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Massive Protest in Baghdad; Russian Jet Barrel Rolls Over U.S. Force Plane; Building Collapses in Nairobi; North Korea Tests Missiles Despite Condemnation; Ted Cruz Links Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Together; Boy's Heart Donation Connects Two Families. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 01, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:11] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: A massive, angry protest in Baghdad. By people demanding a government shakeup and an end to corruption.

Plus, the less than miracle. A former lowly football club set to make history Sunday. That is if they capture the English Premier League title, and this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I just have two more words to say. Obama out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The president of the United States dropping the mic, capturing the president's last White House Correspondents Dinner.

Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell. NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good day to you. We begin this hour with the latest unrest that is playing out in the Iraqi capital. This hour, Baghdad remains under a state of emergency. This after protesters breached what is called the city's Green Zone on Saturday. It is a home to foreign embassies, including that of the United States and Iraq's parliament building. Iraqi Forces say they have, though, regained control of what is a typically a well secured area. This latest protest comes amid months of demonstrations over corruption. The tipping point came after a speech by a powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUQTADA AL-SADR, SHIITE CLERIC (Through Translator): I stand by the people today, no one else, and boycott all the politicians, except those who want real reforms, with all clarity and honesty, waiting for the great, popular uprising and the major revolution to stop the march of the corrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: For more context on what's happening, let's now bring in our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, live in Rome this hour. Ben has reported extensively from Baghdad and knows the area well.

Ben, it is always a pleasure to have you with us for context. So these protesters accuse lawmakers of sectarianism in their selection of ministers. Can you first explain the process and why so many people are upset about what's happening in government?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's sectarianism and it's corruption, of course, which they're angry about. And this is a system that was essentially set up by the United States in the aftermath of the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, whereby power is divided among parties based on religion or sect. And therefore, it's a system whereby, regardless of whether it's -- you don't define yourself by left or right. It's whether you're Shia, Sunni or Kurd or whatever.

And therefore, this is a system that many Iraqis have been unhappy with for a very long time. And these -- the discontent, it's about sectarianism. It's about corruption. Transparency International, a group that looks at corruption around the world, noted that in 2015, Iraq ranks 161 out of 168 countries in terms of corruption. So corruption is rampant. And therefore, for instance, you have Iraq, a country that's blessed with oil, with agriculture, with water, with tourism potential, but you have endless power cuts in Baghdad. You have an economy that's been crippled for years, but lots of money going to the people at the very top.

So the ground has been set for this sort of upheaval. Now the question is, is it going to carry on? Or is this just a flash in the pan? Last summer, we saw a series of angry demonstrations in Baghdad on a weekly basis against corruption, against government mismanagement. We've seen them in the last few weeks as well, and therefore, certainly, what we see, perhaps, is the beginning of the unraveling of the political system, based on sectarianism that the Americans set up back in 2003 -- George.

HOWELL: Ben, we've seen U.S. officials travel to Baghdad to show their support for the government. But I'd like to get your perspective on this. For many, many years these topics of corruption, of sectarianism have been major topics in that country. Is there a sense now that there is confidence in government or this movement that we see here, does it represent a large number of people there in Iraq?

WEDEMAN: Well, I think it does, yes.

[04:05:03] I mean, many of them are followers of Muqtada Sadr who is a very popular Shia leader. He's not a politician per se, but rather a cleric. But when it comes to corruption, if you come out and say, I want to fight corruption, you'll find that almost every ordinary Iraqi will support you. So this is an issue that Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi has been talking about for quite some time. He has been trying to form a cabinet based not upon sectarian affiliation but rather with technocrats, people had are qualified to deal with whatever it is, whether it's health or security or education.

People who actually have a background in those areas, but he's really run into a brick wall when it comes to the people who make up the Iraqi parliament, of course, who see the whole sectarian division of power as their (INAUDIBLE), so to speak, so this is really a frontal assault on the very system upon which Iraq was founded by the Americans and where it's going to lead is anybody's guess at that -- this moment, George.

HOWELL: Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, love for us in Rome again. Ben has a great deal of experience of context coming from his reporting there in Iraq and Baghdad.

And Ben, we always appreciate your reporting with us.

Earlier, our Amara Walker spoke with CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. And she asked him about anti- corruption protests that have engulfed Baghdad's green zone. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: As we know, Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Haider al-Abadi, the new prime minister who's been there for sometime but not long enough to really effect the changes that he wants and is taking too long. Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers are impatient. They want change, they want it now. And they're not really going after Abadi, they're going after the sitting parliament. And that's what their focus was today. So I think we're going to see increasing pressure on the parliament to make these changes and give Abadi what he wants, and that's the authority to reshuffle the cabinet.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: He made these promises when he came to power in 2014 to get rid of corruption.

FRANCONA: Right.

WALKER: And obviously bridging that sectarian divide with filling those sectarian quotas in parliament, but is Haider al-Abadi fit to unite the country at this point? I mean, is he losing control?

FRANCONA: Well, I'm not sure he ever really had control. But he's the chosen one. He's the one the United States has backed. He's much better than Nouri al-Maliki. Nouri al-Maliki was a disaster. All al- Maliki was put his cronies in there. He was the epitome of corruption. He's the one that basically destroyed the Iraqi army by replacing all the competent leadership with his cronies, and that's what Abadi was trying to fix.

But to do that he's got to bring in a lot of the Sunni talent that was forced out under Maliki. And that's not sitting with a lot of the people in power. They don't want to give up their positions that they're going to have to. And it's kind of refreshing to see Sadr on the side of Abadi on this one. I've never been a big fan of Muqtada, but I think he's on the right track here.

AMARA: How did all of this, this political crisis that we're seeing and of course the protest, how did this impact the fight against ISIS? Because as we know, the sectarian divisions are really what helped, you know, fuel the rise of ISIS in Iraq. FRANCONA: It's not just this demonstration in the Green Zone. You

know, that's real tangible anger, and that's a real problem. So you've got a lot of security forces there. We also have a major Shia holiday up in the northern part of the city, where you've got pilgrims, Shia pilgrims streaming to the Kaban shrine which draws people from all over the country. So you've got a lot of security concerns there. So ISIS has attacked a market in the Shia part of the city. So this just plays right into ISIS' hands. Any time you've got the Sunni-Shia tensions high, ISIS just plays right into that.

AMARA: So, in your opinion, Colonel, what is the way forward? How can this crisis be resolved?

FRANCONA: Well, I think we are backing Abadi, and I think that's the right thing to do. Abadi shows real promise. If he can get these reforms through, I think that we've got a chance. Abadi's smart enough to realize that you cannot do this without the Sunnis. You've got to form an inclusive government. He's going to try and bring in more Kurds, he's going to try and bring in more Sunnis. That's the only way Iraq survives as a country, but he's going to get pushback, and we're seeing that from the people that are enjoying the fruits of corruption, all of the al-Maliki appointees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Rick Francona there speaking to our Amara Walker.

Now this just in to CNN from Turkey. State media report that a car bomb outside the police headquarters in Gaziantep has killed one officer there and wounded 13 other people.

A story we continue to follow here. We'll bring you updates as we get more information here on CNN.

[04:10:01] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet with Middle East diplomats in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday, and the topic will be Syria, and efforts to uphold a cease-fire deal there.

This was the scene here in Aleppo. Nearly 30 airstrikes hit rebel- held areas of that city on Saturday. This as the Syrian army's temporary so-called regime of calm took effect in other areas. The president of the Syrian National Coalition says opposition forces have the right to retaliate if the Syrian government continues to strike Aleppo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANAS AL-ABDAH, SYRIAN NATIONAL COALITION PRESIDENT (Through Translator): We would encourage all efforts of those trying to put the political negotiations back on track. We are convinced that political transition is ultimately the real goal of the revolution and what the people demanded in the first place. But we will not accept any other alternative or price. It is very clear what we want. There are internationally recognized terms for a just political solution for the Syrian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The United Nations warns the situation in Aleppo has become, quote, "catastrophic." At least 230 people have been killed there in the past week alone.

On to Europe now where the Belgian capital is taking another step in recovering after the terror attacks that struck that city in March. The Brussels's airport is partially reopening its departure hall this Sunday 40 days after 12 people were killed there by suicide bombers.

Following an opening ceremony, passengers on three flights will be able to check in at the departure hall on Sunday afternoon. Passengers for other flights will check in at a temporary structure.

The United States is set to voice its concerns to Russia, after a Russian fighter jet conducted what is called a barrel roll maneuver over a U.S. military plane. It is the second time officials say they've seen such an incident by a Russian warplane within one month -- a month.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Another dangerous military maneuver by the Russians. It happened Friday over the Baltic when an Air Force RC-135 aircraft, a reconnaissance aircraft was flying in international airspace over the Baltic. Suddenly, a Russian SU-27 fighter came up alongside within 25 feet of the American aircraft and did a barrel roll maneuver.

That means it came up over the side, inverted, flew over the top of the American aircraft, came back down the other side at close range at high speed. This is one of the most dangerous, unsafe maneuvers that can happen according to the Pentagon. And actually, it was the second barrel roll this month by the Russians.

There was also another incident when the Russians flew very close to U.S. forces in that region. The question now is what are the Russians really up to? Is all of these happening under direct orders from Moscow, or is it happening because Russian pilots are out there hot dogging?

For the U.S., it doesn't really matter. The Pentagon making very clear it wants the Russian military to stop these unsafe dangerous maneuvers.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come this hour, the death toll rises from Friday's building collapse in Kenya. Crews there continue to search for those people who may be still trapped in the rubble.

The very latest on rescue efforts ahead.

Plus the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz says Donald trump and Hillary Clinton, well, they're two sides of the same coin. We'll have more on that, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

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[04:17:42] HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. We turn now to Kenya where the death toll continues to rise after a building collapsed there. Rescue efforts continue in Nairobi. Workers frantically there digging through the rubble of a seven-storey building in the hopes of finding dozens of people still missing. Officials say the structure had been condemned, but that order was ignored. Kenya's president is calling for the building owner to be arrested.

For the latest on the rescue efforts, we are now joined on the phone from Nairobi by CNN's Robyn Kriel.

Robyn, you've been following this for the last day. What more can you tell us about the rescue effort and the hope to find more survivors?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, according to Kenya National Operation Center, the death toll has risen overnight to 16 people dead, 135 people rescued in this ongoing rescue effort. And 73, according to Kenya Red Cross are still missing. But it is very difficult to ascertain when they have the missing list, George, that there might be that many people missing because in some cases there are cross reporting and obviously some people will be stuck in hospitals.

There's two major hospitals in Nairobi that most of the injured have been sent to, so it would just be a matter of cross-referencing those names for the Kenyan Red Cross, which they are very adept at given the fact that they've covered many disasters like this before.

Just to talk a little bit about the building being condemned, George, we do often see these sorts of things happening in Kenya because once a building is condemned by the safety boards, often times people will move out, but because there is such a need for housing and people are so desperate to have housing close to Nairobi City Center where so many of these people are employed. They will often just move right back in despite the fact that the building has been condemned. Yesterday morning -- arrested, we do not have any updates there, we're not sure if that has been the case, but as you said he also ordered a survey of all the buildings around this building to be undertaken to make sure that no one else is living in condemned buildings.

[04:20:04] This is close to a river, George. It's in the low lands of Nairobi. And this is a similar thing that we have seen before which oftentimes turned out to be shoddy workmanship or buildings being built on land that is simply not able to withstand such tall buildings, in this case it was a seven-storey building that literally pancaked on itself.

HOWELL: CNN correspondent Robyn Kriel on the phone with us from Nairobi, Kenya. Robin, thank you so much. As you continue to get information we'll pass it along to our viewers.

This collapsed building, it came after days of soaking, heavy rains in Nairobi, and our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is here.

Derek, so that's really going to hamper the rescue effort.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately there is even more rain to come and you can see just the flooded streets that people have had to navigate over the past 24 hours. If you see the video which is on your screen as we speak. People just trying to get on with their daily lives, but when you have rainwater a half meter deep.

HOWELL: Wow.

VAN DAM: Well, you can imagine just how difficult it actually is. That's the commute, and George, there's also been some information out there that says that the flooded roadways, which are common this time of year in Nairobi, actually delayed the rescue efforts by an hour or two just as those initial, critical moments after the building collapsed on Friday evening.

Nonetheless, what I want you to take note of with the video is just how populated that area is. A lot of people in a very small space. And this impacts just that whole urban development sphere, especially when you factor in heavy rainfall within that area.

Let me explain. This is rudimentary. So I apologize for that, but I think it gets the point across. What you're looking at here is let's say grasslands or even a forested area just without the trees. The point is that when a thunderstorm or heavy rain event takes place in this area, that water is easily soaked into the ground.

Now we give the example when there is a complete, different type of topography, and that is more of a concrete jungle. Let's say a region that is heavily populated with plenty of housing structures and lots of pavement on the ground. There is no way that that heavy rainwater can absorb into the ground. So what it does is it actually pools up on top of the concrete or on top of the pavement. And that is when we have the extreme flash flooding events in high-populated areas like Nairobi, Kenya.

So rainfall over concrete, extremely heavy rainfall over concrete can easily create flash flooding, and when you get almost a month's worth of rainfall in four days, it leads to flash flooding events. There is a difference between flood and flash flood. Remember a flood is a rise of a river or a stream out of its natural banks, but a flash flood comes on very, very quickly. It's a very rapid rise of a river or stream or a flow of extremely high-moving water, and that is exactly what we saw in this case Nairobi, and that unfortunately also helped destabilize the building that ultimately collapsed.

Bad news, George, there is unfortunately more heavy rain coming into the next coming days.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you, and we'll stay on top of that story.

Moving now to another story we're following. Plumes of smoke that continue to fill the skies of Nairobi National Park in Kenya, as that country takes a dramatic stand against poaching. More than $170 million worth of ivory and horn illegally poached from the wild are being consumed by the flames you see here. This is not the first blaze of its kind, but it is the largest in history.

A little background now on poaching of rhinos and elephants. It is considered a serious problem. In 2015, more than 1300 rhinos were killed in Africa for their horns. That number has been going up every year. Since 2008, the total is about 6,000. Today, three of the five rhino species worldwide are critically in danger.

The outlook is grim for elephants, too. In 2015, some 35,000 elephants were killed in Africa. That's one elephant killed illegally every 15 minutes. Almost 70 percent of Africa's elephant population has been lost in the last 35 years.

Turning now to North Korea, Pyongyang appears to be rushing through intense military launches at an alarming rate. Just this past Thursday it test fired two missiles only two hour apart -- only hours apart, both of which failed, according to South Korea.

CNN's Paula Hancocks takes a closer look at what North Korea may be planning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kim Jong-un seems to enjoy his job. The North Korean leader is frequently filmed smiling and joking with generals during military drills. But the intensity of missile and nuclear tests this year alone suggests he's a leader in a hurry.

[04:25:01] GARY SAMONE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I think Kim Jong-un is making decisions that damage North Korea's interests. It seems to me he's needlessly antagonized the Chinese, and the Chinese are responding in a way that is very unusual.

HANCOCKS: Ignoring calls for restraints, Pyongyang may well have made Beijing's decision to support stronger sanctions easier. It's no secret North Korea's main benefactor is not happy. But President Xi Jinping has also made it clear he will not allow tensions to spiral out of control.

XI JNPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA (Through Translator): As a close neighbor of the peninsula, we will absolutely not permit war or chaos on the peninsula. Once it happens, it would not benefit anyone.

HANCOCKS: The Worker's Party Congress is now just one week away. Believed to be a chance for Kim Jong-un to tout his achievements and solidify his power, although one South Korean government official described Kim's leadership recently as, quote, "seemingly unshakable."

President Park Geun-hye says the next thing we could expect is nuclear test number five adding at the begin of a national security meeting Thursday, "If the Kim Jong-un regime carries out another nuclear test despite warnings from the international community it will have no future."

(On camera): North Korea has a duel track policy. The pursuit of a strong economy alongside the pursuit of a strong nuclear program, but experts say the fact that Kim Jong-un has very little to boast about when it comes to the economy might be one more reason he is so heavily focused on nuclear.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, the U.S. presidential race, Republican candidate Ted Cruz chose his running mate earlier than usual. You will hear why as NEWSROOM continues.

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[04:30:14] HOWELL: 4:30 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast, and we welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell. The headlines we're following for you this hour.

In southeastern Turkey, a blast outside the police headquarters in Gaziantep has killed one officer. It's left 13 others wounded. State media report that a car bomb exploded outside that building.

The Iraqi capital is under a state of emergency after hundreds of protesters breached Baghdad's Green Zone. Iraqi Security Forces say they have regained control of that fortified zone where government offices and foreign embassies are housed. A Shiite cleric speech demanding an end to corruption riled up protesters.

The United States and Russia say they have agreed on a renewed cessation of hostilities in parts of Syria. The U.S. is pushing for the truce to include the city of Aleppo which has seen at least it 230 people killed in the past week alone. U.S. and Middle Eastern diplomats will meet in Geneva on Sunday.

In Nairobi, Kenya, 16 people are now confirmed dead following the collapse of an apartment building on Friday. This seven-storey tower collapsed on Friday amid heavy rain. Officials say the building had been condemned but that order was ignored.

"America's Choice 2016." The presidential race, it is mathematically impossible for Republican candidate Ted Cruz to secure his party's nomination on a first ballot at the convention in July. However, Cruz is trying hard to stop Republican frontrunner Donald Trump from doing that. And on Tuesday, the state of Indiana holds a very important primary.

Cruz has released two ads there, linking Donald Trump with the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton. Here's a look at one of those ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin. Both support the Obamacare individual mandate. Both support taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. And both support letting transgender men go in little girls' bathrooms.

Trump and Hillary, do we really want two big government liberals on the ballot in November?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: All right. Focus on Indiana but then the primary of California. It looms the largest and is the last for the Republican voters. The three Republican candidates have spoken at the California Republican convention this week. Donald Trump attracted violent protests outside that venue.

Our Jason Carroll has more on what Ted Cruz had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, things kicked off with former Governor Pete Wilson making an introduction for Ted Cruz, also announcing that he is endorsing Cruz. Much of what we heard in his speech we've heard before during a typical Ted Cruz stump speech.

But Cruz did make a point of saying that California is at a crossroads. That the voters here in this state would eventually choose the nominee. He also talked about why he chose his running mate, Carly Fiorina, so early on. As you know, Ted Cruz has come a lot of under fire from Donald Trump for choosing a running mate when Trump says he has no mathematically path to the nomination. Cruz spoke about why he chose Fiorina at this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The reason I named her this week is I believe the people of California and the people of this country deserve a clear and simple choice. Elections are about choices, and I think the contrast could not be clearer between Carly and me on the one side, a positive, optimistic, forward-looking, conservative campaign, based on real policy solutions to the challenges facing this country, versus on the other side, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Cruz also called both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Washington insiders, but at the end of the day cannot have it both ways. You can't have the endorsements of people like a former governor from California or the governor of Indiana or the governor of Wisconsin endorsing you, but then claiming that the others are the ones who are outsiders.

What Cruz has to do is he has to reach those people who are out there supporting Donald Trump. He was successful with his diehard supporters here in the state, but was he successful at reaching out to the Donald Trump supporters? That is something that still remains to be seen.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Burlingame, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: John Kasich is describing his campaign as the little engine that can. It will take nearly a miracle for Kasich to win his party's nomination and he's predicting now Republican frontrunner Donald Trump will do if Trump ends up winning the nomination instead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:12] GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I'm really fundamentally interested in is making sure that Hillary Clinton is not president and Donald Trump, if he goes to the convention, first of all, if he were to be picked, he would get crushed in the fall. And there's a couple districts here that Republicans care about that would probably be gone with him. The fact is, I'm the only one that beats Hillary Clinton consistently in 15, 16 of the last polls. Also in the simulated electoral college I win there and these guys lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Kasich staying in the race also attacking Trump's foreign policy saying it doesn't make any sense.

Now to a story of two families connected by one heart. It's the story of an ailing newborn whose life was saved when another family donated their own dying son's heart.

Reporting Seth Voorhees of CNN affiliate TWC News Rochester has this story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I think this is really why we do what we do every day.

SETH VOORHEES, TWC NEWS ROCHESTER REPORTER: Some stories are almost unbearable to tell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would like to think that you can make everyone better and that you can solve all of these problems.

VOORHEES: And just as hard to hear. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously every parent dreads that fear that

something will happen to your child and that you'll have to say good- bye.

VOORHEES: Andy and Holly Campbell's son Jake was just 11 weeks old in August of 2007.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he was two and a half months old, he stopped breathing.

VOORHEES: Jake was airlifted to Strong Hospital. There was a heartbeat, but --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That little glimmer of hope was snuffed out because it was clear that there was no brain activity.

VOORHEES: The Campbells shared their tragic story at the hospital Friday, but theirs is also a story of hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said Jake's life is ending, but this doesn't have to be the end.

VOORHEES: Holly and Andy both had the same idea. Through the Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, perhaps their dying son could save another life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when he came back and said there's a little boy in Iowa who's two weeks old who is a perfect match. I thought about this mom and dad that I didn't know. And what they were going through.

VOORHEES: 800 miles away, Kim and Nathan Scadlock were living their own nightmare. At two weeks, Beckham Scadlock 's heart was failing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To know that this child is sick and there's nothing you can do about it is just unbelievable.

VOORHEES: Jake Campbell passed away August 16th, 2007.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was me fighting for everything for my baby to live and I didn't want another -- other parents to be without a baby in their arms.

VOORHEES: The very next day Beckham Scadlock received a new heart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I immediately got this beautiful flood of emotion, and I knew for a fact that this heart that he was getting had been loved, and it had been deeply loved by another family.

VOORHEES: The Scadlocks and Campbells eventually met, bonding over a grieving family's heart which gave a little boy his only chance at life. They now urge others to become organ donors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just amazing for us to have Jake's heart recipient and his family here at the hospital where we said good-bye to Jake, it's been very moving. VOORHEES: Oftentimes, donor recipient families never get to meet the

families of the donor, but the bond between the Scadlocks and the Campbells goes far beyond that initial act of unselfishness.

The two mothers realized they had something else in common. There's a song from the musical, "Wicked", called "For Good."

It was the last song Holly Campbell ever sang to her son Jake and the first that Kim sang to Beckham following his heart transplant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just astounded. And it's like that was the song that just -- it made that connection complete for us.

VOORHEES: Beckham Scadlock is now 8 years old. You'd never know it what he's been through in his short life.

And the Campbells take comfort in seeing Beckham healthy. They call him a silver lining in their own tragic story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a little bit of Jake still going. And as long as Beckham is thriving, then we're happy to know that something good came out of it.

VOORHEES: Seth Voorhees, Time-Warner Cable News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead this hour, deadly flooding hits the state of Texas, killing five members of the same family. We'll have that story ahead for you.

Plus, the commander-in-chief playing the role of comedian for an evening. His last time as president at an annual event in Washington, D.C.

[04:40:05] You'll hear some of his jokes, some of his jabs, as NEWSROOM rolls on.

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HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell, welcome back.

In India, rising temperatures threaten to make a severe water crisis there even worse. That country has already endured two straight years of drought. Rivers and wells have dried up, forcing people to travel long distances to get water. May and June are typically India's hottest months and temperatures in some places are already above 40 degrees Celsius, that's which over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the United States, severe flooding has hit the eastern part of Texas Saturday and left six people dead. Torrential rains fell over one Texas town reaching the roofs in some homes. A 64-year-old grandmother and her four grandchildren, all under the age of 10, were swept away by floodwaters. The body of a sixth victim was found hours later in the same area after these waters receded. Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is here to talk more about the

situation there in my home state.

And Derek, it's pretty bad.

VAN DAM: It's a heartbreaking story to hear about the fatalities, but it really highlights the dangers of flash floods, George.

That rain that swept through Palestine, Texas, all occurred within one hour. Over 7 1/2 inches. You can imagine what that does. So quickly, so much rain unfortunately inundating an entire house. Take a look at this footage and you'll be able to see that it moved vehicles. It left a degree field across this cul-de-sac at the end of the road here. You can see how it moved cars around and what's most compelling about this, George, is that the water level made it all the way to the top of that particular structure, that house. Take a look at my graphics behind me. And this is a radar-estimated rainfall total.

[04:45:02] And we'll move right into the Palestine region, and you can see the effect that it had on this particular area. Look at that dark shading of orange, over seven inches of rain tallied there. And again that was a storm total, just one hour. A few other locations experiencing some extremely heavy rainfall as well including Roxton and Detroit, Texas.

Remember, we often talk about this. The National Weather Service has a flooding slogan, turn around, don't drown, because this is what can happen when you have a flash flooding event. Six inches of water, moving water, can actually sweep a person off of his feet -- his or her feet. 24 inches of moving water can actually lift a vehicle, including an SUV, and sweep that down the river. So you can imagine what six feet of water, moving water, would do. Little stands a chance against the force of Mother Nature there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VAN DAM: But look at these line of storms were left in its wake coming out of Lyondell, Texas.

This is a sporting goods store, George. And characteristic of a tornado it left some buildings intact and some other buildings well completely demolished. Scary stuff and it really is quite terrifying to see what Mother Nature can do that in tornado alley as we call it.

HOWELL: You know, severe weather not uncommon for Texas, but you know, every time it comes through people just never quite ready.

VAN DAM: You know they've got their storm shelters, but there's still only so much you can do.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: All right, George.

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM, still ahead, the U.S. president Barack Obama took full advantage of an American comedic tradition at a dinner Saturday night. Next, you will hear how he made fun of the U.S. presidential candidates, including Donald Trump. Stay with us.

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[04:50:07] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

Leicester City Football Club plays for the English Premier League title in just a few hours time. The city of Leicester is overrun, as you can imagine, with football mania. It is just Manchester United that stands between them and the championship at this point. The unlikely hero team is one win away from pulling off one of the greatest underdog stories in sports history.

Rhiannon Jones now joins us now from Manchester to talk more about this. It's good to have you.

So, look, this is a David and Goliath story if there ever was that type of story. What do you make of this spectacular underdog situation?

RHIANNON JONES, JOURNALIST: Well, it certainly is a spectacular underdog triumph. One of the greatest, certainly, in the history of English football. The fairy tale that's got the entire world talking about it. Leicester City at just three-points away from lifting their first ever English Premier League title in their 132 years of club history. And what makes this story so spectacular is that just two years ago, Leicester City, the Foxes weren't even in the top flight. They weren't even playing in this league. And at this stage last year, they were fighting to stay out of relegation.

At the start of the season, odds were on at 5,000 to 1 for Leicester to actually win this title. They're the same odds of finding Elvis Presley alive or even Kim Kardashian -- actually greater odds than Kim Kardashian becoming the next U.S. president, George.

HOWELL: OK. So I don't mean to put you on the spot, but is this a done deal? What do you think happens?

JONES: Well, it's not a done deal, no, of course. They are just one win away from winning the title and making history. All they just need to get a better result than second to the table Tottenham Hotspur. So they don't win here today then it goes to tomorrow's game, the Spurs visit to Chelsea so if Spurs lose tomorrow, then Leicester City will indeed win this trophy, or if they win here today at all. But it's going to be a tough game because Old Trafford is a relatively tough stadium to play at. It's steeped in history. Manchester United is chasing a top four position themselves. Also, Leicester, without star man Jamie Vardy.

That said, Leicester City won here I might and since 1998. So that said Leicester City on a spectacular run, as we all know. They've only lost three games this season, which is remarkable. And they also have this motivation of the support from around the world. Superstars, like Tom Brady, have been sending in messages of support. And even Thai monks have been sending their messages, George.

HOWELL: Don't you just wish you were that person who, you know, got into this at the beginning of the season when the odds were 5,000 to 1. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Time will tell.

Rhiannon Jones, thank you so much. And we'll watch the game and stay in touch.

Now on to Spain where quite a treasure trove has been discovered. They unearthed nearly 600 kilos, more than half a ton of rare Roman coins. These coins date back to the 3rd century A.D. The coin showed little signs of wear and were marked with inscriptions of Emperor Maximian and Constantine.

Now to an American comedic tradition, that is known as the nerd prom in Washington, D.C. on Saturday the White House Correspondents Dinner brought in celebrities, it brought in journalists and politicians, for a night of jokes and jabs. It was the last time that U.S. President Barack Obama will attend as president, and he was not afraid of poking fun at even himself. Listen.

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[04:55:10] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Eight years ago I was a young man. Full of idealism and vigor. And look at me now.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I am gray, grizzled. Just counting down the days until my death panel.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Hillary once questioned whether I'd be ready for a 3:00 a.m. phone call, now I'm awake anyway because I got to go to the bathroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The president also touched on the presidential race, the next person that will follow him. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, though, decided to skip this event, but Mr. Obama made some jokes at the Donald's expense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The Republican establishment is incredulous that he is their mostly likely nominee. Shocking. They say Donald lacks the foreign policy experience to be president. But in fairness, he has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world. Miss Sweden. Miss Argentina. Miss Azerbaijan.

(LAUGHTER) OBAMA: And there's one area where Donald's experience could be invaluable. And that's closing Guantanamo because Trump knows a thing or two about running water front properties into the ground. And with that, I just have two more words to say. Obama out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The U.S. president dropping the mic. We'll drop the pen on this hour. More news after the break.

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