns. And Trump has spent the least of any candidate. In fact, he only started running ads in January of this year because he, quote, unquote, "felt bad for his rivals."
TRUMP: Can you imagine spending $79 million and I've spent almost nothing. Now I'm going to start spending money because I feel guilty.
ALESCI: Whether that's true or not, his tactics, loaning himself money and spending very little of it, have worked so far. But he's going to need more cash in the general election if he becomes the GOP's nominee. In 2012, each candidate spent about $1 billion, which means he may need to start raising big money. And if so, he wouldn't be such a different candidate after all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: The Republican presidential candidates will face off in a CNN debate. I can guarantee there will be fireworks. You can watch in Friday morning at 9:30, if you're in Hong Kong, or on your phone or tablet, only here, on CNN.
Now, a reporter in California hugs it out with his photographer after a live report that could have ended his life. We'll show it to you next.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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BARNETT: A TV news reporter in California is thankful to be alive, after a close call on air during a broadcast.
As Jeanne Moos reports, there's a reason TV types like us call these appearances in the field, live hits.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reporting can present dangers, whether from a tear gas canister --
(SHOUTING)
MOOS: -- or flying debris.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back. It's coming apart.
MOOS: But what could happen in a parking lot of a Fremont, California, 7-Eleven, while reporting on a train derailment.
ALEX SAVIDGE, REPORTER, KTVU: It's a chaotic and confusing situation.
MOOS: No one was hurt. But you can't blame KTVU's Alex Savidge for his reaction.
[02:55:02] SAVIDGE: My heart hasn't stopped racing.
MOOS: since back was to the traffic, Alex credits his cameraman for yelling, "Get out of the way" -- before diving to safety.
SAVIDGE: This is the man. That's Chip Vaughn.
(APPLAUSE)
Always has my back.
MOOS: Turns out, the elderly woman driving the white car turned right on red into the path of another car, got hit, then, police say, stepped on the gas instead of the break.
SAVIDGE: She missed me by about this much.
MOOS: The police took her license.
SAVIDGE: When I see the video, it freaks me out.
MOOS (on camera): This is the kind of thing that usually happens to police, not reporters --
(voice-over): -- when officers are stopped on the side of the road.
(EXPLOSION)
MOOS: Everyone reacts differently to a close call. For instance, the cameraman's wife --
CHRIS VAUGHN, CAMERAMAN, KTVU: She said, good, you'll be able to walk the dog when you get home.
MOOS: In the business, this is known as a live hit.
But Alex could have ended up dead from this hit.
SAVIDGE: I want to thank Chip.
Thanks, buddy.
VAUGHN: You're all right.
SAVIDGE: Thanks. That was scary.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: That is pretty incredible.
Now, if you watched the Democratic debate, you may not have gotten the answer to one burning question, what color was Bernie Sanders suit? Twitter lit up with comments from some viewers who thought it was blue. Others, like myself, insisted it was brown. It's evoking that debate. Was it blue or black or white or gold? A Sanders' staff has ended this one quickly, sending out a tweet, saying, "The suit was blue." I did an online poll asking you all the same question. And you all agree with me. 66 percent of you say, yeah, it's brown. We're wrong. The 34 percent of you are right. I had an insightful comment from someone saying, "How about you do your job as journalists instead of being the fashion police." Point taken.
We promise to cover the more important issues that come up in the debate next hour on CNN. Stay with us.
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[03:00:10] BARNETT: More missile launches, threats and nuclear claims from North Korea.
