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President Obama Travels to Cuba; Belgium Fights Islamic Extremism; More North Korean Missiles Launched; Bus Crash Kills Numerous Exchange Students in Spain; FlyDubai Crash Severely Damages Black Boxes; Marine Killed by ISIS Rocket Attack Stationed at Newly Opened Base; Tennis Official Under Fire for Comments about Women. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 21, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: History in Havana. The U.S. President prepares for his first full day on Cuban soil.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Blame it on the protesters. Donald Trump refuses to condemn violence at his campaign rallies.

CHURCH: And front line Belgium. CNN goes inside the country's fight against Islamic extremism.

Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for joining us as we begin our second hour of CNN Newsroom together.

Now, more than half a century of estrangement is over with U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Cuba. He is the first president to visit the country since 1928, and the trip underscores his promise to extend a hand to long-time foes.

CHURCH: Crowds gathered to watch the Obama family walk through the colonial-era streets of old Havana. Critics in the U.S. have said the visit rewards an authoritarian regime that has not really changed. For example, hours before Mr. Obama arrived police arrested scores of dissidents during their weekly protest.

BARNETT: And Mr. Obama is set to meet with dissidents later during this trip.

CHURCH: Jim Acosta has details on the rest of the president's agenda.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Changes in the air here in Cuba as President Obama prepares to spend his first full day here on the island. The president will begin his day laying a wreath at the memorial remembering the Cuban Revolutionary Jose Marti. And then the president will sit down for a formal bilateral meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro. As for last night, the president and the First Family they took a

walking trip of old Havana, even stopped at the old cathedral here in the Cuban capital, and that was after the president addressed members of the U.S. embassy here in Havana where he talked about the significance of this trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: It's been nearly 90 years since a U.S. president stepped foot in Cuba. It is wonderful to be here. Back in 1928, President Coolidge came on a battleship. It took him three days to get here. It only took me three hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Later on tomorrow the president will be delivering a speech to the Cuban people and the White House says the president will be talking about expanding human rights for the Cuban people. Talking about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. After that, the president will wind down his trip to Cuba with a baseball game between the Cuban National Team and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Havana.

CHURCH: Peter Hakim joins us now from Washington. He is president emeritus of inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based center for policy analysis and exchange on Western Hemisphere affairs. Thank you, sir, for being with us.

PETER HAKIM, INTER-AMERICAN DILOGUE EMERITUS PRESIDENT: Thank you.

CHURCH: Now, President Obama has said himself that this is an opportunity to forge new agreements and deals. What will those look like exactly and just how big an opportunity is this?

HAKIM: Well, I think it's less an opportunity to really put ink on deals. I think the deals have already been negotiated. I think what really happens here is that Obama will want to connect with the Cuban people. The enthusiasm for this change in U.S. policy is palpable in Havana.

I was there only a couple of months ago, and it's clear that President Obama is widely admired and he's going to get tremendous crowds, tremendous applause, great enthusiasm, and I think it's raising the level of optimism about the future for most Cubans, which means they're going to put more energy into really making this relationship work.

CHURCH: And of course it has to be said not everyone's happy about this. A lot of critics suggest this is too premature and comes before any real reforms have been achieved in Cuba. What do you say to that?

HAKIM: Well, number one, I think that there's not a lot of criticism. In fact, this is one of the least controversial foreign policy initiatives of the Obama administration. There has been some criticism. Some of it is certainly true that the Cubans have not made the kinds of concessions, the kinds of movement, better than concession, movement on human rights, on opening their economy, of allowing people real access to internet.

And but this is very consistent with the kind of foreign policy that obama talked about in his inauguration and then at the Nobel Prize ceremony, where the idea is not to sort of negotiate everything but rather to hold out your hand.

[03:05:01] To engage, to create an atmosphere and hope that other country will respond to that kind of warming and opening rather than sort of trying to do it inch by inch.

And I think that's the idea of Cuba. We'll have to see. Fifty five years of an old policy didn't work. Let's give this a little more time.

CHURCH: And just very quickly, how long do you think, though, it will be before we see an open economy and improvements in the lives of people there in Cuba?

HAKIM: I think we have to have some patience for that. It's very hard for the United States to have a normal relationship with a country with an authoritarian leadership, with no elections, with human rights abuses. When that gets over with, then we'll have the normal relationship. And I'm afraid, I'm sorry to say, I think it will take some time.

CHURCH: Peter Hakim, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

HAKIM: It's a pleasure.

BARNETT: Now, in just a few hours, U.S. democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at the annual conference in Washington. Later Monday, all of the republican candidates will also speak at that gathering.

CHURCH: The Israel advocacy group invites all presidential candidates to address their convention during the election season. This year, only Bernie Sanders declined to come because of his campaign schedule. Some AIPAC members plan to stay away when Donald Trump speaks. They object to what they say is the divisive tone of his campaign.

BARNETT: The anti-defamation league, a group of devoted individuals fighting anti-Semitism, has announced plans to redirect the $56,000 Trump has donated to the group through the years.

CHURCH: The CEO of the organization says the money will go into programs that address as he put it the kind of stereotyping and scapegoating that have been injected into this political season.

BARNETT: The United States is Israel's closest ally and the Israelis are watching the presidential election process very closely. You see there. CNN's Oren Liebermann, who joins us from Jerusalem with more on that.

And Oren, as is usually the case the U.S.-Israeli relationship has been a topic during this election year. But how are Israelis watching and seeing this all play out?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israelis watch the American elections with a bit of curiosity and wonder. They won't be too heavily focused on today's speeches, the AIPAC speeches from the candidates, and that's because at this stage there are two big names they know, no surprise here, it's Hillary and Trump Israelis that Israelis are familiar with and they watch the headlines. They watch this unfold waiting to see how it plays out for America and for Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On Israel Donald has said he wants to be neutral.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's nobody on this stage that's more pro-Israel than I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Reporter: you'd be forgiven for thinking the candidates were running for office in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By supporting the Israelis...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: the republicans trying to one-up each other arguing about who will keep Israel safe and who can repair the strained relations between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Trump has gotten most of the headlines in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My name is Donald Trump, and I'm a big fan of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Playing up his stance on Israel and highlighting an ad he made for Netanyahu's re-election in 2013.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have a great prime minister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: And yet his comments on registering Muslims in the U.S. And a salute to Trump at an Orlando rally compared by some to an apparent Nazi salute, that all frightens some Israelis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALON PINKAS, POLITICAL ANALYST: Like the entire world, Israelis are looking quite astounded and astonished at this phenomenon called Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: before dropping out of the race, Marco Rubio attacked Trump on Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: The policy Donald has outlined, I don't know if he realizes, is an anti-Israeli policy.

TRUMP: We Give and give...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Yet despite the republican emphasis on Israel, the latest poll from the Israel-based panel's politics institution shows Israelis favor Clinton.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LIEBERMANN: A carryover from Israelis' fondness for Bill Clinton.

We hear Trump and Cruz and before Rubio, now Kasich, arguing about who is the most pro-Israel, and yet, Israelis prefer Hillary Clinton. Why is that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PINKAS: I think it's a recognition and a familiarity thing. She's a household name in this country. I think everyone remembers her husband, Bill Clinton, when he was president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Hillary Clinton played up her support for Israel on CNN's State of the Union in February.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will defend and do everything I can to support Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: There is a bit of a role reversal here that amuses Israelis. Normally it's the American elections that make headlines in Israel. Errol, now it will be Israel making headlines in the American elections with the AIPAC conference. BARNETT: Yes, it's all quite fascinating. And since you say that for,

you know, American Jewish voters the relationship between the two countries isn't the top and most important issue, what is?

[03:10:05] LIEBERMANN: A few studies, one last year and especially one during the last presidential election, showed that American Jewish voters don't vote on Israel as their main issue. It's what people normally vote on, which is to say national security, the economy, health care.

All of those rank as more important for American Jewish voters than Israel. So, it's a bit ironic that all of the candidates are coming to tout their pro-Israel credentials in front of AIPAC, a group of American Jewish voters who generally vote on other issues.

BARNETT: Yes, fascinating stuff. But certainly makes sense all over the world. The economy is a tough issue people vote for.

Our Oren Liebermann live for us this morning in Jerusalem. Thanks, Oren.

Now, Donald Trump will be among the five presidential candidates making their case for that seat in the Oval Office later Monday here on CNN.

Be sure to tune in as both democrats and republicans sit down with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. Five conversations one night only. That's Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, midnight if you're watching in London. Only here on CNN.

CHURCH: And we will of course have much more on the race for the White House later, including some particularly angry moments at the most recent Trump rally in Arizona.

BARNETT: Plus, CNN's Nima Elbagir goes into the heart of Belgium's fight against homegrown terrorism as new details emerge in the capture of the only surviving suspect in the Paris terror attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

You have to go all the way back to 1961 for the last time Tottenham won a top-flight title. But sitting second in the league, the North Londoners knew their Sunday match with Bournemouth was a must-win to keep up with leaders Leicester City.

Harry Kane would waste no time for Spurs putting the home side up in the first minute. Kane would go on to get another and become the first top-flight player to reach 20 Premier League goals this season. Then with his tally at 21 they won 3-0 and cut the Foxes' lead to five points.

Elsewhere in the Premier League and it was the 171st match to derby between Manchester United clashed at the edit had. This one would be settled by just the one goal from United's Marcus Rashford. The 18 years and 141 days. Rashford becomes the youngest scorer in a Manchester Derby in EPL history. United's 250th derby goal, too.

And the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday had fans on the edge of their seats as Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to win second time in Melbourne and the fourth straight Grand Prix. But the biggest talk was Fernando Alonso's spectacular crash on the 17th lap.

[03:14:59] The McLaren saw tangled with Esteban Gutierrez and was launched into a roll. There wasn't much left of his car when they came to rest in the barriers. He walked away unscathed. Luckily, though.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

CHURCH: This just in to CNN. South Korea is reporting that Pyongyang fired several short-range projectiles off the Korean Peninsula around 3 p.m. local time. The projectiles were fired from Eastern North Korea and flew some 200 kilometers to the East. The South Korean military says they are closely tracking the situation and we will of course have more on this story coming up later in the hour.

BARNETT: We are learning more about the only surviving suspect of the deadly terror attacks in Paris. Belgium's foreign minister ways Salah Abdeslam was, quote "ready to restart something in Brussels." The 26- year-old was captured after a gunfight with Belgian authorities on Friday.

CHURCH: CNN spoke with Belgium's interior minister who said even with Abdeslam's arrest the investigation into the Paris attacks is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN LAMBON, Belgian INTERIOR MINISTER: I think it's a big blow because he was one of the most wanted foreign fighters that we are looking for. But I'm very aware that the action is not done. The network is not clean. So, we have to continue the actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: For more on Abdeslam's capture and the continuing investigation let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, who joins us live from Brussels. Nima, what is new on the investigation there this morning?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning the Belgian authorities believe that Abdeslam had managed to pull together a new network around him. So, in addition to the broader network in the Paris investigations that they're seeking currently they're also trying to dismantle this new infrastructure that Salah Abdeslam had pulled together with the intent, Belgian authorities say, of launching another attack here in Brussels.

The threat level here, Errol, remains at three. It's the second highest. And both Belgian and French authorities have reiterated repeatedly that while of course there is a sense of jubilation that's definitely coming across here with the capture of Salah Abdeslam this is not over.

In fact, Interpol is warning all European countries to remain very vigilant at their borders with the concern that perhaps foreign fighters might be trying to push back into Europe.

BARNETT: And it's just stunning and incredible to think that the man at the center of what was a global investigation and search in these past few months has somehow been able to build up yet, another terror network. What else are you learning about how and why extremist ideologies are able to fester there in Brussels?

ELBAGIR: Well, there is a real sense that Salah Abdeslam's ability to not only build a new network around him but to have hidden in a house just a street away from his childhood home, that this really comes back to the failures of Belgian intelligence, of European intelligence to really infiltrate these communities in a way that they were cruises the extremist ideology has been able to succeed.

A lot of that comes down to the influence of those ideologies and the extremist literature that we discovered is so easy to procure here in Belgium. Take a look at this, Errol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR: A sunny day in the center of Brussels. For years, authorities here have been combating an epidemic of extremist literature. We set out to find out how easy it still is to access these texts. Using an undercover camera we visited a number of book shops, asking for books we knew espoused violent Jihadi ideology. This man stammers nervously before telling me he doesn't have them in but knows where to find them.

"Sergos," he says, a small district in the north of Brussels. We head to Sergos. Another book shop. Another stammered answer. We're directed to the center of town. Back to the first shop. It's starting to feel like we're being given the run-around. Hind Fraihi she knows these bookshops all too well.

HIND FRAIHI, RESEARCHER: Several bookstores in Brussels.

ELBAGIR: Ten years ago, there were researcher visited many of them undercover to expose the extremist literature openly for sale. After she published her findings she found herself at the center of a whirlwind of recrimination, criticism, and threats.

[03:20:01] FRAIHI The mayor, the police, the secret services, they all said it was too sensational. That I exaggerated. My conclusions were based on, well, just street talks. So, they didn't take me serious. And they didn't take the young people on the streets seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR: The buying and swapping of the books is itself part of the radicalization, seen as evidence of commitment that the ideology is taking hold. Armed with the titles and the publishing houses we don't have to search much further. Through online bookshops, in Belgium extremist literature is delivered right to your front door.

We're not disclosing the names of these books but these are amongst the extremist texts being found in the homes and hideouts of suspected militants. They're essentially Jihadi 101. The language in here is horrifying. Justifying the targeting of Jews, the conscription of children, and matter of fact, statements that it's every Muslim's responsibility to bear arms.

These are key ISIS tenets. In many European countries these books are banned. In Belgium, at best buying these books may attract unwanted attention from the authorities. But the books and their sale is completely legal.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ELBAGIR: Videos like this have grown infamous here. Belgian Jihadist exhorting those still at home to join them in Iraq and Syria. Estimates vary, but Belgian security sources calculate the average number of Belgians who have successfully left to join ISIS since the Paris attacks at almost two dozen.

The dramatic capture of the so-called eighth Paris attacker, Salah Abdeslam just a street away from his childhood home in Brussels after months on the run. A stark reminder of how hard it's been for Belgian authorities to stay one step ahead of the extremist networks.

And the tide of extremist literature bolstering the networks is proving even tougher to quell. If anything, it appears to be even easier to obtain.

Belgium's interior minister said that they are making some successes in this fight against recruitment. But he also acknowledges that the battle against extremist literature goes to the heart of Belgium's attempt to maintain the principles of freedom of speech, the principles that they believe makes them who they are, while trying to combat this radical ideology. And that really, Errol, there are no easy answers for them.

BARNETT: Yes, your report certainly speaks to the challenges. And just the fact that there is so much more work that needs to be done specifically there in Belgium.

Nima Elbagir live for us at 8.22 in the morning. Nima, thanks.

CHURCH: And this week, Nima will be taking you deep inside Belgium's fight against homegrown terrorism. In part two of her reporting, she looks at the fear of radicalized Belgians who are now coming home.

ELBAGIR: Belgian security sources tell CNN that in 2015, an average of five to six Belgians a month left to join ISIS. It's a pipeline that flows both ways. For the families and the communities they return to it only exacerbates the fear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): Every sign, every case is different. When you look at them separately they don't look like signs of radicalization. But when you look at the whole picture you realize that these are signs of radicalization, they're part of the recruitment process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And watch more of Nima Elbagir's investigation Tuesday on our series "Frontline Belgium" right here only on CNN.

BARNETT: Turning our attention now to Turkey, where the interior minister says a Turkish citizen with ties to ISIS carried out Saturday's suicide bombing in Istanbul. The attack in a busy tourist area killed four people and wounded dozens.

CHURCH: Five people have been detained in connection to the blast. The government postponed a soccer match in the city Sunday, citing security concerns.

BARNETT: Fourteen people are dead and at least 43 others injured after a bus crash in Northeastern Spain. The bus was carrying a group of exchange students in a program at Barcelona University. According to reports, the bus hit a car. The students were returning from a festival in Valencia.

CHURCH: Well, now to the latest in the crash of a FlyDubai jet in Russia. The airport where the plane went down on Saturday has just reopened.

BARNETT: Yes. Mourners left flowers there over the weekend. Sixty people died when the Boeing 737 crashed while attempting to land.

CNN's Jon Jensen has more on the investigation.

[03:25:01] JON JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The investigation into the FlyDubai crash may be more difficult than expected. Both of the so- called black boxes recovered from the crash site are significantly damaged. That's what investigators at Russia's Interstate Aviation committee said on Sunday.

And that could make the task of retrieving information about the final moments of flight 981 much harder. The task is being led by Russia's Air Crash Safety Investigation Agency along with representatives from the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.

Their main focus now seems to be the weather. We know that there was reduced visibility at the time of the crash with a mixture of rain and snow in the air and extremely heavy wind gusts near the airport, Rostov-on-Don in Southern Russia.

In a press conference on Sunday, FlyDubai's CEO said it was too early to speculate on why the plane went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GHAITH Al GHAITH, FLYDUBAI CEO: We would ask that the investigating authorities are given the time, space they need to report definitely on the case of what happened in the accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JENSEN: He also added that the airline would pay an initial $20,000 in financial assistance to the families of the victims. The russians have said it may take at least two months to determine just what happened to the flight. But with damage to the flight data recorders, it could take even longer.

Jon Jensen, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

CHURCH: Bold protests getting angry responses. Ahead, forceful reactions from Donald Trump supporters and staffers at their latest rally.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. To those of you watching here in the United States and all around the world. It's your last half hour of CNN Newsroom with us today. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Time to check the headlines for you.

It's a new chapter in U.S.-Cuban relations as President Barack Obama embarks on his first full day in Havana. His visit includes a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, a televised address to the Cuban people, and a meeting with anti-Castro dissidents.

BARNETT: Belgium's foreign minister says authorities found many heavy weapons after they arrested Paris terror attack suspect, Salah Abdeslam, on Friday. He added that the 26-year-old was ready to start something in Brussels. Investigators are now trying to uncover the terror network that supported Abdeslam.

CHURCH: Well, I want to go back now to a developing story this hour. South Korean officials say North Korea has fired four short-range projectiles off the Eastern Coast of the Korean Peninsula.

So, let's get our -- get to CNN's Paula Hancocks in Seoul for the very latest. So, Paula, what more are we learning about these short-range projectiles?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we've just had an update from the joint chiefs of staff. They say that they now believe five short-range projectiles were fired into the Sea of Japan, what the Koreans called the East Sea, and they had a range of about 200 kilometers. So, they are short rage, which is less of a concern for those in the international community.

Obviously, the medium-range and long-range concern them. But of course for Japan, for South Korea, that is a concern that they are still testing these projectiles. Against U.N. Resolutions certainly if they do turn out to be ballistic missiles than they are against U.N. resolutions.

Also some information from the joint chiefs of staff saying that since that satellite launch back on February 7th, which much of the world thought was a thinly veiled missile test, 15 projectiles have been fired on four different occasions.

So, this is to be expected. We are in the middle of the U.S.-South Korean joint military drills, and every year, North Korea carries out these kind of -- these kinds of either exercises, they have their own military drills of course or these projectiles, missiles, rockets being fired off the Coast of Korea.

In fact, back in 2014, they fired 90 of these missiles, these projectiles. So, certainly this is to be expected at this time of year. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Our Paula Hancocks bringing us up to date on this developing story. From Seoul in South Korea we're learning now five short-range projectiles have been fired by North Korea. We'll keep a very close eye on that story. Many thanks.

BARNETT: And Rosemary, just before this latest move by North Korea, CNN's Ivan Watson got an exclusive look aboard a prominent U.S. warship.

CHURCH: Yes. The aircraft carrier the USSS John C. Stennis is taking part in the annual military drills with South Korea. Here's Ivan Watson's exclusive report.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Somewhere in the sea East of Korea, F-18 fighter jets catapult into the sky. Launching off the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier, the John C. Stennis.

This carrier's strike group is here as part of annual joint military exercises with South Korea. This takes place every year, and it makes the North Korean government furious. They argue that this could be a precursor to a military invasion of the north.

Nonsense, says the admiral in charge here. But he says the presence of the largest war machine in the U.S. military arsenal is designed to send a message to North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD BOXALL, U.S. NAVY REAR ADMIRAL: The provocation and things you see from North Korea, we hope that our actions here as routine operations help to deter any escalatory actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: It was North Korea routinely shows off its own military muscle. Some experts argue you have to show strength when dealing with this regime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL PINKSTON, NORTHEAST ASIA DEPUTY PROJECT DIRECTOR: If you show weakness in the domestic political system in North Korea, an authoritarian state like North Korea, you're eliminated. And that's how it works in the international system. If you are weak they will bully you and take advantage of you. They only respect power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The problem is this annual show of force, which includes simulated amphibious assaults carried out by U.S. and South Korean marines hasn't stopped North Korea from testing nuclear bombs.

In fact, Pyongyang recently fired salvos of ballistic missiles twice in just eight days, in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Just days ago, Kim Jong-un gave orders for scientists to develop the technology to launch a nuclear warhead on the tip of a ballistic missile. Even those who preach power concede Pyongyang is committed to expanding its nuclear arsenal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:35:14] PINKSTON: They put so much effort and they're very dedicated to having those capabilities. So, if they're not reliable today, they're going to keep working so they'll be reliable and they can use them if they need to use them tomorrow or next month or next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And so the saber rattling continues. In addition to this strategy of containment and deterrence, experts say the U.S. and its allies are very likely training for other possible scenarios. Such as how to take out North Korea's growing arsenal of nuclear weapons if it looks like Pyongyang is about to use them.

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

CHURCH: The Trump campaign is defending a top staffer who was caught on video yanking a protester. It happened Saturday at a rally in Arizona.

BARNETT: Now, look closely here as campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appears to yank the demonstrator by the caller. A Trump spokesman says Lewandowski was dealing with a man who had already been removed from the event and had somehow found his way back in.

CHURCH: Now Donald Trump says Lewandowski's actions were spirited and that his campaign manager was trying to take down obscene signs around the protester.

BARNETT: The republican front-runner has repeatedly said he does not condone violence. But as Boris Sanchez reports, the crowds that Trump draws have never reacted kindly to protesters.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite assurances from the republican front-runner...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There's no violence. There's love fests. These are love fests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Confrontations between protesters and supporters had become routine at Donald Trump campaign events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Knock the crap out of him, would you? Seriously. I will pay for the legal fees, I promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As crowds cheer on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'd like to punch him in the face. I'll tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And seemingly echo the billionaire businessman's heated rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next time we see him we might have to kill him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Light the (muted) on fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Tensions between Trump's fans and his most vocal detractors boiled over last week, forcing him to cancel an event at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Shortly after, fists were flying, with skirmishes pouring into the streets. Trump accused democratic candidate Bernie Sanders of playing a role and inciting the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't call them protesters. I call them disruptors. A lot of them calm from Bernie Sanders, whether he wants to say it or not. And if he says no, then he's lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And he's downplayed the confrontation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There's no violence. I mean, nobody's been hurt. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The hectic atmosphere of Trump's crowds even found its way onto the stage at a rally in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday. A 22-year-old protester tried to jump on stage and snatch Trump's microphone, leaving Trump bewildered with secret service officers rushing to his defense.

While the secret service has protected Trump for months, private security now appears to be playing a bigger role in keeping him out of harm's way. On Monday, the campaign had anyone attending a rally in Ohio bused in from about seven miles away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I haven't noticed -- I haven't noticed that that much of a difference. We've always had the secret service around. And you know, I feel very -- I feel very secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As the republican race moves closer to the Cleveland convention in July, concerns are mounting. Not only that protests may continue to follow Trump but that anything short of a Trump nomination could lead to clashes on the floor of the convention itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Boris Sanchez, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

BARNETT: And we invite you to tune in as both democrats and republicans sit down with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. Five conversations, one night. That's Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern, big night in London, only here on CNN.

CHURCH: Still to come, a deadly ISIS attack prompts U.S. officials to talk about a fire base that hadn't been publicly acknowledged yesterday. What they're telling CNN about its function.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A U.S. defense official tells CNN that a marine killed by an ISIS rocket attack in Iraq Saturday was stationed at a newly operational fire base. The base is located in Northern Iraq, just south of Mosul, and we are told the Pentagon planned to acknowledge the base's existence this week.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins me now from Amman, Jordan with the latest. So, what more are we learning about these previously undisclosed fire base?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, here's what happened on Saturday. A U.S. marine was killed and several others were wounded in an attack by ISIS on a location in Northern Iraq, as you mentioned. It targeted a base near the town of Makhmur. That is south of the City of Mosul. And it was two rockets. One that fell inside the base killing that one marine and wounding a number of others.

We do not know how many other marines were wounded in this attack. But a U.S. defense official is telling CNN that the location that was targeted is as you mentioned a fire base. These are usually remote bases that are set up to fire artillery from to provide support for infantry troops, usually about 10 or 15 kilometers away from that location.

And according to this U.S. defense official, in the past couple of weeks, about a group of about 200 marines moved into this location and set up that base. Now, their main mission right now, Rosemary, is to provide protection for a nearby base where coalition troops are training about 5,000 Iraqi troops for that eventual operation to retake Mosul.

But also this base will be used to provide artillery cover for advancing Iraqi forces when they make their move in the coming weeks or months to advance on the City of Mosul.

As you mentioned, this location was not disclosed before the presence and existence of these fire bases was not known. There's a couple of other fire bases that are set up within larger Iraqi bases, but this is the first that we know of that U.S. officials say that was going to be announced by the Pentagon this week where a group of a couple hundred marines have set up this fire base, as you mentioned.

[03:45:10] Now, it is assumed, according to U.S. defense officials, that ISIS observed these marines moving in and setting up this camp in the past few days before this base became operational, firing practice rounds, and that is possibly what gave ISIS -- made is aware of their presence there and led to their targeting. Really underscoring the dangers that U.S. forces face even in that limited combat role right now in Iraq. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Jomana Karadsheh joining us there live from Amman in Jordan.

BARNETT: Now, as President Obama continues his historic visit to Cuba, our staff remembers more than three decades of coverage there. See it after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks for staying with us here at CNN. Pedram Javaheri with you on weather watch.

Watching a disturbance push off the eastern seaboard after incredible warmth the last 10 or so days. Temperatures dropping out sharply. Winter weather radar comes back on the first full day of spring across portions of the Northeastern U.S.

New York, Philadelphia some morning showers generally 5 to 10 centimeters. Some areas could see over 20 centimeters but again not a widespread event, mainly confined toward the immediate coastline of New England.

But look at this. High pressure, large and in charge over an expanded area with it. We get some cool air that filters in. It is short-lived. The days are getting longer, of course, plenty of high angle sun so the temps do on a warm up. We get another bout of cold air that tries to come back in sometime mid to late week.

You notice the trend keep the sun across the south Atlanta, cools off to around 16. Dallas after working their way into the 30s, how about 19 degrees there in San Francisco. Some showers, some unusual thunderstorms from our friends across British Columbia.

Big disturbance. Can't miss this one here with moisture streaming right into portions of the Western U.S. Seven-day forecast, it is Christmas if you're a skier or snowboarder across northern California bringing in tremendous snow accumulation across that region.

To the south, look at conditions around Kingston it should be around 30 degrees. Managua, how about this. About 100 Fahrenheit or 30 degrees Celsius with the south there with thunderstorms all across northern portions of South America.

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CHURCH: A tennis official is sparking a firestorm after making controversial comments about women in the sport.

BARNETT: That's right. An Indian Wells CEO and tournament director, Raymond Moore told reporters that female tennis players were lucky and owed their careers to male stars. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:50:02] RAYMOND MOORE, INDIAN WELLS CEO & TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: In my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don't make any decision and they're lucky. They're very, very lucky.

If I was a lady player, I'd go down every -- every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born. Because they've carried the sport. They really have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Needless to say, the reaction came fast. Women's world number one Serena Williams called Moore's comments very mistaken and inaccurate, saying, quote, "Obviously I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that."

BARNETT: Now, Moore later issued an apology. Take a look at it here, quote, "I made comments about the WTA that were in extremely poor taste and erroneous. I am truly sorry for those remarks and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole."

Now, CNN has been taking viewers inside Cuba for more than three decades. From the Mariel boatlift to Fidel Castro stepping down.

And our staff members share what it's been like to cover a country that's been at odds with Washington since 1959.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY REGISTER, CNN SENIOR EDITOR: Let's face it. I mean, Cuba is a beautiful country. Beautiful beaches, sunset. I mean, the safeness. And the people. People make Cuba a gorgeous country.

During my trips there it was decided we wanted a bureau. So, I was made the point person for opening a CNN bureau in Havana. It took about seven years to do. One of the more interesting moments was during the Cuban rafting crisis and Janet Reno was the attorney general here in the U.S. and she kept saying the crisis is over, the crisis is over.

And I'm on the beach in Cuba and dozens of Cubans are just continuing to pour into the sea. So, we'd report the crisis is not over and our own people wouldn't believe us. So, you have to take the camera and show them, here they come with their rafts jumping into the ocean.

It made us realize the importance of being there just so people could see the whole picture of what was going on between the U.S. and Cuba.

JERRY SIMONSON, CNN SENIOR PHOTOJOURNALIST: I've been covering the Miami Cuban story for all this time. And I've heard everything from the Miami Cuban exile community. It was my first time actually going into Cuba to see what it was actually like, what they had left, what they had fled from.

It was like the clock stopped in 1959. The Cold War had been over for years, but yet, everybody was still living like the Cold War was going on.

ALEC MIRAN, CNN SUPERVISING PRODUCER: One day we went with Ted Turner, which was a while ago, when he was going to interview Fidel Castro. And we got incredible access to the Cuban leader. We rode around Havana all day one day in jeeps. The jeeps kept breaking down.

And we had to jump out of one jeep and jump into another. And after a while we all just said, boy, you know, if they can't even drive their leader around maybe, you know, this isn't the place we should be scared of.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

JOSE ARMIJO, CNN PHOTOJOURALIST: I always remember Fidel's speeches. Hours and hours long hours of his speeches in the Cuban summer sun. One of them Fidel facing to the United States, I mean, just 90 miles away, saying to President Bush, "Hail, Caesar. We who are about to die salute you."

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The biggest story that happened while I was there really happened shortly after I got there. I was the producer for the CNN Havana bureau, the correspondent was out of town. This was July 31st, 2006. And we got news there was going to be a big announcement on state TV.

Well, we turned the TV on, and Fidel Castro's personal secretary showed up and read this proclamation that Fidel Castro was going into emergency surgery and handing power over. This was a huge bombshell. Nobody had expected it. He'd been in power for nearly 50 years.

MIRAN: So, changes are happening rapidly. And I think it's going to, you know, explode as we go.

SIMONSON: With the changes that have happened since the opening of relations the people always want to talk to you. They want to know when are things going to change, when are things going to get better for me.

REGISTER: At the end I guess the main word is rewarding. It was a rewarding experience to be involved in that, to have a little part of doing something that maybe opened the doors a little bit. And now maybe they're opening a little more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And you know what? The winds of change in Cuba are also being felt in the weather as a rare cold front moves through the region. And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now from the International Weather Center with more on this. And it is very cold in parts.

[03:55:00] JAVAHERI: Yes. It's a pleasant setup here. You know, for an area that expects to be well into the 80s for this time of the year, cold front comes in. The temperatures cool off. The rain showers come down.

You see some of the images as the Obama family gets off the Air Force One and the conditions there are soggy as it gets. And in fact, when you take a look at the climatological norm the month of March is the driest time of the year. They see three days of rainfall. It rained on Sunday. It will continue to rain across this region come Monday afternoon. And the temperatures rebate into the 80s where it belongs this time of year. So, yes, it is below average.

Now across the northeastern U.S. we do have a nor'easter in the worse that is producing some significant snowfall across portions of New England. In fact, the temperatures have been on an incredible ride from almost 80 degrees dropping down to 43 degrees. That is 26 Celsius to 6 Celsius.

If you're in tune with that scale, dropping about 10, 11 days period. The last hour we showed you a photograph, showed you a man doing pretty interesting exercise. Walking down the streets with his hands.

We said, maybe Errol can do something like this. This is when the temperatures were so warm a couple of weeks ago around that region. And you know, Rosemary brought something up. She said, you know, I can do the fitness app. She says you don't have to go too far. Get on her social media @rosemarycnn, plenty of fitness going on.

You can find everything from her on a treadmill watching CNN, some inspirational messages she's posted. How about skiing across portions of the Western U.S. potentially, and then how about getting up toward the Ganges and hiking and backpacking in her teen years? And pretty interesting place there. Check out rosemarycnn. You can see a lot of that.

BARNETT: Wow.

CHURCH: Pedram, I will never, ever challenge you again.

JAVAHERI: Good stuff. Pedram does his fitness group.

BARNETT: Pedram does his research. Great story there. Send out on Twitter a question, a poll, who among us is likely to climb stairs with our hands? Vote now. Thanks for watching. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Stay with us.

BARNETT: See you tomorrow.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)