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Terror Suspect Charged for Paris Attacks; History in Havana; Debating A "Right to Refuse". Aired 5-6a ET

Aired March 20, 2016 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:11] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The push for answers after the arrest of this key suspect in the Paris terror attacks. We have team coverage this hour live from the French capital and from the scene of the dramatic capture.

Eighty-eight years after the last U.S. presidential visit, Barack Obama gets set to touch down in Cuba. We'll tell you how improved relations with Washington are changing the island nation.

And while human rights come to the fore in Havana, some are worried about restrictions right here in the United States. Details of a divisive new legislation, a new bill on religious liberty in the state of Georgia.

Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

(MUSIC)

HOWELL: And a good day to you.

We begin this hour with the very latest on the only surviving suspect of the deadly terror attacks in Paris. He made a confession, but prosecutors don't think that he is telling the whole truth. Salah Abdeslam admitted that he played a key role, key logistically role in the November attack, but backed out of plans to blow himself up with a suicide bomb.

Police arrested Abdeslam in Brussels in a raid on Friday. It may take three month to extradite him to France. CNN is covering the story from all angles this hour. Our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is live with us in Belgium where the raid took place and capture.

But, first, we go to CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, live in the French capital with the latest on the investigation.

Nic, good to have you. So, what more do we know about the interrogation of Abdeslam, and why do prosecutors doubt what he's saying?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the Paris prosecutor doubts it saying the account of the attack and what else was planned in Paris that ISIS put out following the attack indicates that they were planning not only the attack on the night of November 13th, the one that killed close to 130 people, but also, they were planning an attack in the 18th District of Paris.

Now, what the French prosecutor says we cannot accept the words of Salah Abdeslam at face value, that he was planning to blow up his own suicide vest, potentially along with the other three suicide bombers that he dropped off at the Stade de France, the national sports stadium where a major soccer match was underway.

And the reason a French prosecutor says that is because after dropping them off, the car that he used to drop them off was then found in the 18th District of Paris. He says that's just too much of a coincidence to overlook. Saleh Abdeslam later dumped the suicide vest on the south side of Paris and called friends in Belgium to give him a ride back to Belgium.

But this is just one of the many questions that the French prosecutor has, essentially saying that, you know, Abdeslam has been on the run for four months. Who knows what kind of stories he may concoct to get himself off on a lighter type of sentence if that were ever possible, George.

HOWELL: Right. Nic, also the desire in France to have him back on French soil, how long could that take?

ROBERTSON: It's being thwarted at the most, Abdeslam is saying, no, I'm going to fig the extradition, the extradition is being on European extradition. That should make it shorter than if it was under an international extradition warrant. What the French prosecutor says is the maximum time on a European extradition warrant is three months.

Salah Abdeslam didn't fight it, he could be here in a matter of days, ten days even. But at the moment, the French prosecutor looks like he's going to have to wait for the legal process to play out.

HOWELL: Nic Robertson live in Paris.

Now, let's turn to Fred Pleitgen in Molenbeek, the neighborhood where this raid took place.

And, Fred, what more do we know about what's happening there? We see security details still in the neighborhood. Is there a concern about additional raids that could happen, additional searches?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well -- yes, there is concern that further people could be further people who might be hiding out here in the Molenbeek area.

One of the big concerns, of course, that law enforcement has had over the years here is they felt that there were a lot of extremists in hiding. That this was a hotbed also for recruit. For instance, for Belgians who would then, some of them, later on go to ISIS.

What's been going on over the past couple of days, of course, this apartment here where Salah Abdeslam was staying when he was apprehended has been searched by police. There's been forensic work going.

[05:05:00] But on at the same time, of course, an investigation continues to go on. People here really wondering who are these people who are living in and amongst them. We went through the neighborhood here yesterday and spoke to a couple of people. Many of them, of course, were very shocked by what was going on. Many of them said they couldn't believe that there were people who were radicals, who were in this neighborhood.

It is, of course, a neighborhood with a large Muslim population. And the vast majority of them, of course, very moderate and want to have nothing to do with this. And the vast majority of them told us that they are happy that Salah Abdeslam is finally now in custody, that this part of it is finally over. And many of them are concerned that there were so many weapons found in the process.

I also spoke to the mayor of Molenbeek who also acknowledged that Molenbeek does have a big problem with this and she thinks that a two- pronged approach is something this neighborhood will have to conduct in the future. That there needs to be the law enforcement aspect, probably additional raids, additional police work.

But the same time, of course, there's a social aspect to this, as well to try and stop people from going into the fangs of organizations that might be linked to groups like ISIS in the future, to make sure that the bad reputation that this neighborhood has at this point is something that's fought off and this place gets on to a very different track than it has been over the past couple of years, George.

HOWELL: I want to push further on that point, the two-pronged approach, so more raids, OK. But what about building the trust? How do investigators go through the process of building trust with people on that community to learn more information that's needed?

PLEITGEN: It is very difficult. One of the things you raise is very interesting, because Abdeslam was on the run for a long time. He was on the run for about four months. There was no indication from the information we have that the authorities knew where he was. That shows that they clearly don't have much of an inroad into this neighborhood. They don't get very much information from this neighborhood.

In the end, they thought that he might have fled to Syria. That he might have fled to another country in Europe. But it turned out that he was actually in hiding only a few streets from where he grew up.

So, certainly, the law enforcement folks will have to build new capabilities here. They'll have to build new network here, aside from conducting the police work that they do anyway. And, then, of course, you have the social aspect I was talking about where generally there needs to be a process here where the state institutions but generally the community as a whole combats extremism in a way that shows -- especially the young people here in this neighborhood, a different path to make sure they don't go on the path to radicalization as some of the people in this neighborhood have.

We always have to point out that even in this neighborhood, it is, of course, only a small fraction of people who go on that path, who go in this very wrong direction. And by and large, the people we've been seeing on the streets, people we've been talking to are very moderate people, people who just want to live their lives and are just as shocked as anyone else as some of the things that have transpired here over the past couple of months.

HOWELL: Very important point to point out, Fred. Fred Pleitgen live for us in Belgium. Nic Robertson live in France. Gentlemen, we appreciate the reporting from both of you today.

Now we move on to Russia and the ongoing investigation into the fiery crash of FlyDubai Flight 981. Mourners have been leaving flowers at the airport where the Boeing 737 went down on Saturday. The plane killing 62 people on board.

Investigators are now combing through the charred debris. Authorities say weather, human error, and technical issues are all being considered as possible factors for this fiery crash.

We go live now Abu Dhabi, CNN's John Jensen is following the investigation.

John, good to have you.

So, terrorism has been ruled out. But it seems that there's some evidence that weather may have played a factor here.

JOHN JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, George. Weather seems to be the main factor and main focus of the investigation at the moment.

We know at the time of the crash and the two hours the plane circled over the airport that visibility was very low, there was a mixture of snow and rain in the air. And the wind was a major factor, as well. We understand that the gusts were upwards of 90 kilometers per hour. That's quite fast.

The pilots appeared to be concerned by that weather, according to new audio that was released on a Russian news site. Now, we can't independently verify the authenticity of this audio, but it's apparently communication between the pilots and the tower at the airport in Rostov-on-Don. In the audio, you can hear the air traffic controller asking the pilot how, is the weather, sir? There's low visibility and moderate wind shear.

Again, we can't verify the authenticity, and we don't know at what point the audio was recorded in the flight. But, George, all of this should become more clear in the coming weeks and months as investigators go through the two flight recorders. Both of which we now understand are in Moscow under review. [05:10:00] HOWELL: For our viewers in the United States, tell us just

a bit more about the airline, those who may not know about FlyDubai. What's the safety record for this airline? What do we know about the pilots of the plane?

JENSEN: Well, George, FlyDubai is a low cost or budget carrier based in Dubai, just down the road from where we are. It started in 2009, and frankly, they have a very good safety record. There have been no major incidents since they started flying.

All of their fleet, about 50 737-800s, they are relatively new. In fact, the plane involved was purchased just in 2011. And we understand that it passed recently a fairly comprehensive safety check. Now the airline also said yesterday from the CEO that its pilots, one from Cyprus, one from Spain, were, quote, "quite experienced." Both had accumulated some 6,000 hours of flying time -- George.

HOWELL: No doubt families dealing with a great deal of shock, a great deal of pain and just from the loss of their loved ones on this crash. What sort of support are they getting from the airline?

JENSEN: Well, that's right. The airline confirmed yesterday that there were four nationalities onboard, as far as the passengers go -- 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians, and one person from Uzbekistan. Among the dead are four children.

Now, the airline has said just earlier that they would offer $20,000 roughly in the form of financial assistance for the hardships that these families of the passengers may face in the coming days and weeks. The Russian government has also said it will give $15,000.

Now, this is not compensation. It's just hardship assistance for all the families involved to deal with this tragedy in the next coming days -- George.

HOWELL: John, seeing the video of people laying flowers there.

John Jensen live for us in Abu Dhabi -- John, we appreciate your reporting.

No one has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed four people in a very busy tourist area of Istanbul. Among the dead, two Israeli-American citizens and a third Israeli and Iranian. Thirty-six people were wounded in this blast.

Our senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, has details for us from Istanbul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Instead of the throngs of people, both Turks and tourists, who would normally be packing the street, now it has been almost entirely sealed off following a suicide attack. This street is one of Istanbul's main pedestrian thoroughfares. It's filled with restaurants and shops. It's located in the heart of the city.

And this is one of the areas that the authorities had issued a warning about, saying that there was a fairly high potential that some sort of an attack would be taking place here, following threats from a PKK offshoot. The Kurdish separatist group, that they would be carrying out more attacks after last Sunday's deadly and devastating bombing in the capital, Ankara.

This explosion happening at about mid morning at the entrance of one of the side streets that sells fish and other fresh produce. It was quickly almost immediately sealed off. Ambulances rushing to the scene. Police pushing people as far back as they could, certain good a possible secondary explosion. Helicopters hours later still buzzing overhead.

As we were walking back down one of the side streets, we saw a woman who was desperately speaking with the police. She later told us she was waiting for news of her brother. He was somewhere on the street when the explosion took place, and she did not know what happened to him.

This type of violence has become sadly fairly routine, especially in Istanbul and in Ankara. This is a population that at this stage is feeling phenomenally vulnerable, facing threats on multiple fronts.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead this hour, as tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula, the United States is showing its military strength with one of the largest war machines in its arsenal. CNN gets exclusive access to the aircraft carrier, coming up.

Plus, a historic moment between Cuba and the U.S. Barack Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in over eight decades.

It's 5:14 on the East Coast right now. CNN NEWSROOM continues live after this.

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[05:17:19] HOWELL: History in Havana. You are looking at some of the preparations being made in Cuba, ahead of the historic visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. Beginning Sunday, Mr. Obama is set to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro to attend the baseball game, and to talk to anti-government activists. The U.S. has lifted some trade and travel restrictions, but Cubans are hurting under the ongoing economic embargo.

Mr. Obama's visit to Cuba symbolizes the re-establishment of U.S. relations with the island nation. In a CNN exclusive, our Patrick Oppmann sat down with Cuba's lead negotiator who played a key role in bringing both sides together. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How involved has President Castro been with the normalization process?

JOSEFINA VIDAL FERREIRO, NEGOTIAOR, CUBA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Previously, President Fidel Castro and after him, President Raul Castro, they both have advocated in favor of a building of new relationship between Cuba and the United States.

This process finally started in December 2014 under the leadership of Raul Castro. Of course, he had a leading role in that process. And he continues, you know, living that process.

OPPMANN: There's obviously a sense of respect between presidents Obama and Castro. Do you think they like each other? Is there a chemistry as we say?

VIDAL FERREIRO: I think there is a respect. Undoubtedly, there is respect. You saw this, and I saw this during the Summit of the Americas in Panama, how President Raul Castro addressed to President Obama, recognizing that after President Jimmy Carter, he has been the only one in our past history who has decided to begin a process toward normalization of relations with Cuba.

OPPMANN: Have you been able to find common ground with the U.S. on the issue of human rights?

VIDAL FERREIRO: We can speak frankly and openly about the differences of conceptions that we have, but note with the pretention that we will change you or you will change us because it will be finally up to our populations, which are sovereign to decide what kind of model, what kind of government they consider is better for them.

OPPMANN: And if she were alive, will Che Guevara be in favor of normalization?

VIDAL FERREIRO: I would say that he was not different from us, thinking that even with the difference that we have, it's beneficial for Cuba and the United States to have normal relations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Bringing Cuba and the U.S. even closer together, direct postal services between the two countries has now resumed.

[05:20:05] Our Robyn Curnow spoke with the Cuban president who received a letter from the president of the United States, Barack Obama himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A quiet corner with its own piece of history. This Cuban grandmother holds a letter from American President Barack Obama, one of the first pieces of mail to make it directly from the U.S. to Cuba in half a century. The White House released this photo of the president, signing it in

the Oval Office.

ILEANA YARZA, RECEIVED LETTER FROM U.S. PRESIDENT: To think that I would be expecting a letter in that mail and from the president himself, oh, my food. Not in my dreams.

CURNOW: Ileana Yarza says she's written to Obama five times, offering him coffee at her home. Finally, he replied.

YARZA: Dear Ileana, I'm looking forward to be sitting in Havana to foster the relationship and highlight our shared values, and hopefully I will have time to enjoy a cup of Cuban coffee.

CURNOW: Even the envelope is weighted with symbolism. Official White House correspondence delivered to an address that when translated means place of the revolution.

For many Cubans like Yarza, this letter and the president's trip is seen as a long-awaited acknowledgment that U.S. policy for the past 50 years was a mistake.

YARZA: I can die in peace because I heard in my lifetime an American president say that the embargo did not work.

CURNOW: Slowly, changes are coming. Perhaps not as fast as both governments would like, but still welcomed. At this Havana post office, letters sent to the United States had to be routed via a third country. But now, the direct service delivery will take about two weeks, say the postal workers here.

After the president's visit, Yarza wants to write back. She knows what she'll say.

YARZA: Thank you for writing me back such a beautiful letter. Thank you for coming to Cuba.

CURNOW: A thank you and standing offer to still come over for a cup of Cuban coffee.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, Havana, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: A letter from the president himself. Very cool for her.

Stay tuned to CNN, of course, for continuing coverage of this historic visit of the U.S. president, Barack Obama, to Cuba, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and throughout the day. Join us for special coverage from Havana only on CNN.

Switching to weather conditions in the U.S. where an aptly named March nor'easter is on track to bring snow, rain, and gusty winds to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic starting this weekend.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us to talk more about this. Derek, you know, things are starting to warm up for people.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It doesn't look like that's going to be the case this go round, because, you know, today is the first official day of spring.

And full disclosure, by the way, George, I'm particularly interested in this potential of a nor'easter because -- well, I'm supposed to coincidently fly out at the same time as this is supposed to hit the city that I will fly to.

HOWELL: You were tracking this especially closely?

(WEATHER REPORT)

[05:26:33] HOWELL: Derek, as people on the East Coast are prepared to freeze, are you headed somewhere warm?

VAN DAM: I am headed to the southern hemisphere this time to see family and friends in South Africa.

HOWELL: Enjoy the weather.

VAN DAM: Thank you. I will.

HOWELL: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: All right.

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead this hour -- U.S. President Barack Obama has had a few comments about the tone of the current election campaign. And now he is not hesitating to say who he feels is responsible. The man you see there.

Plus, the U.S. continues its joint military drills with South Korea. And CNN gets exclusive access to one of the largest war machines in the U.S. arsenal that is taking part in these exercises.

We are live throughout the United States and around the world this hour, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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[05:30:39] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Are you watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

The headlines we're following this hour:

A new confession from the only surviving suspect of the deadly terror attack in Paris. Salah Abdeslam says he provided logistical support and backed out of plans to set off a suicide bomb in the November attacks that killed 130 people. He now sits in a Belgium prison, awaiting extradition to France.

Investigators are combing through the charred wreckage of the FlyDubai passenger jet that crashed at a Russian airport on Saturday. The focus now is on weather, on human error, and technical issues as possible causes for this crash. Mourners, meanwhile, are leaving flowers at a makeshift memorial. All 62 people on that plane died.

Prince Harry kicked off his five-day trip to Nepal by attending a reception with the country's deputy prime minister. During his visit, he plans to take a look at how the country is recovering since an earthquake that struck last year. That quake killing more than 8,000 people. 2016 also marks 200 years of bilateral relations between the U.K. and Nepal.

Protests broke out on the campaign trail for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump this weekend. Take a look. This was the scene near his building in New York on Saturday. Trump was in Arizona himself. Supporters on their way to a rally there were faced with a roadblock by protesters, and a man was punched and kicked at another rally.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders was also in Arizona on Saturday. He had some sharp criticism for Donald Trump. Mr. Sanders spoke in a town along a U.S./Mexico border while promising to reform U.S. immigration policy. He referred to Trump's controversial comments about Mexicans entering the United States as being rapists and criminals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To insult an entire nation is not befitting of anybody let alone a candidate for president of the United States. Our job as always is to bring people together, not drive them apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: U.S. President Barack Obama is also criticizing Donald Trump and his behavior on the campaign trail. As CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny reports for us, Mr. Obama is not holding back his opinion on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's not on the ballot, but his legacy is on the line.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, Austin!

ZELENY: And President Obama is gearing up for a campaign of his own against Donald Trump, feeling little sympathy for the plight of the GOP.

OBAMA: This is the guy, remember, who was sure that I was born in Kenya.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Who just wouldn't let it go. And all this same Republican establishment, they weren't saying nothing. As long as it was directed at me, they were fine with it.

ZELENY: The president is still officially on the sidelines of the Democratic primary fight, even though his preference for Hillary Clinton is one of the worst kept secrets in Washington, but he's all in to stop Trump.

OBAMA: I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president.

ZELENY: His tone is shifting from dismissive --

OBAMA: I think they recognize that being president is a serious job. It's not hosting a talk show or a reality show.

ZELENY: -- to dead serious.

OBAMA: And so, I know I'm not the only one in this room who may be a little more than dismayed about what's happening on the campaign trail lately. We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities and Americans who don't like us or pray like us or vote like we do.

ZELENY: In five years, Trump has gone from presidential punch line --

OBAMA: Say what you will about Mr. Trump. He certainly would bring some change to the White House. See what we got up there.

ZELENY: And now within reach of the presidency, which Obama is increasingly working against.

OBAMA: During primaries, people vent and they express themselves. Seems like entertainment, but as you get closer, reality has a way of intruding.

[05:35:03] ZELENY: The president is gradually expressing himself.

OBAMA: I think I will have a Democratic successor and I will campaign very hard to make that happen.

ZELENY: The question is whether voters are looking for change just as they were eight years ago when he swept into office.

(on camera): So the question is, how could President Obama actually help the Democratic nominee? His popularity ratings aren't exactly soaring. Democrats say the answer is this -- he can re-energize and thus those Obama coalition, the young voters, Hispanic voters, African-American voters, regardless of who wins the nomination, they will both need help on that front.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Be sure to tune in to CNN as all remaining five presidential candidates, Democrats and Republicans, sit down with our own Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. Five different conversations, one very important night. That is Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, midnight in London, only here on CNN.

Now here in the U.S. state of Georgia, a proposed measure known as the Religious Liberty Bill, is causing a great deal of controversy, and it could end up costing the state a Super Bowl bid. Critics say it would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.

CNN's Nick Valencia has more on what supporters and business owners are saying to politicians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELVIN WILLIAMS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: This is 2016. They've just taken us back to the 1800s.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kelvin Williams is angry. The small business owner says a proposed Georgia law, the so- called Religious Liberty Bill will ruin opportunities for his telecommunications business and discriminate against many others like him.

Williams is gay.

WILLIAMS: It's going to protect anybody who feels like discriminating. I don't see where it's actually going to protect anybody from being discriminated against.

VALENCIA: After a nearly two-year battle, House Bill 757 passed both chambers of the Georgia legislature. If signed into law by the governor, it would protect faith-based organization who do not hire or host gays and lesbians because of their religious beliefs.

As it's written, the legislation will, quote, "provide a claim or defense to persons whose religious exercise is substantially burdened by government.

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: The only discrimination I see going forward is if the governor refuses to sign this bill.

VALENCIA: Senator Mike Crane is one of the bill's most adamant supporters. He, too, is a small business owner and is currently running for U.S. Congress.

MIKE CRANE, GEORGIA STATE SENATE: There's an undermining of religious freedom in this nation. The Christian communities in particular is really the group that's going to end up being discriminated against if the states don't stand up and say this -- this liberty is important.

VALENCIA: If Georgia's bill sounds familiar, it's because it is. In 2014, Arizona legislature made an attempt at a Religious Restoration Act. After intense pressure from athletic organizations, corporations, and even some Republicans, it failed.

JAN BREWER, ARIZONA GOVERNOR: I have vetoed Senate bill 1062 moments ago.

VALENCIA: In 2015, it was Indiana's turn, and after much debate, Governor Mike Pence signed it into law. Supporters like this small business owner were thrilled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it protects me from the government forcing me to do something that's against my will.

VALENCIA: The governor later signed a revised bill which seeks to prevent businesses from discriminating against anything based on THEIR sexual orientation.

Back in Georgia, critics of the bill worry about the economic consequences to the state, especially to Georgia's booming movie industry, tourism and sports. Atlanta is currently bidding to host the 2019 super bowl, opponents to the bill like Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO William Pate says H.B.757 will limit the state's chances at attracting investors like the NFL.

WILLIAM PATE, CEO, ATLANTA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU: This legislation as it stands today, if it becomes law, it's going to have a significant impact on our business. And I think it will have significant impact on other businesses in the state.

VALENCIA (on camera): How much money are you talking?

PATE: I think it could be as much as $6 million, and might be $3 billion.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Governor Deal has until may to decide if he'll sign the bill into law. If he does, for Kelvin Williams, the answer of how to deal with it is simple -- in a symbolic gesture this week, his business of 20 employees reincorporated in Delaware. Personally, he says he may be leaving the state, too.

WILLIAMS: I'm actually in the process of talking to a realtor and, you know, looking at selling my house and packing up and leaving.

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: U.S. forces are taking part in what Seoul calls the largest ever joint military exercises in South Korea. The drills come as tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula. North Korea launched more ballistic missiles on Friday, the second time in just eight days.

Our Ivan Watson reports from aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier off the Korean peninsula.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[05:40:05] IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's an F-18 warplane just taking off from the deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis currently sailing at waters off the east of the Korean peninsula.

This carrier strike group is here as part of annual joint military exercises with South Korea. But this is a time of great tension on the Korean peninsula. North Korea argues that these exercises could be a precursor to a military invasion.

North Korea has launched missiles twice in just eight days. That's a move that's been seen as provocative and threatening not only by the U.S., Japan and South Korea but also by the United Nations Security Council.

They say that this is in violation of many U.N. Security Council resolutions which prohibit North Korea from testing nuclear weapons or firing ballistic missiles.

The U.S. is trying to reassure its allies in the region, while also sending a warning of deterrence to North Korea. The aircraft carrier is the largest war machine in the U.S. arsenal, and by sending it to the region, this is an unmistakable show of military strength.

Ivan Watson, CNN, aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: In Cuba, the remnants of a criminal empire still stand, and now the heirs of an American mobster want to be compensated. We'll explain.

Plus, a teenager who escaped the war in Syria has a new dream in her sights. She crossed the sea to survive and now she's focused on Olympic gold.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:34] HOWELL: 10:45 in Vatican City. You see live pictures of Pope Francis celebrating Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's square joined by thousands of Christians. Palm Sunday is the last Sunday before Easter and marks the start of the holy week commemorating the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, Christians will take part in a procession from the Mount of Olives to the old city.

The last time a sitting U.S. president visited Cuba was more than eight decades ago. But in the coming hours, President Barack Obama will arrive in Havana after re-establishing U.S. relations with the island nation.

Mr. Obama is expected to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro. He's expected to attend a baseball game and to talk to anti-government activists there. The U.S. has lifted some trade and travel restrictions. The White House is hoping the concessions could lead to an improvement in Cuba's human rights situation.

And for the first time since the 1959 Cuban revolution, a U.S. hotel company has signed a deal there. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide will operate the hotel you see in this video under their luxury brand. The company will also run another hotel as a four points by Sheraton. The company received special permission from the United States to negotiate the multimillion-dollar deal. Ad Cuba is strikingly different than when Fidel Castro took power in

1959. Back then, American interests were seized, and many business owners left out of pocket.

As our Patrick Oppmann tells us, the relatives of one American mobster are demanding compensation for the criminal empire lost to the Cuban revolution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY RAPPAPORT, MEYER LANSKY'S GRANDSON: Figure about a year, he'd of been paid off as far as the investment. And he didn't get that year.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gary Rapoport remembers his grandfather's hotel in Havana, the Hotel Riviera. When it was built in 1957, the Riviera was one of Cuba's most luxurious hotels.

The Riviera catered to the American jet set who wanted a swanky hotel, a place to play some blackjack with an ocean view. The party ended when Fidel Castro took power and sent Americans packing, including the Riviera's owner, Meyer Lansky.

If the name sounds familiar, it's because Lansky was the brains of the American mafia. He raked in a fortune from bootlegging and gambling. He was so notorious, a character based on Lansky appeared in "The Godfather Part 2."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the business we've chosen.

OPPMANN: But Lansky said he went broke when Castro seized his Havana investments. Pursued by the U.S. government for decades, Lanky died in 1983. He never put in a claim for the properties he lost in the communist-run island.

But now the ties are warming between U.S. and Cuba, Lansky's grandson Gary and daughter Sandra want the Cuban government to pay them for what they took away.

RAPPAPORT: I think it owes us. I mean, I think -- and I'm speaking from for my -- for my mom and uncle Paul and myself. We're remainders of the state of Meyer Lansky. They owed Meyer Lansky.

OPPMANN: Cuban officials say they are willing to resettle with the Americans who lost poverty after the revolution that Cuba owed millions in damages from the U.S. trade embargo. It's hard to imagine Cuban officials paying money to the family of a man they call a mobster.

(on camera): One roadblock to Meyer Lansky's heirs could be that the Cuban government views the mob hotels as symbols of vice and corruption. They were confiscated rather than nationalized, Cuban officials say, making it much less likely that the government here would ever pay compensation for the Hotel Riviera.

Lansky's daughter and grandson live simply in Florida. They inherited Lansky's notoriety but little of his alleged ill-gotten gains. RAPPAPORT: There was a lot in the estate that never got to us. Do we

cry about it? No, we're Lanskys, we just move on.

OPPMANN: The Riviera Hotel remains just out of reach for his family. It is now a shadow of its former self, waiting for perhaps another wealthy foreign investor to return Meyer Lansky's hotel to its former glory.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: History in Havana. Be sure to stay with us for continuing coverage of this visit of the U.S. President Barack Obama to Cuba. It begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and throughout the day, you can join us for special coverage from Havana, only on CNN.

[05:50:06] This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, a girl who survived the war in Syria now has her eyes on the Olympics. This swimmer, though, had to cross the sea to get to Europe, and now she has another dream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

A teenage girl who made the dangerous journey from Syria to Berlin now has a new life and new ambition. She crossed one body of water to survive a war, but now she's looking to waters again, this time for an Olympic win.

CNN's Zain Asher has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A swimmer from Syria, once a refugee, now an Olympic hopeful.

Just seven months ago, Yusra Mardini fled the civil war in her home country, leaving the Syrian capital of Damascus with her sister, making the dangerous sea crossing to Greece. Then trekking several weeks across Europe to Germany.

YUSRA MARDINI, SYRIAN REFUGEE ATHLETE: It was really hard for everyone.

ASHER: Now, she's living in Berlin, going to school.

[05:55:01] Swimming at a pool near her refugee center, training with a coach and determined to make it to the Olympics this summer.

MARDINI: The problem was the reason of why I am here and why I am stronger and I want to reach my goals.

ASHER: The 17-year-old Mardini is already an accomplished athlete. She represented her country at the swimming world championships in Turkey in 2012, but says training in Syria was challenging.

MARDINI: Sometimes we couldn't train because of the war. Or sometimes we had a training, and there was a bombing in the swimming pool.

ASHER: Now that she's left the war behind, Mardini hopes to qualify for Rio as a refugee athlete.

MARDINI: In the water, there is no difference if you're refugee or Syrian or German.

ASHER: Mardini says swimming at the Olympics would be a dream come true and a chance to inspire people across the world.

MARDINI: Everyone is excited, and they want to see what I'm going to do and me, too, actually.

ASHER: And if Mardini is selected, she'll be part of the IOC's very first team of refugee athletes.

Zain Asher, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Such fortitude. We wish her the best.

We thank you for watching this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" with Christi Paul and Victor Blackwell is straight ahead.

For other viewers around the world, "BEST OF QUEST" starts in just a moment.

Thank you for being with CNN, the world news leader. We leave with pictures of Palm Sunday celebrations at the Vatican, live from Vatican City.