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Gay Rights Activist Killed in Bangladesh; US Fighter Jets Head to Europe; 30th Anniversary of Chernobyl; Philippine Terror Group Executes Canadian Hostage; Hillsborough Soccer Deaths Ruling Expected; Clinton Anticipating Contest with Trump; Papua New Guinea Supreme Court Rules Australian Detention of Asylum Seekers Illegal. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 26, 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: A gay rights supporter is killed in Bangladesh. The latest in a series of attacks on outspoken activists. We will hear from people who refuse to be silenced. Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the symbolism that is important here. This is an intended as a show of force to an increasingly assertive Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERROL BARNETT, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: CNN flies alongside U.S. fighter jets headed to Europe to send a message.
CHURCH: And later, the world marks 30 years since the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.
BARNETT: A big welcome to those of you watching from around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for being with us. This is CNN Newsroom.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is condemning the brutal machete hacking of two men in Bangladesh. One of the victims worked for the U.S. agency for international development at the time of his death.
He was also the editor of Bangladesh's first and only lesbian and gay and transgender magazine. These killings are the latest of a series of similar attacks in the capital city, Dhaka.
BARNETT: On Sunday, police detained a student linked to the ambush and stabbing of a professor at a bus stop. An official with Amnesty International says the attacks underscore a lack of security for peaceful activists there in the country.
Let's bring in senior international correspondent Ivan Watson from Hong Kong for the latest on all of this. And, Ivan, a climate to fear and a government some say are reluctant to act make these attacks all the more troubling. What do we know?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very troubling. We know on Monday evening, a group of attackers, one of them posing as some kind of delivery person then infiltrated a building and carried out a very savage home invasion, murdering two Bangladeshi men. Their deaths have sent ripples through the diplomatic and human rights communities in the capital of Bangladesh.
One of the men was 35-year-old Julhas Mannan. He was an employee at U.S. AID working at the U.S. embassy. He was also the editor at the only gay rights magazine in Bangladesh.
The White House put out a statement condemning this and saying that Mr. Mannan set an example of dignity, courage and selflessness and his legacy will live on in the causes he championed. Now this is the third machete murder this month to take place in Bangladesh.
A particular target of these attacks have been not just liberal voices and intellectuals, but atheist writers and bloggers. And dozens of them have been forced, as a result, to flee the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Twenty-five-year-old atheist blogger Ananya Azad fled his home in Bangladesh last year.
Ananya, good to meet you. How are you?
Soon after arriving here in Germany, he says he ended up on the top of this hit list published by Islamist extremists.
This is the ISIS flag here.
ANANYA AZAD, ATHEIST BLOGGER: Yes.
WATSON: It says "we do not forget, we do not forgive."
AZAD: Yes.
WATSON: These are not virtual reality. In the capital of Bangladesh, attackers with machetes have murdered at least six atheist bloggers and secular publishers over the last 14 months.
Al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent claimed responsibility for the most recent murder, citing the victims Facebook posts as justification for the killing.
Among the dozens of atheists who have fled Bangladesh, Azad and two other online activist all exiles in Germany.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: What do you write about?
AZAD: I wrote a -- I criticized the Islamic militants, I crticized our government.
WATSON: Azad knows firsthand the dangers of angering extremists.
AZAD: In 2004, my father was attacked by Islamic militants.
WATSON: This is your father covered in blood?
AZAD: Yes.
WATSON: His father, Humayun, a famous atheist writer died soon after. Even though he continues to receive daily death threats Azad says he won't stop publicly criticizing Islamic extremists, in part, to honor his father.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[03:05:00] Atheist blogger Asif Mohiuddin still goes live on Facebook, even though in 2013 he was ambushed on his way to work in Bangladesh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASIF MOHIUDDIN, BLOGGER: Three people came from behind and they started, they tried to cut my head from my neck.
WATSON: They were using what weapons?
MOHIUDDIN: Like big machete.
WATSON: He barely survived. Just three months later, Bangladeshi authorities shut down his blog and sent him to jail.
MOHIUDDIN: For blasphemy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: A top above the official says atheist like Mohiuddin have no business insulting religion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANISUL HUQ, LAW, JUSTICE AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS MINISTER: Reasonable criticism is acceptable. But unreasonable, abusive language is difficult to accept.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: During his three-month jail stint, Mohiuddin had a chilling encounter with another prisoner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHIUDDIN: I said, no. I don't know you. And then he told me that I'm the one who stabbed you that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: Mohiuddin says that man was one of several suspects arrested
after his attack. Police tell CNN that suspect is currently in jail awaiting trial for the suspected machete murder of another atheist blogger, Niloy Neel in 2015. Did you have tea with the man who tried to kill you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHIUDDIN: Yes. He told me you left Islam, so the Sharia punishment for apostasy of Islam is death penalty. And I told him that, OK, so I'm still alive though, what are you going to do now? And he told me he will try again. When he will get out of the prison he will try again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Bangladeshi officials insist they will bring the murderers of atheists to justice. Meanwhile, from exile, Mohiuddin says he still faces criminal charges in Bangladesh for insulting religion. When will it be safe for you to go back to your country?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHIUDDIN: When the government tells us very clear message that writing is not a crime, expressing one's view is not a crime. Killing people is a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So, we know that there has been a very concerted campaign to hunt down these atheist bloggers and kill them very savagely in the streets. And now it does appear that the extremist groups have expanded their targets now.
We don't know whether or not Julhas Mannan and his friend Tanay Mojumdar were killed because of Mannan's connection with the U.S. AID and the American embassy in Dhaka or because of his LGBT activism.
It is worth noting that in a column he posted on an Indian LGBT magazine, he talked about the challenges of being an openly gay man in Bangladesh, a majority Muslim country that is also supposed to be a secular democracy. An excerpt here, quote, "Is it really wise and safe to come out here? Will the family and the friends ever try to understand the feelings of a gay person? As of my own experience of a self-identified gay man, I strongly believe not all is lost. There's still scope for optimism."
Now, Errol, Mannan went on to write that as a result to several attempts at gay pride events, at the launch of this LGBT magazine in Bangladesh, there was a backlash of criticism and threats on social media in Bangladesh, but he went on to point out, that that's just in the virtual world. Well, perhaps tragically, he was wrong, because those virtual threats translated on Monday evening into the very deadly attack on him in his own home.
BARNETT: Yes. And it could signify how intolerance can get to a deadly level. It certainly needs to be dealt with there. Ivan Watson, live for us in Hong Kong. Thank you.
CHURCH: And to another shocking story now. A Philippine terror group with ties to ISIS and Al Qaeda has killed a Canadian hostage. John Ridsdel was one of four people kidnapped by the group last September.
BARNETT: The fate of the other three captives is still unclear right now. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will bring the killers to justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADA PRIME MINISTER: Canada condemns without reservation the brutality of the hostage takers and this unnecessary death. This was an act of cold-blooded murder and responsibility rest squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage.
The government of Canada is committed to working with the government of Philippines and international partners to pursue those responsible for this heinous act and bring them to justice.
On behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Ridsdel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:09:59] CHURCH: And now for reaction from the Philippines, we're joined by CNN Asia Pacific editor Andrew Stevens. So, Andrew what is the Philippine government saying about the murder of John Ridsdel and how do they plan to bring the perpetrators to justice?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, the Philippine government had put out a statement just in the last couple hours offering their deepest sympathies, not only to the family of John Ridsdel but also to the Canadian government and the people of Canada for what they describe as a cruel and inhuman act.
Now the Philippines military has been fighting Abu Sayyaf for many, many years now in he south of the country. And they say with this latest outrage that they will not give in to any form of terror at all and will continue to fight terrorists in that area.
At this stage, though, it's difficult to see that they, they're going to be victorious in eliminating Abu Sayyaf. They have been around for since the early 1990s, Rosemary.
Now what we know at this stage about John Ridsdel is that he, along with three others were taken hostage from a luxury resort in an island just off of Mindanao itself.
And there were various demands for ransom made and deadlines passed, and then last month, a video was released showing Mr. Ridsdel with two other male Western hostages, another Canadian and a Norwagian man. They were all in a very emancipated condition and pleading for their lives, for governments to help, to pay the ransom. Now it ended up with a chilling warning from Abu Sayyaf, that if the
deadline is not met within a month then they would start killing the hostages, and that is what happened today with Mr. Ridsdel.
At this stage, we don't know any other details about the negotiations other than the governments were not involved. These were hostage negotiations carried out by families who couldn't, we've been told hope to pay the ransom demands, 6.5 million per hostage the Abu Sayyaf is demanding, Rosemary.
It initially started out at $21 million per hostage. But the governments made it very clear they would not be negotiating they would not be paying ransom and the government -- and the families just couldn't afford it.
CHURCH: And of course, this then puts the focus on the three hostages that remain, the concern that their family members would have at this time. Do we have any information relating to them?
STEVENS: No, we don't. But given to the fact (TECHNICAL PROBLEM).
CHURCH: ... is furious of rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich for trying to block them from their party's nomination, and he's letting voters know it as Jim Acosta reports.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On the new political marriage of convenience formed by his two remaining rivals to stop his campaign, Donald Trump accused Ted Cruz and John Kasich of being divorced from reality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, by the way, did you see they joined forces?
(crowd booing)
ACOSTA: Leading in all the polls to sweep in the next round of states up for grabs tomorrow, Trump now smells blood, tweeting about the Cruz-Kasich is proof, "they are unable to beat me on their own so they have to team up on a two-on-one." And then hammering to do it all again in Rhode Island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you collude in business or if you collude in the stock market, they put you in jail. But in politics, because it's a rigged system, because it's a corrupt enterprise that shows how weak they are. It shows how pathetic they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But Cruz says Trump is sounding off for good reason.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [03:15:02] TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, I don't doubt that Donald Trump is going to scream and yell and curse and insult and probably cry and whine some as well. That has been Donald's pattern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Arguing the name of the game is denying Trump the magic number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Cruz and Kasich are now starting to divide up the map, with the Texas senator focusing solely on upcoming Indiana where he is stronger, while yielding New Mexico and Oregon to the Ohio governor, territory better suiting him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: We decided to allocate our time and energy and resources on the State of Indiana. Governor Kasich decided to allocate his resources elsewhere. I think that made sense from both campaigns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But polls indicate Cruz could borrow enough votes from Kasich to deny Trump a victory in Indiana. Siphoning delegates away from the real estate tycoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is it colluding enough, what does that even mean?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Kasich pushed back on the notion that he's on the ropes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASICH: No, I'm not desperate, are you? Are you desperate? Because I'm not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But he also seemed to spin his end of the deal with Cruz, just a touch. Saying voters can support the candidate of their choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASICH: I'm not going to go tell anybody how to vote, they can. But, look, I mean, this is a matter of resources and, you know, we run into national campaign, and we want to apply our resources where we think they can be used most effectively.
TRUMP: And I said to myself, that's pretty bad! That's pretty bad!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But the alliance seems to have emboldened Trump who's come up with new insults for Kasich.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASICH: I've had eggs and fruit, and I wanted bacon.
TRUMP: This guy takes a pancake, and he's shoving it in his mouth. It's disgusting. Do you want that for your president? I don't think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And for a further look at the twists and turns of the race for the republican nomination, we turn now to republican consultant, Bruce Haynes who joins us from our Washington bureau. Thank you, sir, for talking with us.
BRUCE HAYNES, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Thanks, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, let's start with a mathematic scene. How likely is it that this Cruz-Kasich alliance will work and stop Trump from getting his required 1237 delegates for the republican nomination or is this alliance already showing signs of failing?
HAYNES: Well, I think this was one of these things where it started as the enemy of your enemy is your friend, but it ended up more like appropriately before the Pennsylvania primary they came out a bit like the keystone cops.
They didn't rule the south very well. It's one of these things that oftentimes you -- (TECHNICAL PROBLEM) process of running for president. And you're right.
While technically, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are doing nothing wrong, he certainly is able to cast this as see, look at what they are doing. They are trying to deny you your right to support me and allow me to get the delegates that I need to become the nominee.
CHURCH: Now, Cruz has already said that only one of two people will win this nomination, him or Trump. So, what's Kasich getting out of this deal? What's his end game, do you think?
HAYNES: Well, it's interesting. In a way, John Kasich could be seeing in the cat bird seat here. Maybe he's cut a deal with Ted Cruz to say I'll get out the way in Indiana so you can win in Indiana. Stop Trump, maybe I can be on your ticket.
On the other hand, John Kasich is going to take a lot of delegates to the convention in Cleveland. Maybe he has the ability at that point to go to Trump and say I have enough delegates to put you over the top on the first ballot. Maybe I should be on your ticket.
So, maybe John Kasich is sort of crazy like a fox as we like to say in the south. And he's got a plan to get on the ticket one way or the other. We'll have to wait and see.
[03:20:07] CHURCH: Bruce Haynes, a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks so much.
HAYNES: Thanks, Rosemary.
BARNETT: Still to come here on CNN Newsroom. Two highly advanced U.S. fighter jets have made their first-ever appearance in Romania, why it's seen as a signal to Russia after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport headlines.
On the day event has won the Italian League without even kicking a ball. Leicester City squares for the English Premier League also got a boost in much the same way. That's because Spurs dropped two points at home to West Brom in 1-1 draw. But the Londoners will rule hitting the woodwork three times.
It means Leicester can win the league if they beat Manchester United and they all throve (ph) it on Sunday.
The good news for the Golden State Warriors is that they can wrap their playoffs series against the Houston Rockies at home on Wednesday. But here's the bad news. Superstar Steph Curry got injured again. An MRI scan on Monday revealed no serious damage to his sprained right knee, but a grade one sprain could mean he's out for two weeks.
News of an imminent decision is expected regarding in England's worst football tragedy. For the past two years, in the court room in the northwest of England a specially convened inquest has been trying to work out what happened at Hillsborough Stadium on the 15th of April, 1989.
On that day, during the FA Cup semifinals against Nottingham Forest, 96 of Liverpool's fans were crushed to death. Nobody's has ever been held responsible for what took place. But after hearing 267 days of evidence, a jury of nine people has reached its findings that those findings will be presented to the court on Tuesday. And we will of course keep you posted here on CNN.
That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
BARNETT: Welcome back. The U.S. is sending a message to Russia with its most sophisticated military aircraft.
CHURCH: Two F-22 raptor fighter jets landed at a strategist base in Romania on Monday in what was officially a NATO training exercise. Clarissa Ward was on board the refueling plane that traveled with the F-22's and has this report.
WARD: These air force pilots are preparing for a unique mission. They will be accompanying two U.S. fighter jets to Romania, a NATO ally on the Black Sea. It will be the first time America's fear some F-22 raptor has landed there. An opportunity for the U.S. to show it is bolstering NATO defenses on
Russia's doorstep. Flying one of the two is Squadron commander lieutenant colonel Daniel Lachowski. He explained what makes the F-22 so special.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL LACHOWSKI, SQUADRON COMMANDER: A combination of stealth, super crews, increase situation awareness of your craft provides us, which all adds up to a unique asymmetric advantage on the battlefield.
WARD: So, basically you're saying this is the best fighter jet in the world.
LACHOWSKI: The aircraft is truly incredible and the best part are incomparable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: The technology is so advanced the Congress has banned their sale overseas. On route to Romania, the jets must regularly be refueled. A delicate balancing act we got to see close up. A nozzle called the boom is lowered from the tanker. The jet then moves into place directly below it and the gas starts pumping.
Officially, this is a training exercise to U.S. fighter jets from a fixed phase to a forward operating base. But it's the symbolism that is important here. This is intended as a show of force to an increasingly assertive Russia.
[03:25:09] Earlier this month, Russian jets repeatedly buzzed a U.S. Navy Destroyer in the Baltic Sea, in maneuvers the U.S. called provocative and aggressive.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has steadily built up its military footprint on the Black Sea. Unnerving many NATO allies in the region. As Romanian Air Force chief of staff Laurian Anastasof have told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIAN ANASTASOF, ROMANIAN AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF: They're increasing the air activities, they're increasing their missions, they're increasing the training. These are the things that we are seeing every single day. So, we need to get ready for what's going to be. That's my major concern, how to get ready for what's going to be expected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: And like many here, he hopes that the U.S. will continue its commitment to its NATO allies, whatever tomorrow may bring.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Constanta, Romania.
CHURCH: Brazil's vice president is firing back at claims that he's a coup monger as he prepares to fill in for President Dilma Rousseff. She faces charges that she broke budget laws before her 2014 election.
BARNETT: And Brazil's lower house overwhelmingly approve the motion for her impeachment last week.
CNN's Shasta Darlington talk to the vice president in this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Dilma Rousseff has called the whole impeachment proceeding a coup d'etat with no legal basis. How do you respond?
MICHEL TEMER, BRAZILIAN VICE PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): I respect President Dilma Rousseff's opinions, but I think her point of view on this is wrong.
First of all, because the impeachment process is legal in the Constitution. The view abroad now is that Brazil is this little republic where there could be a coup. That's why I say there isn't a coup in this country. There isn't any attempt to violate the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: You may hear a different version of events when Dilma Rousseff presents her side of the story with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. It's Ms. Rousseff's first one on one interview since the lower house voted to impeach her. And it is a CNN exclusive. Watch it Thursday at 7 p.m. in London only here on CNN.
CHURCH: The longest inquest in England's history finally set to come to a close. Jurors are expected to give their verdict on the Hillsborough disaster, and we will discuss just ahead.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. It's our last half hour with you today. Here's an update on our top stories.
Two men are dead after another brutal machete attack in the capital of Bangladesh. One of the victims was the editor of the country's first LGBT magazine. The killings comes days after a similar attack on a university professor
CHURCH: The Philippine terror group Abu Sayyaf has killed a Canadian hostage. John Ridsdel was one of four people kidnapped by the group last September. The militants pledged allegiance to ISIS two years ago. It's not clear what happened to the other three hostages.
BARNETT: The jury in the Hillsborough inquest is expected to deliver its verdict in the coming hours. They've been deliberating where the negligence caused one of the worst sporting disasters in British history.
Ninety six people died at a 1989 football match when the stadium became so overcrowded that fans were crushed and suffocated.
Our Christina McFarlane joins us now live from Warrington, England this morning with more on this. And, Christina, this has been a major story in the U.K. for decades, really changed the way football is enjoyed there. But what exactly are the jurors tasked with deciding today?
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: That's absolutely right, Errol. The jurors have been gathered in the courthouse you can see behind me here for the past 20 days to consider 14 key questions that relates to the events of that day all the way back in 1989.
Now these questions cover very broad topics such as the police action on that day, the stadium safety and the emergency services, but they all relate to the key question of how fans were killed on that day, and crucially, if they were unlawfully killed.
Now the scale of this inquest has been extraordinary. It's been going on for nearly two years and cost in excess of $20 million and the jurors here have heard from well over 500 witnesses and see 4,000 documents to reach the conclusion to which we are going to be hearing in the couple of hours.
You know, it's an instant on April 15th, back in 1989 that lasted just minutes, but it's taken decades to uncover the real truth of what happened over 25 years ago. And we'll be waiting in the next couple of hours to hear an enormous amount of information that's set to come out in the minutes and hours to come.
BARNETT: And it all happened within the span of a few minutes, but the horror of that gate opening and fans rushing, deaths caused by being crushed, being suffocated, it's terrible, but this is not a criminal trial, so no one will be found guilty. What outcomes are relatives of victims looking for, then?
MACFARLANE: Well, it's safe to say that the significance of this inquest is huge for Liverpool football club and the families of the victims on that day. Not least because they say the truth of what happened on that day has never been uncovered.
In fact, it was covered up in the days and weeks and months that followed that tragedy. Now they are looking for the unveiling of the real truth to come out today. They're also looking to exonerate the fans who were initially blamed for what happened in the aftermath of that tragedy.
Now, as you say, Errol, this is not a criminal proceeding here today, but I think many of the families of those involved are hoping that this will lay the ground work for criminal prosecutions to follow.
BARNETT: Yes, they hope that it will have a wider impact. They just are seeking their form of justice. Christina McFarlane, live for us this morning. Thank you. CHURCH: And this just in. Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court has ruled Australia's detention of asylum seekers is illegal. The ruling says the practice violates Papua New Guinea's constitutional right to personal liberty.
[03:35:02] BARNETT: More than 800 people are being held on Mannes Island. Many of them are refugees. The court ordered the government to take immediate actions to end the detentions.
CHURCH: And we return now to the U.S. presidential race and the battle between democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
BARNETT: Clinton is looking ahead to the presumed contest with Donald Trump in the general election. But Brianna Keilar reports Sanders is not giving up.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: On the eve of primaries in five states, Hillary Clinton is taking aim at Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump says wages are too high in America and he doesn't support raising the minimum wage. And I have said come out of those towers named for yourself and actually talk and listen to people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Clinton ratcheting up her attacks on the GOP front-runner at a campaign stop in Delaware.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Don't just fly that big jet in and land it and go make a big speech and insult everybody you can think of. And then go back, get on that big jet and go back to, you know, your country clubhouse in Florida or your penthouse in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: She's trying to position herself as the unifying alternative to Trump. Releasing an ad called "love and kindness."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: America is stronger when we're all supporting one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: But as Clinton looks to the general election, practically ignoring Bernie Sanders in her stump speech, Sanders is fully engaged in his primary battle, hitting Clinton in Connecticut today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me take a moment
to talk about some of the differences between Secretary Clinton and myself.
(CROWD BOOING)
First off, I am very proud to come before you and tell you I do not have a super PAC.
(APPLAUSE)
KEILAR: Trailing consider when in the pledged delegate count, Sanders pushed back on critics who say he can't catch up to Clinton on CNN's state of the union.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: I think we do have a path to victory. I think we have come a very, very long way in the last year, and we're going to fight for every last vote until the, until California and the D.C. primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: As Clinton faces criticism from Sanders, she's getting consideration from an unlikely place, conservative mega donor and billionaire Charles Koch. He said Sunday it's possible Clinton could be better than the GOP nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES KOCH, KOCH INDUSTRIES CHAIRMAN: We would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric, let me put it that way. But on some of the republican candidates, we would -- before we could support them, we'd have to believe their actions would be quite different than the rhetoric we've heard so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: But Clinton was quick to respond, tweeting, "not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote."
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Philadelphia.
BARNETT: To look ahead to Tuesday's primaries, we're joined by democratic strategist Chris Kofinis who joins us from our Washington bureau. Chris, great to have you with me.
Secretary Clinton, if you listen to her stomp speeches has her sights firmly set on Trump and is still getting attacked, though, by Senator Sanders on her super PAC funding. Is she right to avoid Sanders at this point, and focus on the republican front runner?
CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I mean, realistically, if you look at where the pledged delegate count and then you factor in the super delegates, it is all but almost a certain that Secretary Clinton is going to be the nominee. I mean, obviously, you have to wait till the end of the process.
But there really isn't any feasible, realistic way for Senator Sanders to make up the difference. He's just too far behind, with not enough races left, because even if he ends up winning every single state from here on out, because the democratic primary system's proportional, he really can't gain a significant number of delegates. So that, I think, is his major challenge. The reality of math.
BARNETT: Right. So then, because he's behind in delegates, he doesn't seem to be able to cross the threshold for the nomination, what should Senator Sanders be doing? Why is he still in this? And how then should he gracefully bow out?
KOFINIS: Well, I mean, realistically, I don't think he's going to bow out until at least California which is on June 7th. I think Senator Sanders got into this race to make a very strong point about the kind of America he wants to create. He clearly has caught fire, and he's amassed millions of supporters who feel incredibly passionate about him.
And I think it would be a fundamental mistake for anyone to suggest, especially the Clinton campaign that he should somehow bow out. He's going to go I think all the way to the convention. He's going to have a very strong voice there, and I think he is clearly trying to move the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction, maybe even more progressive than Secretary Clinton would want.
[03:39:59] But, you know that is, I think, the advantage of having run a race as significant as exciting as he has. It gives you certain degrees of leverage. He may not be the nominee, but doesn't mean he can't have an impact on the party and on Secretary Clinton's candidacy.
BARNETT: Does she have a lock on the election overall against, let's say Donald Trump? Because current polling puts her only a few percentage points ahead of Donald Trump?
KOFINIS: Well, you never say never in politics. And as much as you've seen some polls where Donald Trump he's behind in double digits. There's one that came out just this week that showed him just down a few points. She is going to have a very difficult race ahead.
I mean, the reality is Donald Trump is unlike any candidate tan any democrat in the past has ever seen. He's unwilling -- he's unwilling to, you know, let anything not be said. He's willing to cross every line. And when you have someone that is that aggressive and that pointed in their criticism, it makes it very difficult to compete, because it's not going to be about issues.
It will not be about policy debates, it's going to be much more of a personal attack against personal attack, and that, I think is the challenge, in a really nasty, brutal election when both sides are hitting each other, what does it do to the electorate?
And that I think is the question that no to one knows the answer to. Does it demobilize people on the left? Does it mobilize people on the right? Does it alienate independents? It's just not clear. So, as much as I think that Donald Trump is going to lose, I think he's a much more difficult opponent than some democrats fully realize, at least right now.
BARNETT: Well, the election is more than six months away. Is there a turn in politics, maybe Cruz and Kasich are successful at blocking Trump and he becomes Hillary's V.P. and our heads all explode. Who knows what all have next. Chris Kofinis, a democratic strategist, thanks for your insight from Washington.
KOFINIS: Thank you.
CHURCH: It was the worst nightmare of the nuclear age. We look back at the biggest nuclear accident in history 30 years later, and here is why some consider Chernobyl a paradise.
[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of what is considered the worst nuclear accident in history. The explosion and radiation leak at Chernobyl in Ukraine.
Residents gathered of a city 50 kilometers from the site gathered to remember victims. People lit candles, laid flowers and prayed.
CHURCH: The Chernobyl explosion set a radioactive cloud over large part of Ukraine Belarus and Russia. More than two dozen people died in the immediate aftermath. Countless more died later from radiation exposure. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated and relocated. But a few dared to return and live there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA LOZBIN, CHERNOBYL RESIDENT (TRANSLATED): There is no radiation here. I'm not afraid of anything. As I said, we grow and eat everything here, and when it's time for me to die, it will happen no matter if there is radiation. I will die when the time comes.
How can I abandon such nature? Where could you hear cuckoos? Where could you hear nightingales? Nowhere else. Where could you find such nature and such calmness and nature? Nowhere else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster is being marked across the former Soviet Union.
And CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Moscow with more on that. So, Fred, how will this historic day be marked across Russia?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be in Russia in Ukraine, and of course also in Belarus, which are the countries, as you mentioned, that were the most impacted by the Chernobyl disaster.
If you look at, for instance, Ukraine, there's going to be church services, in Kiev, Petro Poroshenko is also going to go to the zone where the disaster happened and also mark it there. And then in Belarus you do also have various events.
And a lot of it shows the impact of the Chernobyl disaster, of course had back then. But then also, Rosemary, very much the impact that it still has today. I mean, one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that the Chernobyl disaster really in many ways shaped the political future of the Soviet Union.
Many believe that it was one of the death nails in the coffin of the Soviet Union. Then also very much shaped the political future of Europe as well. If you look at countries like Germany, like France, the green parties in those countries that are very strong right now, would probably never have gotten the strength that they did if it had not been for the disaster in Chernobyl.
And then when you look at the president, Rosemary, you also have to keep in mind that these two countries and really the world, is still dealing with this disaster. It is right now that a new, if you will, sarcophagus, the word is more than that, a new confinement unit for the destroyed reactor is being built.
Because the old sarcophagus is leaking radiation. So, what the world community is doing right now, and there have been donations from many, many countries, is building a new one that set to go into service in early 2017. It's set to be placed onto the reactor in 2016 that they hope will then contain the radiation there for the next 100 years, they believe, because there is still so much work to be done.
The nuclear plant, which was of course, in operation until 2000 is now being decommissioned. But of course, the area around there, the so- called exclusion zone is still very much contaminated by radiation, and quite frankly, probably will be for or many believed almost forever, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And that's the concern, Fred, because we saw just because we brought you in, those people who had returned as residents there in Chernobyl. Talk to us about the dangers that actually confront those people even though they do feel that it is a paradise.
PLEITGEN: Well, that's the thing is that in many ways, the people there are, or some people, are going back to the exclusion zone. And it's really interesting is that, if you speak to people who came from that area before the disaster happened, many will say that they want to go back to the zone, because they don't believe that the contamination is that bad anymore.
But then if you look at scientific research, you see that it actually is. That the radiation levels for many isotopes are well above the levels that people think are reasonable for humans to live in.
And even the people who are building this new confinement unit, they are only allowed to work inside the explosion zone for about 14 days and then they have to get out because the radiation is still so bad there. And you know, for many people, this is still the model, if you will,
or the embodiment of what a nuclear disaster could look like. And many people believed that it's still a warning to humanity to be very careful what this nuclear technology.
Also and of course, if you look at nuclear armament as well to say, take a look at Chernobyl, take a look at what's going on there, take a look at how badly humanity still has to deal with all of this and then see what a nuclear disaster can mean if it happens elsewhere.
CHURCH: Yes. Thirty years of course since that nuclear disaster. Fred Pleitgen, joining us live from Moscow. Many thanks to you.
BARNETT: As music fans around the world mourn the death of Prince, we're learning how he shared his faith by going door to door.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:50:04] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me, but has anybody here ever told you, you look a lot like Prince? It just looked it's been said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: We'll have more on the religious side of Prince that very few knew about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Prince shot to fame with his flamboyant and often provocative songs. Days after the pop star's death we are learning about his spiritual side.
BARNETT: That's right. CNN's Kyung Lah visited his church to find out more.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Prince, the mega pop star known for this? Was best known here singing these religious songs. This is a Jehovah's Witness kingdom hall, St. Louis Park congregation, Prince's home church for the past decade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We feel it deeply. It's a sad loss.
LAH: To you, though, what is he?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a brother. You know, simply a brother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: A brother in a little-understood religion. Prince was baptized in 2003 and embraced it. The congregation invited CNN into this first service after Prince's death, sharing stories of starkly different man than the one we know.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAH: He never acted like Prince the pop star?
JAMES LUNDSTROM, PRINCE'S JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BROTHER: At the kingdom hall? Never. No. His dress would be very similar to what I'm wearing as well. Nothing flamboyant.
LAH: Elder James Lundstrom he befriended prince 14 years ago. Tell me about Prince as a witness.
LUNDSTROM: Oh, he would go door to door, knocking on doors just like, you're familiar with what our ministry is. A woman probably in her early 40s, I would say, he's a nice presentation, and in the middle of it, the woman say says, excuse me, has anybody here ever told you, you look a lot like prince? It's just look that's been said. But going back to my ministry here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: Here Prince asked to go by brother Nelson, his legal last name, dutifully knocking on doors monthly, studying his bible, marking it with post-it notes. This conservative group, some who admit they've never heard of or danced to "Let's go Crazy", are fiercely protective of their brother in the faith.
They tell us Prince looked healthy when he attended services last month. Prince, last seen two weeks ago at his Atlanta concert walking with a cane reportedly suffered from hip problems that required surgery.
Jehovah's Witness members forbidden to receive blood transfusions, say that belief had nothing to do with Prince's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID OSBURN, PRINCE'S JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BROTHER: Nobody said he can't get surgery, absolutely not. We're not anti-medicine. In fact, we go out of our way to try to find the best medical care that we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:55:09] LAH: A religion of 8 million believers around the world calls of sympathy of grief over Prince's loss have been pouring into this church. The only solace the witnesses believe, Prince will return to them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUNDSTROM: We expect Brother Nelson to be resurrected here on earth just like the bible says when Jehovah cleanses this earth of all evil. There will be a resurrection and we will welcome him back and be a great like him flesh and blood, like you and I are talking right now. It's a deep, deep belief that we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: A spokesperson for Prince was asked whether or not a will exists. The spokesperson declined to respond. If a will doesn't exist, under state law, all of it would go to next of kin. In this case, a sister and some half-siblings.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Chanhassen, Minnesota.
BARNETT: And a final story for you today, an ancient skeleton is offering some lively advice I certainly agree with. Surely you do, too.
CHURCH: yes.
BARNETT: We can all agree with. It is quote, "Be cheerful, enjoy your life." That message etched in this 2400-year old mosaic unearthed by archaeologists in Turkey.
CHURCH: And if you look closely, you can actually see the skeleton reclining with a glass in hand next to a bottle of wine and loaf of bread.
BARNETT: Yes.
CHURCH: An archaeologist say the relic likely appeared in a wealthy family's dining room. There you go.
BARNETT: Look closely, there's an iPhone there, he's got Tinder, he's chilling.
CHURCH: Well, you're such a millennial. Thanks for watching CNN. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Connect with us online any time, especially if you're funny. I appreciate that.
CHURCH: CNN Newsroom continues with Hannah Vaughan Jones in London.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
