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Sanders Wins Wisconsin Democratic Caucuses; Colorado GOP Convention on Picking Delegates Now; Paris Terror Fugitive is Brussels Bombing "Man in Hat"; Explosions Rock Afghan Capitol After Kerry Visit; U.S. Official: Europeans Ignoring Key Terror Data; Sanders Speaks After Wyoming Win; Hastert Attorney Reacts to Shocking Allegations; ISIS Uses Iraqis as Human Shields; Signs U.S. Economy Not Growing. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 09, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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

[16:59:56] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And for Republicans, today all eyes are on Colorado, Ted Cruz has scooped up 21 of Colorado's 34 pledged delegates. The remaining 13 delegates will be tapped tonight.

I want to bring in Paul Vercammen in Cheyenne, Wyoming to get more on this reaction. The Sanders victory there. You've been speaking to people, Paul. What are they saying?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a lot of support for Sanders in this state. But one thing I should say here is it seemed that Hillary Clinton was effective in chipping away at his lead because basically what happened here was in Laramie County because of the surrogate vote Clinton chipped away, we also understand that she won in Natrona County, that's where Casper is. So, Sanders had some big wins himself. Albany where the University of Wyoming where he won decisively.

But I'm going to bring in the executive director of the Wyoming Democrats, Aimee Van Cleave. And here is democracy in action. Just a short time ago in fact, basically all afternoon long and you were literally on your knees pecking away your laptop, feeding us numbers. Your reaction to Sanders' win here today.

AIMEE VAN CLEAVE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WYOMING DEMOCRATS: We're absolutely thrilled that Senator Sanders has won Wyoming. And the voters had their voices heard. We are surprised at the results, it's closer than I think a lot of us projected.

VERCAMMEN: And if you had to talk and tell us at the top of your head, how were those 14 delegates going to be split? You've done the math?

CLEAVE: So, right now, it looks like it's going to be seven to six. But we're still waiting on one county to report in and that will decide who gets that one last little delegate.

VERCAMMEN: And that's Goshen County. Not extremely populous. About how many voters there would you say up your head?

CLEAVE: In Goshen County which is Torrington, I would imagine if we had 2008 numbers, we're looking at about 100 voters.

VERCAMMEN: So, no matter what it goes seven-six Sanders or maybe eight-six Sanders, or we wind up with a tie.

CLEAVE: Right. And really it's all going to come down to Torrington which is exciting for Wyoming.

VERCAMMEN: It's all been exciting for you. I appreciate your taking time out. Very much an exciting day in Wyoming. Always looked at as a very red state. The entire Congressional delegation and the governor, Republicans, but on this day it was the time for the Democrats and of course they are celebrating here, they had a very vibrant, very vibrant caucus, we think they set records for turnout. But that remains to be determined. Reporting from Cheyenne, Wyoming. I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you, Pam.

BROWN: All right. Paul, thanks for that. Interesting she said it was a lot closer though than they expected. And right now the Republican battle for delegates is focused on Colorado today. Ted Cruz is extending his recent winning streak against frontrunner Donald Trump. So far, Cruz has racked up 21 of Colorado's 34 pledged delegates. The final 13 are being awarded today. Well, Trump skipped today's Colorado GOP convention choosing instead to visit New York's 9/11 memorial. And Colorado you won't see voters heading to the polls or anybody gathering at caucuses. Instead Republican Party insiders are basically handpicking delegates rather than candidates.

CNN's Ana Cabrera is in Colorado Springs. So, how does this work? I think a lot might find this sort of confusing including myself.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a little bit more complicated than some of the other states no doubt about it. Right now we're here at the Colorado Republican State Convention which has been ongoing throughout the day. Now, delegates here in Colorado are elected at both the district conventions and the state conventions. And so the remaining 13 delegates will be elected by this assembly. Some 6,000 Colorado Republican Party insiders, and activists. We understand there are more than 600 delegate candidates who want to fill those remaining 13 delegate spots at the RNC.

They are about to give their speeches, they each get just 10 seconds to make their final pitches to this crowd. And then the voting begins. We're expecting to get results here for those remaining 13 delegates and who they will be awarded to somewhere around 7, 7:30 Eastern. So in the next couple of hours we'll have a better understanding of whether Ted Cruz sweeps Colorado or if John Kasich or Donald Trump pick up a few remaining delegates. But as mentioned so far, it's been Ted Cruz clean sweep -- Pam.

BROWN: Yes. He's already won 21 delegates and he spoke at that convention. What did he say?

CABRERA: Well, he is the only candidate, the only presidential candidate who has really focused on Colorado. Of course he went after Donald Trump, the front-runner still in the Republican race. Donald Trump still leads nationally by more than 200 delegates. But then Ted Cruz pivoted. Realizing this is a Cruz friendly crowd down the low. He went after the Democrats, in fact, he even went as far as to call Hillary Clinton a socialist. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A year ago as Republicans, we started with 17 candidates, an amazingly talented diverse, young dynamic field. What a contrast with the Democrats. You know, the Democratic field consists of a wild-eyed socialist with ideas that are dangerous for America and the world, and, Bernie Sanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:05:22] CABRERA: So, there you go taking a swipe at Hillary Clinton, going after Democrats, you can get the sense that here in Colorado at the very least he is feeling the momentum and he's hoping he's laid an state now for the general election -- Pam.

BROWN: All right. Ana Cabrera, thank you so much for that.

Turning back now to the big political news of the hour, Bernie Sanders just wrapped up his latest win in Wyoming. This time joining me now is CNN's political producer Dan Merica and a Democratic strategist, and Bernie Sanders supporter Nomiki Konst. CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter Maria Cardona and CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza.

Quite the panel right now. And Dan, you're the lucky one. Because I'm going to start with you. You're there with the Clinton camp in Brooklyn. What's the atmosphere after we just found out that she lost in Wyoming and has now lost eight of the last nine contests?

DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: I don't think the news is really reached the crowd behind me yet. There are no TVs on. This is a Latino organizing event in Brooklyn. The Clinton aides say they are pretty confident as you had a Wyoming Democratic Party official say, they are pretty confident that they could split the delegates in Wyoming despite losing the state. Maybe they come out one delegate short. Which is better than they anticipated. Even so, Hillary Clinton will be speaking here at the Latino event. She actually was just in more downtown Brooklyn where she went to junior's cheesecake shop and while she did not eat cheesecake she told the press that she learned early on in her career, not eat in front of the press.

She did have a smorgasbord of cheesecake, a pineapple cheesecake and original cheesecake, and a strawberry cheesecake in front of her. She shook hands, talked to people. Campaigning really on a more local level here in Brooklyn than you know, presidential candidates sometimes do. A couple of days ago, she rode the subway famously and took about five swipes to get on. But yes, she'll speak here to a group of people in Brooklyn, focus on Latino issues immigration and the economy and a number of other issues, but I can't anticipate her mentioning Wyoming from the stage here in Brooklyn.

BROWN: So, I want to turn to you, Ryan. Because the big question now is, what does winning Wyoming mean for the Sanders campaign? It seems less about delegates and more about momentum.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look. As you pointed out beforehand, he's now won eight out of the nine last contests. Right? And so, he's almost like this super funded zombie candidate and that it's probably really hard for him to actually win the nomination, but he's going to be in this race to the end. He's raising an astonishing $40 million a month. We frankly haven't seen a Democratic primary quite like this where the candidates that sort of was basically believed not to be able to win, staying in, challenging the front-runner, continuing to point out her weaknesses, and showing her weaknesses right to the convention.

And you got to give him some credit for how well he has done. But two big things have to happen for Bernie Sanders to actually win. He has to have an earthquake upset like beating her in New York, and then he has to completely change the mind of those super delegates that are in Hillary Clinton's back pocket. That's a tall order.

BROWN: So, Maria, just to be clear, you are from pro-Clinton Super PAC. But how does the Clinton camp stop Bernie Sanders' momentum, particularly leading into New York with this gap of time before the primary there?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Sure. But let me just also clear up, I am not the head of any Super PAC and one of my partners does work for -- some work for the Clinton Super PAC that I have nothing to do with. But moving forward, again, and we talked about this before. So Wyoming was a state that is Taylor made for Bernie and it was no surprise that he was going to win it. But even one of the Bernie supporters that was just on your air said that the margin was a lot closer than what they had expected it to be and most likely the delegates are going to split.

BROWN: Uh-hm.

CARDONA: So again, the math is in Hillary's favor in terms of she will continue to add to her delegate lead. And moving forward that is what matters. Now, you know, the Bernie camp will say, well, they have the momentum, they have voice of the people except for a gain momentum is not what matters. What matters is actually delegates that you have to win in delegate-rich states. But let's not forget, she isn't just winning the delegate count. She is also winning the vote. She has 2.5 million more votes than Bernie Sanders does at this point.

[17:10:14] BROWN: And Nomi, it's no surprise to a lot of people that Bernie Sanders won Wyoming. He was expected to win. But it was closer than people expected. And we heard that from the official there in Wyoming. Is that concerning at all that you know, it was closer than expected?

NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think so at all. I mean, again, this is a small state, there's 14 delegates at hand here. But you know, as we move forward to New York and as we move forward and talk about this math, one of the things, you know, the Clinton campaign has been very good about strategizing. They have prepared for every single angle, unexpected angle of this campaign. Except for the things that they can't control. Such as a movement. And what that means is that these super delegates are not just numbers, they are people who have to answer to their voters. They are elected officials who want a career in politics so when you see the majority of the party under the age of 50 siding with one candidate overwhelmingly so, and you'll see that in New York among all demographics, when you see that they are going to be thinking about the future, who are we as a party?

Do we want to represent the past, and in many -- in a lot of Democratic circles, they are basically showing the divide between those who are still hurting after the 2008 collapse, and those who are doing okay because they invested in Wall Street. And Hillary Clinton undeniably after 2008 if she is accepting money from hedge funders and having, you know, lobbyists bundle money for her, after the economic collapse, no wonder why half of the party is siding with Bernie Sanders. And these super delegates may very well likely turn if they see their careers at risk because that's what it's really about on the convention floor. It's all about deal making.

BROWN: Okay. So then Ryan, how real is this threat of a Bernie or bust movement that this could campaign could potentially result in Hillary Clinton winning the nomination, but losing the support of Bernie Sanders backers in a general election?

LIZZA: You know, I think that Ted Cruz or Donald Trump would solve a lot of that problem for Hillary Clinton. It is absolutely true that if you look at the, all of the exit polls that we have data for, or all the states that we have exit polls, basically 70 to 20 millennials are supporting Bernie Sanders which is really astonishing. And that obviously quite literally is the future of the Democratic Party. So you're seeing this fascinating left-right generational divide if you are over 65 you're voting for Hillary Clinton. You know, if you are under 30 you're voting for Bernie in the Democratic Party.

That's the future of the party, there's no doubt that Bernie Sanders has shown that the party is moving left, it's moving in his direction overall. But it's not -- has not obviously been quite enough for him to win a majority of the delegates so far. I don't think I agree that the super delegates are going to be shifting just because they see a younger generation on Bernie's side. I think it would take a bigger event, it would take some kind of you know, catastrophic collapse in the Clinton campaign or you know, Hillary Clinton getting indicted or something really serious for the super delegates all of a sudden on mass to move to Bernie Sanders. Remember, Bernie Sanders wasn't a Democrat until this year. He doesn't have that long time institutional support in the party, and that's proving to be a pretty serious weakness in his campaign now that the super delegates matter so much.

BROWN: All right. Ryan Lizza, Dan Merica, Nomiki Konst, Maria Cardona. Was that you, Maria?

CARDONA: Yes. I was just going to make one quick point as the super delegate on the panel because I'm a DNC member.

BROWN: Yes. LIZZA: What would it take for you to move?

CARDONA: Super delegates, I'm kind of -- super delegates have never overturned the will of the people. Meaning that they have never given the advantage to the candidate who doesn't get to the convention with the most amount of delegates. It happened in 2008. Barack Obama did not get to the convention with the amount of pledge delegates that he needed. And that is when many of the super delegates came to him because they realized this is the person who actually did represent more of you know, I say the will of the people loosely because let's also remember that Hillary Clinton won the popular event in 2008 but it's all about pledge delegates, those are the rules and that is what people have to play for.

BROWN: All right.

CARDONA: And so, that's what Hillary Clinton strategy is going to be getting to the nomination with the most amount of pledged delegates.

KONST: We need some more delegates under the age of 50. That's what we need to do as the DNC.

BROWN: OK.

CARDONA: I'm under 50. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Whoa! All right. Thank you to all four of you. We really appreciate it. Thanks for that interesting discussion there. And you won't want to miss it because Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face off in a Democratic presidential debate live from Brooklyn, New York, Thursday night, 9:00 Eastern. Right here on CNN.

And just ahead this hour, we turn to terror and breaking news out of Brussels, the man accused of having a role in two of the most deadly terror attacks in history is captured and talking. We can now confirm he is the man in the hat according to a confession he gave to investigators, details on that straight ahead.

[17:15:12] Plus, we're keeping a close eye on the campaign trail. Hillary Clinton is expected to speak in Brooklyn, New York this hour. We'll take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:18:28] BROWN: And we are back with our breaking news. CNN can now confirm that this man right here is the elusive man in the hat wanted in connection with the Brussels airport bombing. That means he now stands accused of not one but two of the deadliest terror attacks in European history. Thirty one-year-old Mohamed Abrini is in custody and talking after fleeing from the Paris attacks, he's accused of helping orchestrate. And today he confessed to being the man in the hat seen walking at that crime scene in the Brussels International Airport bombing.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more from Brussels. Fred.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Pamela, certainly a lot of very important new developments in this investigation especially regarding Mohamed Abrini. Now, we spoke to the federal prosecutor here in Belgium and he said that one of the most important things as they were confronting Mohamed Abrini was that facial recognition software that they used. They said once he was confronted with the results of that, that's when he said yes indeed, it was him on that picture that he was the so-called man in the hat. And on top of admitting that, he also then in detail described the route that he took after he left the Brussels airport.

He said that he went through town, that at some point he dumped his jacket and in the end sold a hat that he was also wearing to conceal his identity. One of the other big breakthroughs that also happened is the police here said that they've also now positively I.D.ed the second person who was on the scene at the subway bombing that happened on the same day. That person has been identified as Osama Krayem. Now, in spite of the fact that they do have these two very high profile people in custody, the Belgian authorities say they are aware that this might not be the end of it.

They fear that there could potentially still be other people out there who might have helped these people to hide and also provided logistical support, there was a major raid that happened earlier on Saturday, in the Enerbeck (ph) district of Brussels. Police there are saying they didn't find any sort of explosives or weapons but they do believe they found an apartment that may have been used by these terror suspect as a safe house -- Pamela.

BROWN: Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much for that reporting.

Coming up, multiple explosions rock Afghanistan's capital shortly after Secretary John Kerry wraps up a surprise visit there. So, what does it say about the state security in that country?

Our Nick Paton Walsh reports from Kabul.

[17:24:32] BROWN: Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to discuss security. And within an hour of his departure four loud explosions went off in the Capital City of Kabul. It's a disturbing message in a country facing violent infighting and a fractured government. Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul with more.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Those four explosions that seemed mostly hit the diplomatic area of Kabul that where many embassies are in a key part of the infrastructure, well, they came we think pretty much minutes after John Kerry had departed the country. We had a note through from the poll travelling suggesting he was at the airport significantly before we heard those actual explosions. It's unclear exactly where he was though. But initial reports suggest it was rockets and we're not hearing as many major injuries at this stage. But it's late at night to scant information available.

But it really goes to hammer home, frankly, how fragile security is, not just here in Kabul, even at a time of lockdown for a key dignitary's visit like this but across the country full stop with this very volatile fighting season that's in the warmest of the months expected to start soon. John Kerry was here. He said quite clearly to try and shore up the national unity government here and he helped create a number of years ago now in between the President Ashraf Ghani, the president here now and the man he fought the election against, the man who is now the country's CEO Abdullah Abdullah.

Not necessarily known to have the best working relationship here. Many has said their administration is hamstrung by that rivalry. Many key posts not filled and John Kerry was here to make a very explicit demand that the government should work as hard as it could toward the Afghan people and the months that has left before it hits key deadlines for its future -- to exist frankly. But above all, I think the agenda here has been about security. The Taliban on the march in Helmand where they are deeply threatening its main city, last could go at this stage, and across the country where U.S. officials now are openly accepting how last year was a terrible year for Afghan security forces, they lost 5.5 thousand soldiers in that one year alone, way more than NATO have lost in its entire campaign here.

And of course Afghan civilians as well bearing the brunt of the violence. Eleven thousands of them injured and killed last year. Three-and-a-half thousand actually dead. It is a terrifyingly bleak summer we may have ahead of us here in Afghanistan and I think frankly the fact that the lockdown put in place, someone like John Kerry, the U.S. chief diplomat coming here, being unable to prevent those four explosions really hammers home quite how fragile Afghanistan is and so much that needs to be done to put the Taliban on their back foot when frankly now they are doing so well in the backfield they are refusing all demands to talk peace at the table.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

BROWN: Nick Paton Walsh reporting there in Kabul. Thank you very much for that. And I spoke exclusively with the top U.S. terror official who says European Nations are not taking full advantage of U.S. tools to fight terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We provide them with tools, we provide them with support, I would find it concerning that they don't use these tools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Up next, you will hear his concerns about terrorists from Europe potentially slipping into the U.S. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:53] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Pamela Brown, in Washington. Great to have you along on this Saturday.

You're looking at John Kasich speaking live in New Rochelle, New York. We're awaiting Hillary Clinton, set to take the mic in Brooklyn. A very busy day in politics.

We turn to breaking news. And a confession in Belgium. Prosecutors say this man, Mohamed Abrini, the last known fugitive in the Paris attacks, admitted to be the man in the hat seen in a Brussels airport with the two bombers moments before explosions shook the terminal.

I spoke exclusively with a top U.S. counterterrorism official who says some European countries aren't taking full advantage of some U.S. tools in the fight against terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER PIEHOTA, DIRECTOR, TERRORIST SCREENING CENTER: It's concerning that our partners don't use all of our data, we provide them with tools, we provide them with support, and I would find it concerning they don't use these tools to help screen for their own aviation security, maritime security, border screening, visas, things like that for travel. We find it concerning.

BROWN: Did that information make its way into our watch list? Did they share information prior to those attacks about these people? I'm trying to get a sense of how that would work.

PIEHOTA: We were aware of some of those people.

BROWN: There are so many people leaving Europe to go to Syria to train, unbeknownst to European officials, that then come back. What's stopping them from making it to the U.S.?

PIEHOTA: We make sure that we know as much as we can, and we take that information and we use it the best we can to minimize threats to our communities, but we -- we can't know everything all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I want to bring in former assistant secretary for Homeland Security, Juliette Kayyem, author of "Security Moms: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting our Homeland and Your Home."

Juliette, thanks for coming on.

A lot to discuss. First off, I want to start with this piece you wrote called, "Why Keeping Us Safe from Terrorism is So Hard." It says, "The Brussels attacks maybe were highly probable and at the same time almost impossible to disrupt. That oxymoron is what makes this wave of terrorism the most dangerous in history and so different from even the days of al Qaeda."

So, Juliette, tell me why you consider this the most dangerous wave of terrorism in history.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: ISIS is more nimble, existing at a time of social media, it does not require a lot of infrastructure or even -- (INAUDIBLE). So I sometimes call it laughable. (INAUDIBLE). So it's very difficult --

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Hey, unfortunately, as so often happens with Skype, we have a rough connection right now. We're going to work on that and go back to you because we have a ton to discuss on the counterterrorism front and the ISIS threat in Europe.

We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:37:38] BROWN: Welcome back. We want to listen to Bernie Sanders, reacting to his win in Wyoming today in Long Island, New York. Let's listen.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's fair to say that when we began this campaign we were considered to be a fringe candidate. We were 60, 70 points behind Secretary Clinton. In the last week or two, the three last national polls that I have seen, in two of them we are actually winning now by a small margin but actually ahead of Secretary Clinton. I think in the third poll she was one point ahead of me. In terms of the matchups with Republicans like Donald Trump, in virtually every one of these matchups, whether it's national, whether it's state, our margin against Trump is almost always much better than is Secretary Clinton. In terms of state victories and other territories, et cetera, we now have won 17, and she has won 20. I think that it is very fair to say that we were way, way behind during the first half of this contest, but we are having, to say the least, a very strong second half. And we are closing very fast.

And now that Wyoming is behind us, we are here in New York State. I've been pleased to sense a great deal of momentum. We have had a number of rallies in Brooklyn, in queens, where we are now, in Manhattan, in the Bronx. We'll be going to Staten Island. We'll be heading upstate. No question in my mind that we have the momentum. Some of the polls are reflecting that momentum. A few weeks ago, we were 20, 30 points behind. Last significant poll I saw had us 10 points behind. Three weeks ago, we were 326 pledged delegates behind Secretary Clinton. We are now 214 delegates behind. We have cut her lead by one third. And we expect and intend to do very well here in New York State and pick up a lot of delegates here and in some of the other states. Then we're going to head out west where I think we have an excellent chance to do very well out there.

[17:40:06] So, let me just say that I think it is beyond debate that the momentum in this campaign is with us, that we are seeing in state after state, large voter turnouts, that we are seeing especially high turnouts among younger people. There was a mythology I think that was widely believed, before we got involved in this race, that young people were apathetic, were not concerned about politics, were not going to come out to vote. It looks like that has significantly changed. And I am delighted to see so many young people who are the future of their country, wanting to play an active role in shaping the future that they will have to live with.

So, you know, during the first half of this campaign, we have to deal with the Deep South, the most conservative part of our country. We did very poorly there, no question. But now that we're in the second half of this campaign, we are going to state after state, which I think has more progressive outlook. We have won eight out of nine last contests. We're looking forward to New York and other states as well.

We are in this race to win, we have a path to victory, and our intention is to win the Democratic nomination and then win the general election.

Thank you.

Yeah?

BROWN: You heard Bernie Sanders reacting to the news he won the Wyoming Democratic primary. At the same time, Hillary Clinton, his opponent, is on the trail in Brooklyn at an organizing event. We hope to hear from her shortly.

These are the results we have so far from that Wyoming primary. Some say that it was actually closer than they expected, but Bernie Sanders pulling out the win. And these are delegates to date as we saw here are the Wyoming Democratic caucus results here.

Meantime, hours after federal investigators revealed shocking allegations of sexual abuse involving Dennis Hastert, an attorney for the former House speaker is reacting. What his client is admitting this evening.

But first, let me introducer you to this week's "CNN Hero." When you think of San Diego, you probably envision lush parks and near-perfect weather. But for thousands of children there, life isn't paradise. In San Diego County, nearly one in five kids live in poverty and, for them, the ocean is a world away. That's where this week's "CNN Hero" steps in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN HERO: When they are in the third grade and they come on our field trip, they come over the hill on the bus, and they see the ocean, and they gasp, because it's literally the first time many of them have seen the ocean.

It's a place of discovery to really explore their own potential in science and all through studying the ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So each year the group helps 6,000 kids be explorers. So what happens next? To find out, watch the story at CNNheroes.com. And while there, go ahead and nominate someone you think should be a 2016 "CNN Hero."

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:46:53] BROWN: An attorney for Dennis Hastert is addressing the shocking new sexual abuse allegations surrounding the former House speaker. The details in court documents in the last 24 hour show federal prosecutors believe Hastert sexually abused at least four boys in the '60s and '70s while he was a high school wrestling coach. The disturbing revelations come just days before he is to be sentenced for financial violations. Investigators say those violations involve hush money Hastert paid to one of his accusers.

Our Nick Valencia joins me now for more on this.

Nick, what are Hastert's attorneys saying in light of these new allegations?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, we should start saying this is the first time we've seen Dennis Hastert mentioned specifically, these allegations of sexual molestation, child molestation. Up until now, he has not mentioned anything or said anything, addressed them, nor has his attorney. Even in this statement we received a few hours ago from Hastert's attorney, there was no admission of guilt.

I'll read that statement. "Mr. Hastert acknowledges that as a young man he committed transgressions for which he is profoundly sorry. He earnestly apologizes to his former students, family, friends, previous constituents, and all others affected by the harm his actions have caused. The profound humiliation and public shaming Mr. Hastert has and will continue to experience coupled with the resulting isolation and abandonment he has endured are already significant punishment and have undoubtedly contributed to his fragile medical condition."

Some would ask, what about the fragile medical condition of those he is allegedly abused 30 years ago while he was a high school wrestling coach in Illinois. These federal court documents, 26 pages, go on to say that these young men, now grown men, are still dealing with the emotional scars of having allegedly been molested by the former speaker of the House -- Pamela?

BROWN: The abuse allegations are not new, but the extent of this alleged abuse is, and they details these boys, now men, give are disturbing.

VALENCIA: They are disturbing, they are stunning, they are just plain and simple disgusting, as laid out by federal prosecutors.

We're about to read one of those instances. There were four young men in all, actually five, but they couldn't get testimony from the fifth young man. He died years after the alleged molestation happened, but they did get testimony from his sister. This statement, part of the court documents that I'm about to read,

could be considered uncomfortable for some but we think it's important to hear.

"Individual "B," who was a minor at the time, was a wrestler at Yorkville High School for the defendant, Dennis Hastert. One day during his freshman year, when Individual "B" was 14 years old, Individual "B" was alone in the locker room with Hastert after Individual "B" has worked out. Either just after he showered or while he changed by his locker, Hastert told Individual "B" to get on the table so Hastert could, quote, 'loosen him up.' Individual "B" lay on the table face down. The defendant started massaging him. Defendant had Individual "B" turn over so he was lying face up on the table. Hastert then performed a sexual act on the teenager."

Much of these allegations, these accusations, I should say, listed out in these court documents, start the same way. In a similar case, Hastert offers to massage these teenagers who were wrestlers for him on this high school team and that it evolved into an alleged sexual misconduct -- Pamela?

[17:50:12] BROWN: So these men have now come forward, they've testified to federal prosecutors, prosecutors clearly believe them, but why aren't there any charges on that front? Is it because of statute of limitations?

VALENCIA: Yeah. The statute of limitations is past. It happened 30 years ago. And prosecutors aren't going after him for this. But they think it's germane to him breaking banking laws. If you remember, he was taking out $50,000 increments at a time. That drew the attention of the feds. The FBI and IRS started to investigate. Hastert had initially said he was the victim of extortion. When they recorded conversations between one of these individuals and Mr. Hastert, they realized that it was no extortion attempt but really hush money, as the feds have put it. They think that the sentencing should reflect the seriousness of the crimes. That's why these documents have come out, since Hastert is schedule to be sentenced April 27th. And they believe that the sentence of that should fit the crime. Right now, it's only zero to six months. That's what the defense is asking for. Jail time is not mentioned. But it's clear the federal prosecutors are laying out their case that they're trying to get Mr. Hastert behind bars -- Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you for that report.

VALENCIA: You bet.

BROWN: The brutality of ISIS is in full display in Iraq. Families unable to flee the terror group now say they are being used as human shields. People have been forced into their homes and held captive. Their stories will make your skin crawl.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, reports from Iraq -- Arwa?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iraqi army has managed so far so capture a handful of villages from ISIS, Pamela, and once they did that, the people from those areas were sharing the most horrific of stories.

(voice-over): The latest arrivals at this refugee camp are not those who fled ISIS. They are those who say ISIS used them as human shields and didn't let them leave. They're from a handful of villages the Iraqi army recently recaptured from ISIS.

The men are kept at the camp's mosque, a security precaution amid concerns ISIS is in the village.

"Isis put my family into each home in the middle of the village," Abu Sarat recalled.

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.

Abu and his family could hear the army's advance and hoped finally that they would be saved. But in the fierce clashes, Abu's younger brother was hit as he pulled his niece away from the window.

"He shouted, I am shot, get me," Abu Sarat says.

The memory of that movement so painful, he can no longer control his emotions.

"He said, I don't want to die. But he bled out in our arms."

With us, Abu is able to leave the mosque grounds, and we head to see the rest of his family. He says they did not flee when ISIS first arrived nearly two years ago because his elderly mother could not run away, a mother who has buried her son.

"What is left," she now questions. "At least God spared the rest."

Their stories of life under ISIS make your skin crawl.

Abu worked at a hospital in Mosul.

"I was forced to keep working. He said, if you don't, I will leave your head on the hospital gate," he tells us.

Once, he was stopped in the street and forced to witness a public mass execution.

In another instance, on the way to the market, he says, "We saw people hanging from the electricity pole. We asked why. They said they were trying to leave. If you try to escape, this will be your fate."

The women also hide their faces. But little can hide the lingering fear, the overwhelming psychological trauma or the pain.

This woman says the house ISIS held her family in as the Iraqi army advanced was hit by a mortar. She was injured. Her 15-year-old son killed. Her last image of him, with blood coming out of his eyes, nose, mouth.

"It's all memories," she says, before it becomes too much and she walks away.

(on camera): And concerns for the civilian population, Pamela, are only growing. When one looks towards the city of Mosul, there are potentially 1.5 million to two million people there, and in its surroundings, and ISIS could very well be intending to use them, too, as human shields.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:55:04] BROWN: So disturbing.

Great report there from our Arwa Damon, an important report.

We're continuing to watch live pictures from a Hillary Clinton campaign stop in Brooklyn.

Stay with us. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's some troubling signs the U.S. economy is hitting the pause button.

CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pamela. Economists are sharpening their pencils and cutting their growth forecast for the first quarter. Despite strong jobs growth, a solid housing market and very low commodity prices, the Atlanta Federal Reserve forecast growth of only 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year, dramatically lower than the 2.5 percent it predicted in mid-February. Bank of America sees 0.6 percent. Wells Fargo slicing its economic growth forecast to a meager 0.1 percent. That would essentially signal the economy is not growing.

Well, why? Falling car sales in March, despite the fact auto sales hit a record last year; lower equipment purchases by businesses, potentially a sign of slowing demand; and a weaker than expected reading on consumer spending.

Economic growth has softened in the first quarter of the last few years, so not really a surprise there. But mostly it rebounds into the summer. For the entire year, the Federal Reserve sees 2.2 percent economic growth.

Despite this first quarter stall and what you're hearing on the campaign trail about the economy, four Fed chiefs agree the U.S. is not on course for a major recession.