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Tough Road Ahead for Ted Cruz; Bernie Sanders Faces Steep Climb in Reaching Democratic Nomination; Belgian Security Services under Security over Attacks; Iraqi Forces Battle to Recapture Mosul from ISIS; Libya's Rival Government Steps Down to Avoid Bloodshed; New York Win May Not Land Trump GOP Nomination; South Korea: North Korean Threat Growing; Flooding Rains Lash Fiji Following Cyclone. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 07, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(HEADLINES)
[02:00:09] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and, of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The race for the White House is moving east for the next round of presidential primaries. And for the Republicans, the focus is on Donald Trump's home state of New York, which votes April 19th. Trump is a heavy favorite. He hit on some familiar themes in his campaign speech Wednesday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We are going to have a strong border. We are going to build the wall.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: It will be a real wall, a real wall.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Who is going to pay for the wall?
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: Who?
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: By the way, 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A small but vocal crowd of protesters gathered outside of Trump's rally. Police kept them away from Trump supporters, and no one was arrested. The latest count shows Trump would need to win 60 percent of the
remaining delegates in order to get to the magic number of 1,237 and clinch the nomination. Ted Cruz would need to win 88 percent. John Kasich would need to win 125 percent.
Now, Ted Cruz is also campaigning in New York. He is facing a tough road ahead in the upcoming primaries.
CNN's Dana Bash reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHEERING)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The unlikely current hero of the GOP establishment arrived in New York, riding high after his big Wisconsin win.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It culminated four states in a row in the last two weeks where we have beaten Donald Trump over and over again. We won men. We won young people. We won every income group.
(CHEERING)
BASH: As much as Ted Cruz calls his victory a turning point, privately Cruz sources and anti-Trump strategists admit the next several contests are more likely to go the billionaire's way, not just Trump's home state of New York, but also Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.
A new poll in the Empire State from Monmouth University shows Trump with a sizable lead, at 52 percent, followed by John Kasich in a distant second at 25 percent, and Ted Cruz, dead-last at 17 percent.
TRUMP: We started off with 17 people. I've now got two left. I call them the leftovers, right?
BASH: Still, the Trump campaign appears to be weighing new moves to avoid squandering his favorable terrain, possibly giving newly hired veteran operative, Paul Manafort, an expanded role to better organize Trump's small and often scattershot campaign. The potential move raises questions about the role of embattled campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski --
TRUMP: Corey, good job, Corey.
BASH: -- fiercely loyal to Trump and crucial to getting the billionaire to the top of the heap.
TRUMP: I don't care about rules, folks. I go out, I campaign, we win, we get the delegates.
(CHEERING)
BASH: And the man who became front-runner, following his gut and shooting from the hip, is planning something unusual for his campaign, a series of policy addresses. Aides say he is planning to give speeches in the coming weeks on issues from education to the U.S. military.
Despite Trump moves to be a more traditional candidate, he is still Trump, issuing a blistering statement aimed personally at Cruz after his double-digit defeat in Wisconsin, saying, "Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet. He is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses, attempting to steal the nomination."
Today, Cruz shot back.
CRUZ: He likes to yell and scream and insult and curse. And his statement last night was consistent with that.
BASH (on camera): And remember when Ted Cruz went after Donald Trump several months ago and accused him of having New York values? Well, now he's actually here in New York, asking New Yorkers for their votes. Of course, it's a little awkward when the issue comes up, as it did at a press conference. When asked about it, his response was, oh, no, he didn't mean Republican New Yorkers. He meant liberals, with names like de Blasio and Wiener and Cuomo.
Dana Bash, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Fresh off his Wisconsin primary win, Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, is firing back at rival, Hillary Clinton. He focused his attacks on her campaign funding and past policy positions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She has been saying lately that she thinks that I am, quote/unquote, "not qualified to be president."
(BOOING)
SANDERS: Well, let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton, I don't believe that she is qualified if she is --
(CHEERING)
SANDERS: -- if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds.
I don't think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:05:43] CHURCH: Now, Bernie Sanders still faces a steep climb toward the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton would only need to win 36 percent of the available delegates to get there. Sanders would need more than double the percentage of remaining delegates. Now, both candidates are trading barbs before the next nominating contest.
CNN's Brianna Keilar reports.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Bernie Sanders has more enthusiasm than ever before.
SANDERS: With our victory tonight in Wisconsin, we have won seven out of eight of the last caucuses and primaries.
(CHEERING)
KEILAR: But after yet another defeat, Hillary Clinton is implementing a new strategy, trying to blunt the Sanders momentum by going on the offensive.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Every candidate asking for your vote owes it to you to be clear about how we are actually going to keep our promises.
KEILAR: Clinton is now pointing to an interview Sanders did with "The New York Daily News" when he struggled to identify how his administration was going to break up the big banks.
CLINTON: I was a little surprised that there didn't seem to be substance to what he was saying.
KEILAR: And Clinton is taking that new line of attack on the campaign trail, painting Sanders as ill prepared to be president.
CLINTON: In a number of important areas, he doesn't have a plan at all.
KEILAR: While the Sanders campaign is warning Clinton's attacks have the potential of ripping the Democratic Party in two.
JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: There are sharp contrasts between the two, but let's not denigrate other people's supporters and tear the party apart.
KEILAR: Clinton today laughed off that notion as ludicrous, arguing she has fought for the Democratic Party for four decades.
CLINTON: Senator Sanders by his own admission has never been a Democrat.
KEILAR: And making the case that Democrats want to see her as their nominee.
CLINTON: If you look at the numbers, I'm still considerably ahead in the popular vote and most importantly the delegate count. So, I'm feeling very good about where we are.
KEILAR: Even though Sanders has put together a string of victories, they haven't amounted to big gains in delegates. Sanders must start winning big in delegate-rich states like New York, which accounts for 247 pledged delegates, but recent polling showing Clinton with a double-digit advantage.
State wins aside, Sanders is hoping by the Democratic convention, Clinton's 483 super delegates will rethink their support.
SANDERS: I think that a lot of the super delegate are going to be looking around them and saying which candidate has the momentum?
KEILAR (on camera): And as this race gets more contentious, a tussle over guns. The daughter of a Sandy Hook victim, tweeting at Bernie Sanders, "Shame on you," and he owes victims an apology for his position that gun manufacturers should not be held libel for gun violence. Hillary Clinton tweeting her support for that young women. Bernie Sanders, here in Philadelphia, asked if he does owe an apology to victims. He says maybe Hillary Clinton owes an apology to Iraq war victims.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: We turn to Belgium now. And one of the terrorists who carried out last month's attacks on Brussels briefly worked as a cleaner at the European parliament. Reuters reports the 25-year-old held a summer holiday job there back in 2009 and 2010. A spokesman for the European parliament says he did not have a criminal record during his time of employment. Belgian officials believe he blew himself up in last month's attack at the airport.
Meantime, Belgium's Prime Minister is acknowledging the attacks in Brussels were a security failure, but he's rejecting the motion that Belgium is a failed state. He spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES MICHELE, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I think we mustn't be afraid of the truth. We have to see what went right, what went wrong. Where the failures are and draw lessons for the future. I don't accept the idea, that a state, such as Belgium, would be a failed state. We have a country that met successes in the fight against terrorism. But there is a failure. Just like 9/11 was a failure for the United States, just like London was a failure for the U.K., Madrid was a failure for Spain. All those countries have had to draw the lessons to improve the situation for the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:10:19] CHURCH: Belgium security services have come under heavy scrutiny for their failure to stop the attacks.
CNN's Alexandra Field joins us live from Brussels.
So, Alexandra, why did Belgian security services fail to prevent this attack from happening? What went wrong? And what are they doing to improve their services going forward?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those are questions that leaders around the world are asking of Belgium right now. They're wondering what went wrong, why Belgium wasn't able to stop the attacks from happening. And the country is facing a mountain of criticism, not just for failing to stop the attacks, but also for failing to find any outstanding suspects that would be related to the bombings, also criticism for not finding Salah Abdeslam who was hiding out in Brussels before he was captured four months after the Paris bombings. The question now is whether this investigation being done internally here in Belgium could lead to changes of administrative and bureaucratic systems that have contributed to a lack of coordination and difficulty communicating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD (voice-over): After Paris, "Charlie Hebdo," November 13th --
(SIREN)
FIELD: -- after Brussels, the metro, the airport, taking out the threat by jihadists who left Europe for Syria and came back planning to attack could take 10 years, says Andre Jacob, the former head of counterterrorism for Belgium state security.
ANDRE JACOB, FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM DIRECTOR, BELGIUM STATE SECURITY (through translation): There were errors in the function of the intelligence service here, but the nature and how serious the errors were will be determined by the parliamentary inquiry.
FIELD: The Belgian prime minister announced a new investigation into what went wrong and how to stop it from happening again.
MICHEL (through translation): We have to tell people that an attack is still possible. If we give more means to the intelligence, to the police services, they can do a better job.
FIELD: Before retiring in 2010, he watched the rise of Islamic radicalism in Belgium, first in the '90s, surveilling a network with ties to Osama bin Laden, then seeing the rise of recruitment of Belgian youth by Sharia for Belgium, a dismantled terror group that's leaders have been convicted or jailed, finally, and exodus of fighters. Per capita, Belgium has sent more foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq than any other Western European country, the number estimated to be around 500 since 2012. As many as 100 may have made their way back.
But resources to counter a mounting threat didn't keep pace, Jacob said.
(on camera): Were you understaffed? JACOB (through translation): Yes, absolutely. For the past 10
years, different services in Belgium let down the intelligence and the budget for it.
FIELD (voice-over): And there were shortfalls, he said, in Belgian law that complicated counterterrorism efforts.
JACOB (through translation): At the beginning, security in Belgium did not have the ability to carry out wiretapping. The only wiretapping possible was done by the federal police, and only in cases of judicial inquiries.
FIELD: That has changed. Other obstacles remain: difficulties in coordination, communication, as well as police operations. Some raids can only be carried out between 5:00 in the morning and 9:00 at night. Proposals to change that have been made since Belgian police started hunting for Paris bombing suspect, Salah Abdeslam. He was found last month hiding out in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels.
Even before the Brussels' bombing, authorities were searching for the brothers that carried them out. The Bakrouis were, we now know, in Brussels.
(on camera): What do you say to people in Brussels who feel their government is fighting a losing battle against terrorists?
JACOB: (through translation): It's a difficult question. I don't know if the Belgian government is losing the battle. But I think the European democracy is losing the battle. We have to work together.
FIELD (voice-over): U.S. officials believe that as many as 2,000 fighters who traveled to Syria and Iraq are back in Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: And while Belgium officials are vowing to look inward at their own institutions, saying they'll look at how to improve communication and whether or not more resources are needed, it is that large number of foreign fighters believe to be in Europe that has led officials here to say they need a unified front in Europe to stop these attacks from happening. They are citing the fact that it is easy enough for the suspected fighters to move between boarders without being detected. That's why you hear people like the prime minister of Belgium saying they need better coordination with partner countries, even calling for something like a European CIA in order to share intelligence more effectively -- Rosemary?
[02:15:00] CHURCH: Better coordination seems to be key here.
Alexandra Field, joining us live from Brussels. We'll talk again next hour. Many thanks.
More global fallout from the so-called Panama Papers. Up next, what Swiss police were searching for when they raided the UEFA offices. Plus, we go to the front lines with Iraqi forces in their battle
to recapture Mosul from ISIS. Stay with us for this exclusive report.
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(SPORTS REPORT)
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CHURCH: Village by village, Iraqi forces have begun their push to liberate the second-largest city from ISIS. Right now, in towns and outposts south of Mosul, they are struggling to achieve and hold small but significant victories.
Senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, accompanied the Iraqi forces to give us an exclusive look of what they're facing.
And we do warn you, her report contains some disturbing scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:20:02] ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Bursts of gunfire and artillery explosion --
(GUNFIRE)
DAMON: -- a constant reminder that the enemy, ISIS, is relentlessly probing for vulnerables in the Iraqi army's defenses.
UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI GENERAL (through translation): ISIS, and especially now, we are on the perimeter of what is their so-called caliphate. They are using waves of suicide bombers backed by fighters.
DAMON: Coalition air strikes leveled this building ISIS militants had snuck into the night before we arrived. The hillside is strewn with the bloated bodies of dead ISIS fighters. One of them looks particularly young, a teenager, the Iraqis say.
General Shabuti's (ph) men only recently recaptured this village and a handful of others, the first tentative steps in the battle for Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, that humiliated itself to ISIS after Iraqi security forces abandoned their positions around two years ago.
"These are men we trained, under new command, forces that will repeatedly be put to the test. Will they hold this ground and fight or again flee?"
Key, of course, to the equation, is U.S. support.
UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI GENERAL (through translation): For us, we have enough ground forces. The most important thing is to see ongoing U.S. backing with the air support, advisers, and logistical support.
DAMON (on camera): But not boots on the ground?
UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI GENERAL (through translation): It's not an urgent thing for us, right now, boots on the ground. We can liberate our land.
DAMON (voice-over): ISIS has had plenty of time to fortify its defenses in Mosul and here, still, some 30 miles away from the main battleground. Deep in one of the hills, a labyrinth.
(on camera): This is not just a tunnel complex. This is a tunnel and sleeping quarters complex that has been dug well underground.
(voice-over): Winding passages that veer off in multiple directions. This one leads to a small opening, for oxygen circulation, we're told.
And this is just the start of the impending bloody battle to try to liberate Mosul, one that will be a defining chapter in this nation's history and beyond.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Preparing to confront ISIS in battle is only one concern. There's also the matter of helping refugees who fled the militants. Next hour, introduces to people used as human shields.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON (voice-over): "ISIS put five families into each home in the middle of the village," this man recalls.
Like many here, he does not want his identity revealed. He still has loved ones at the mercy of ISIS, and has already witnessed and lost too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: We are taking you to the front line against ISIS in Iraq. International viewers can catch it at 4:00 p.m. in London, 5:00 p.m. central European time. That's 11:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, midnight in Tokyo.
Iceland will be swearing in its new prime minister in just a few hours from now. The predecessor stepped down in the fallout of the leak of the so-called Panama Papers. The documents revealed ties between the former prime minister and an offshore company, which triggered protests. Those papers also led Swiss police to raid the European football body UEFA on Wednesday. The agency says police want to look at a controversial television rights contract. UEFA's former general secretary, who is now in charge of FIFA, says he did nothing wrong. Meanwhile, FIFA's ethics committee is investigating one of its members, Juan Pedro Damiani (ph). He is linked to men named in the Panama Papers. Damiani (ph) resigned, but said his law firm did not have any dealings with those men.
One of Libya's rival governments is stepping down to avoid further bloodshed in the country. It's a step towards a unified government.
Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:24:42] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Libya's political chaos may have just gotten a little simpler, but just a little bit. For the past weeks, it had three groups claiming to be the government of Libya. One in the east and used to have more international legitimacy but that has been challenged of late. One has been the defacto government in Tripoli, the capitol. And another, recently arriving in the country, has the backing of the United Nations and the West and the E.U. It turned up in boats in the capitol of Tripoli recently because it had its passage by air blocked by the people who claimed to be the government there, and it got about doing the business of trying to run the country. That seems to have had an effect because that, coupled with intense international pressure, sanctions, against the people who used to claim they were the government de facto inside of Tripoli, well, that seems to have caused the old government to fade into the background and cede control to the new U.N.-backed government.
Now they still have disputes with the second government remaining in the east of the country, only some of whose supporters have said that the new U.N.-backed government is a good idea. But it's the first glimmer of light that Libya has had politically for months, if not years. And a united singular government inside Libya is vital because it needs to fix the damaged economy, making daily life there almost impossible for many Libyans. And it needs to be in place if the West is going to intervene hard against ISIS. ISIS having increasingly territorial control there. They're aiming their resources towards getting hold of Libya's potentially billion-dollar oil industry. That could make them millions on the black market. And the more chaos there is in Libya, the greater the potential there is for smugglers to exploit the migrant crisis in Africa and the desire of hundreds of thousands to try and get across the Mediterranean towards southern Europe. So much of southern Europe's security is dependent on success and stability inside of Libya. That was dependent on some sort of unified government in the country. And it may be that, overnight, one of the largest hurdles, who runs the capital, Tripoli, may have been across now, and Libya could potentially be closer towards meeting the conditions the West wants to have in the country in order to intervene militarily against ISIS. A long road ahead, but a vital one, for European security, let alone, the lives of ordinary Libyans suffering so acutely now.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. But still to come, New York could play a big role in helping Donald Trump secure the Republican presidential nomination. We'll break down the numbers for you. That's still to come.
Plus, South Korea says North Korea might be able to mount a nuclear warhead to a medium-range missile. That story, next.
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[02:30:36] CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to you. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
Want to update you on the main stories we've been following this hour.
(HEADLINES)
CHURCH: Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to win the Republican presidential primary in his home state of New York in two weeks. But it still may not be enough to secure the party's nomination.
CNN's John King explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let's say Mr. Trump wins his home state but the other candidates do well. And the 95 delegates, Trump gets to 45, second place to John Kasich, third to Ted Cruz. In this scenario, Trump builds his lead. But let's have a different case scenario. Right now, Donald Trump says, I can win all or most of the New York delegates. Let's say a scenario like that plays out. In that case, Mr. Trump gets 68 of the 95. That would be a big day for Mr. Trump. Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz split the rest of the delegates like that. That gives Trump more momentum as he comes out, but still a huge challenge. That's a spring board out of New York. But then, he has to do this. Let's be generous, Donald Trump wins the rest of the states in the east and the mid-Atlantic. And Ted Cruz continues his success in the West. For this scenario, we gave Cruz Indiana. It comes down to the biggest prize on the calendar, California. Look where Trump is. Let's say he wins it by a good margin, Senator Cruz, second and Kasich third. We've been generous to Trump here, generous to Trump in Georgia. Even then, at 1,189, still short. Say Trump wins Indiana, not Cruz. He doesn't get to the end. This is key in the Trump campaign deliberations. If we can't get to 1,237, get as close as possible. If you're at 1,200, maybe you can haggle the delegates you need. But if you start to fall back from that, this is where the campaign starts to think, maybe we can't win on the first ballot. If we can't win on the first ballot, a lot of people think that Donald Trump won't win at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now to talk about Donald Trump, is Trump supporter and branding expert, Clint Arthur.
Thank you, sir, for being with us.
I want to start by getting an idea from you, what is it that's so compelling about Donald Trump, given his very mixed messages on women, abortion, and a range of other topics. Explain that to our global audience.
CLINT ARTHUR, TRUMP SUPPORTER & BRANDING EXPERT: Donald Trump is, above all, an entertainer. And America's greatest presidents have been entertainers-in-chief, starting with Ronald Reagan. He knows how to entertain. And why is entertaining so important? When you are addressing an audience, if they are not entertained, they are less engaged in the message. If you want to be a great leader, you have to engage the audience. That's why entertainers have had an advantage over the years.
CHURCH: That's one element to it. A lot of people want substance here. They want policy. And for many people, they don't think they're getting that. And all the polls show, if he goes head- to-head, with Hillary Clinton, he will be decimated.
[02:35:03] ARTHUR: Donald Trump knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. He acts from gut feeling. And people like that. People want a politician that's not a robot. They want a leader that is a person. Who feels things the way they feel things.
CHURCH: What went wrong in Wisconsin? The people of Wisconsin did not find him appealing.
ARTHUR: He does much better in urban areas than with agriculture communities. In Iowa, he didn't do so well. In Wisconsin, other great farming, agriculture state, he didn't do well. He will do better in the northeast, where he has a strong foothold.
CHURCH: You're a branding expert. Talk about what sort of impact this war on the wives had. The comments he made about abortion, about women, and the other issues, that are seen as side bar issues in some instances. But the nastiness of the war on the wives and tweeting out the picture of Heidi Cruz. What impact will that have on the Trump brand?
ARTHUR: The way he calls him Lying Ted. We've never seen anything like it. And all of this is celebrated to draw attention and eye balls by the master showman himself, Donald Trump, who knows how to attract an audience. That's the most important thing. If we have a president in office, if he can't attract the attention of the people, what good is having a president? We want a leader who can lead people. And that's what Donald Trump is best at, attracting attention. Without attention, he cannot engage. Without engagement, he cannot lead.
CHURCH: I don't think anyone disputes his ability to engage. But they wonder about his ability to offer specifics on policy. And that will be the big problem for him.
ARTHUR: Like Henry Ford, he will assemble a cabinet of great minds. He's been doing it as a corporate leader for decades and decades. He's successful for it. There's an argument that he has done more things with more employees and more decision making than any of the other candidates, including Hillary Rodham Clinton. We'll see what's going to happen when it plays itself out.
CHURCH: We will see.
Clint Arthur, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
ARTHUR: My pleasure, Rosemary.
CHURCH: While Donald Trump works to polish his political brand, his daughter is dealing with her own branding problem in her women's apparel business. About 20,000 Ivanka Trump scarves were recalled in the U.S. on Wednesday because they don't meet federal flammability standards and are said to pose a burn risk. No injuries have been reporting.
Let's take a short break. Still to come, South Korea says North Korea might be able to mount a nuclear warhead to a medium-range missile. We will look at just how big this threat is. We're back in a moment.
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[02:41:40] CHURCH: The U.N. and the West have used sanctions and diplomacy to stop North Korea's nuclear ambitions to no avail. And now, South Korea believes the threat from its neighbor is growing.
Here's our chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is the North Korean mid-range missile, says South Korea, now capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. South Korean intelligence concluding that Pyongyang's Nodong (ph) ballistic missile can deliver a one-ton warhead as far as 1,200 miles, putting South Korea, Japan and U.S. military bases in Asia within reach of a nuclear strike.
(CHEERING)
SCIUTTO: North Korean's dictator, Kim Jong-Un, is already celebrating, posing for pictures near what North Korea claims to be the warhead.
U.S. intelligence has yet to reach the same conclusion, but U.S. officials say they must assume that Pyongyang has at least an untested capability to miniaturize and launch a nuclear weapon.
JAMES CLAPPER, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: It has also committed to developing a long-range nuclear-armed missile that's capable of posing a direct threat to the United States.
SCIUTTO: Some nuclear analysts share South Korea's more dire assessment.
JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, PLOUGHSHARES FUND: I've been skeptical of the North Korea capabilities, but they probably have a nuclear warhead that could fit on a missile that could hit South Korea or Japan.
SCIUTTO: South Korea's assessment, now shared in some U.S. intelligence circles, follows a series of successful tests by Pyongyang, beginning with an underground nuclear test in January and followed by four missile tests, including a space launch believed to be a step towards an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the U.S. Recent satellite video shows suspicious activity at North Korean's Yungyon (ph) nuclear facility that is used to produce plutonium to build nuclear weapons.
In response, the U.N., the U.S. and China have recently imposed harsh new economic sanctions on North Korea. And the U.S. recently flew a nuclear-capable B-52 near North Korean air space and sailed a U.S. aircraft carrier near its waters.
(MUSIC)
SCIUTTO: North Korea has continued to make progress towards becoming a nuclear power.
CIRINCIONE: U.S. policy has failed. We tried ignoring them, sanctioning them, it doesn't work.
SCIUTTO (on camera): Defense officials say the U.S. has already taken several steps to safeguard the U.S. and its allies from a North Korean nuclear strike. This includes boosting the ground-based interceptors and deploying new missile defense to South Korea. This is a high-altitude defense system, though, that, I'm told, is still months away.
Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Flooding rains have once again lashed Fiji after the small island nation is still reeling from the effects of Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Let's go to our Meteorologist Derek Van Dam who has been keeping a close eye on this.
How are people coping with this?
[02:44:53] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Rosie, it's been a difficult year for this popular tourist destination and home to about just under one million residents. We recall earlier this year, February 20th, the strongest tropical cyclone to form in the southern hemisphere and struck Fiji. It brought flooding. There were about 40 fatalities. Now, another cyclone to the south. It has created a significant amount of flooding around this part of the world. Look at how they're coping with the current situation. It's been day after day of rainfall. This part of the world is very prone and knows how to handle the tropical cyclones. Nonetheless, no one wants to cope with this situation, where they receive nearly three-times the average monthly rainfall for April. And we have several days to go for the potential of more rain. This is on top of our new tropical cyclone that is moving to the east. It brought more rainfall into Fiji. Look at the totals, 450 millimeters of rainfall. And that's after wave after wave of tropical activity that moves through this region. They will start to clean up from the floodwaters. It is going to take a long time. They are reeling from the strongest cyclone to ever form in this part of the world and into the southern hemisphere. Topical Cyclone Zena is exiting quickly. But the potential of more rainfall as we go forward to the middle of April, a saturated environment, and that means flooding could continue well into the rest of the tropical season, which ends at the end of the month, April 30th, in fact. Rosie, something we'll keep a close eye on.
CHURCH: All right, thanks so much. Appreciate that, Derek.
The world of country music has lost one of its legends, Merle Haggard. A look back at his life and the people he touched when we return.
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[02:51:10] CHURCH: We want to take a moment to remember country music legend, Merle Haggard.
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(SINGING)
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CHURCH: Haggard died on Wednesday, on his 79th birthday of complications from pneumonia at his home in California. His career spanned six decades. The Country Music Hall of Famer had dozens of hits. He was known for honest, gritty songs that reflected experiences from his troubled youth. Tributes have been pouring in. Carrie Underwood tweeted that Haggard was, "A pioneer, a true entertainer and a legend." Beatle Ringo Starr tweeted, "God bless Merle Haggard. He was a hero of mine." And long-time friend and fellow country music legend, Willie Nelson, posted a picture of the two of them with the caption, "He was my brother, my friend, I will miss him." Merle Haggard is survived by his wife and six children.
The Republican presidential candidates are not exactly gaining a lot of support in the U.S. Senate. Jim Risch of Idaho was a guest on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday. He says he hopes his colleague, Ted Cruz, will win the nomination, prompting this rather awkward moment.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So far, you're only -- by our count -- the third Republican Senator, now, effectively, on this program that's come out and endorsed Cruz. Lindsey Graham and Mike Lee, your colleagues, they have. But I haven't seen --
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. JIM RISCH, (R), IDAHO: Did I just endorse, Wolf?
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: I don't know. You sort of said you prefer him over the other two.
RISCH: I do.
BLITZER: That sounds like an endorsement, doesn't it?
RISCH: I guess it depends on your definition.
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CHURCH: Perhaps a reluctant endorsement.
And things got awkward when Cruz gave his victory speech after his Wisconsin win. It wasn't about what he was saying. It was about the man standing behind him.
Take a look. Jeanne Moos explains.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What's it like to be called #creepyguy on Twitter? We'll ask #creepyguy.
STATE REP. ADAM NEYLON, (R), WISCONSIN & WISCONSIN CO-CHAIR, CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT: I promise I was not trying to act like an idiot on purpose.
MOOS: There he was, the Wisconsin co-chair of Cruz for President, nodding yes --
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- killing small businesses.
MOOS: -- nodding no --
CRUZ: -- for Donald Trump.
MOOS: -- nodding and raising his eyebrows.
CRUZ: -- insane future.
MOOS: "So close to Cruz, they were almost touching," mused one viewer," Siamese Twin. "Puppet master?"
(on camera): They seem to think you were too close to him.
(LAUGHTER)
NEYLON: I might have been. They seem to be on with something on that one.
MOOS (voice-over): But Wisconsin State Representative Adam Neylon said if he moved back much, he would have fallen off the stage.
Some saw a resemblance to serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer.
(on camera): These people are tweeting that you're #creepyguy. What's that like?
NEYLON: A lot of it is funny.
CRUZ: Has your back.
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MOOS: But these days, candidates better watch their backs with everyone fixated on whoever is behind them. It's enough to make a candidate paranoid.
(voice-over): Whether it's sticker boy --
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: And we have to be united.
MOOS: -- intentionally hamming it up behind Hillary, or the guy making faces into his phone behind Bernie, or the time that Rudy Giuliani was upstaged by his son.
RUDY GIULIANI, (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I, Rudy Giuliani --
MOOS: But Adam was blissfully unaware.
(on camera): You have a thing you do with your eyebrows. Did you know you were doing that?
NEYLON: I don't look at myself.
MOOS (voice-over): Finally, #creepyguy was saved from further scrutiny by a hug.
(CHEERING)
NEYLON: We had the silent majority. Now, we have the snarky minority.
MOOS: But Adam says he likes being compared to an amazing actor, like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."
JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR: Here's Johnny.
MOOS: Maybe the resemblance is mostly in the eyebrows.
NICHOLSON: Little pigs, let me come in.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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[02:55:20] CHURCH: Before we go, a group of alligator hunters may have come across their biggest catch ever. They were able to kill this massive 4.5 meter -- that's 350 kilos -- gator with a single gunshot on a Florida farm. That's the farm owner's 9-year-old son on top of the gator. He said about 45 kilograms of edible meat will come just from the tail. The rest will be used to make clothing and accessories.
I'm Rosemary Church. The second hour of CNN NEWSROOM is coming up after this short break. Hope you can stick around.
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[02:59:58] CHURCH: After Donald Trump's stunning loss in Wisconsin, crowds gathered to protest outside his rally in New York.
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