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Fire Sweeps Through Boarding School in Northern Thailand; Submarine Searching for EgyptAir Debris; Iraqi Forces Fighting to Retake Fallujah; Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Killed by Airstrike; New Poll Has Trump and Clinton Neck and Neck; Mexico Cracking Down on Poaching; Prince Tribute at Billboard Music Awards. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired May 23, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:11] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles; ahead this hour:

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly fire ripped through a dormitory in Thailand, killing young school girls as they slept.

VAUSE: "We Will Bring Down This Plane", ominous graffiti on that doomed EgyptAir plane from years ago, now raising fears of unheeded warning.

SESAY: And, right now, Iraqi forces are going into battle to take Fallujah back from ISIS.

VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. We'd like to welcome our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. "NEWSROOM" L.A. starts right now.

VAUSE: More than a dozen school girls are dead after a fire swept through a boarding school in norther Thailand. The fire started in the middle of the night when 38 children were asleep in their dormitory.

SESAY: Even now, more than a dozen girls, aged between five and 12 are still missing.

VAUSE: Let's bring in Steve Herman. He's the Southeast Asia Bureau Chief of "Voice of America". He joins us now from Bangkok. So, Steve, what do we know about how the fire started and about the victims here, the young school girls who were killed?

STEVE HERMAN, SOUTHEAST ASIA BUREAU CHIEF, "VOICE OF AMERICA" via satellite: Right, John. This fire took place at about 11:00 p.m. Sunday night, local time. Authorities say they do not know how the fire started. It was a boarding house, a dormitory for elementary school girls who come from surrounding tribes.

This school is about five years old. it's run by a Christian foundation called the Pithakkiart Witthaya School. Now, the latest information we have is that there are 18 girls confirmed dead, one missing, 20 were rescued, pulled through the windows of the burning building, and five of them are injured. The total enrollment at the school, about 142 students.

VAUSE: So we have five girls or five children or students, rather, who were injured. What about their condition? Where are they being treated now?

HERMAN: We have no information on just what is the extent of their injuries. we're told that the fire was ablaze when the girls were pulled through the windows, so presumably some of them may have suffered smoke inhalation, burns. All the girls at this school ranging in age of five to 12 years old.

VAUSE: Are there any theories right now, Steve, as to why the death toll here was so high? Where is the investigation focusing?

HERMAN: Well, obviously, how this fire started is going to answer a lot of the questions, and as you mentioned, this happened late at night, 11:00 p.m. So the girls, presumably, were all sleeping at that time and they may not have noticed that anything was amiss until it was too late, until the fire had really spread.

VAUSE: I guess one of the concerns, one of the questions that investigators will be looking at were there bars on the windows, were there adequate fire escapes, were there, in fact, smoke detectors. I know this is in Thailand, this is a poor part of the country. So maybe some of those things, like a smoke detector, they weren't in place?

HERMAN: We don't know about that yet. We didn't see from the photographs that there were any bars on the windows. It was relatively easy to pull these girls through, the ones that they were able to get to, but tragically, at least 18 of the girls died inside the boarding house and were not rescued.

VAUSE: Yes; young girls too, between the age of five and 12 years of age. A really sad, tragic story there. Steve, thanks for being with us.

SESAY: Very, very sad indeed.

VAUSE: Awful.

SESAY: All right; now, searchers have found some wreckage and personal items from EgyptAir Flight 804. The key pieces of evidence that could point to a cause of the crash are still missing.

VAUSE: Debris has been spotted about 290 kilometers north of Alexandria, Egypt and the Egyptians are now using a submarine to try and find the plane's wreckage and its flight data and voice recorders. The plane disappeared early Thursday on its way from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew onboard.

SESAY: Well, to talk more about this CNN Intelligence and Security Analyst and former CIA Operative Bob Baer joins us from Telluride, Colorado.

VAUSE: And Criminal Defense Attorney Brian Claypool joins us here in Los Angeles.

SESAY: Bob, to you first: MS804 was once the target of vandals who wrote in Arabic "we will bring this plane down". Bob, is this merely a horrible coincidence or does it point to something far more significant, in your view?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST, via satellite: You know, it's difficult to tell, Isha, because the Egyptians have denied any knowledge of this but it's pretty clear the reports of the plane was with graffiti [00:05:01] across its. As we know, EgyptAir has been under threat for a long time, really since the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown in Egypt. They've been doing security sweeps in the airport in Cairo. They're doing more right now. So, you know, -- and the Egyptians also had three security guards on that plane and they were searching cleaning crews. So they were expecting some sort of an attack. How they got through, if indeed this was such an attack, I just don't know.

SESAY: Yes, we just don't know. Still a lot to be discovered. You know, according to French aviation officials, the plane sent automatic messages about smoke in the front of the plane before it crashed. Again, to stress we don't know what happened, what caused the smoke, but everyone looking toward a terrorist strike, possibly a bomb. You know this plane made stops in Eritrea and Tunis before taking off from Paris for Cairo. Do those prior stops raise red flags for you or are you primarily focused on Charles de Gaulle being the possible weak leak here?

BAER: Well all four airports are weak links: Asmara, Tunis, Paris and Cairo. In these bombs, there's groups we're dealing with who are very sophisticated, al-Qaeda, in Yemen for one. They can put a bomb on so it will go through multiple stops before it actually explodes. They can even get a smaller bomb on that wouldn't necessarily cut the skin of the airplane but let's just say, and this is a total hypothetical, would disable the avionics bay or you could even use a thermite device of some sort, which would burn through - which would explain the smoke. But, this is -- we have to find that airplane and see what occurred inside that cockpit in the airplane and see if there is any residue. Until then, it's all pretty much guesswork.

SESAY: Yes; if this was indeed again -- again, it's still speculation, still guesswork. But if this was the act of a terror group, why has there still been no claim of responsibility? Does that make any sense to you?

BAER: Yes, it does make sense because the Islamic State, for one, is a franchise and they simply go out and, say, attack Egypt, attack the airlines and what's really scary is if this was sort of a test run, the EgyptAir, for the timers, the rest of it, and, again, this is hypothetical, they may not want to alert people that this was put on in Charles de Gaulle or in Eritrea.

So, again, what's interesting is that Airbus has come out and said they're completely mystified by the ACAR sequence of events. They have no ready explanation for it. SESAY: Yes, that is mindboggling. To this point, if indeed it was a bomb, if indeed some individuals were able to do that, to get it on to a plane, whether it was in Asmara or in Tunis or Charles de Gaulle, what does that say about all the stepped-up security measures put in place since 9/11?

BAER: Well, Isha, you know, the problem is that these airports are inherently insecure. You just simply, at Charles de Gaulle, you can't vet 85,000 employees completely. I mean, if you look at the CIA, the National Security Agency, they've got the best vetting in the world, and yet there's still moles in these organizations. So the airports have the same problem and, you know, it's -- there's a lot of people out there with grievances and they look at airplanes, civilian airliners, as the perfect target. Isha.

VAUSE: Bob, stay with us because we're talking Iraq in a moment. We want to keep this conversation going about MS804. Brian Claypool is with us, criminal defense attorney. Brian, let's just talk about the legalities here. If this was, in fact, an act of terrorism, let's assume it was a bomb or something smuggled onto the plane at, say, Charles de Gaulle Airport, where is the legal liability here? Is it with the airport, is it with the contractors who handle the baggage workers, for example, or is it with the airline?

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That's a great question. What's controlling here is what's called the Montreal Convention Act. That's an international treaty, and both Egypt and France with members of the treaty. That was developed in 2009 and that creates laws for these types of tragedies involving airlines. Now the key thing here is let's assume it was a terroristic act. Is that considered an accident under the Montreal Convention? And it is because it's a very broad definition. Accident is defined as an irregular or unexpected event external to the passenger. It was determined in the Germanwings air crash that the pilot driving that plane into the ground and killing everybody was considered an accident. So this is going to be considered an accident. Therefore, the Montreal Convention Act applies; and there's only a cap - there's some confusion here that's been reported. There's a cap on non-negligence. In other words, it's called strict liability where you don't have to prove any negligence. Airline -- Airbus will have to pay out, in U.S. Dollars, about $175,000 to surviving members.

[00:10:01] VAUSE: Right.

CLAYPOOL: But there's a cap on that; but if any of these families can prove negligence either on the airline's part or a component manufacturer, possibly electrical subcontractors here, possibly cleaning crews, possibly cargo handlers, possibly security. If there's independent security that's at these various airports, they could possibly also be targets as well, and there's no cap on that negligence.

SESAY: So just to be clear, if the airlines are unable - or if the parties, the families, are unable to reach -- let me start that again.

If the investigators are unable to reach a conclusive explanation for what brought down this plane, i.e. they don't know, it becomes one of those mysteries, then what, for the legal recourse for the families?

CLAYPOOL: If I'm representing those families, I'm still filing a lawsuit against both Airbus and the security at these airports because, for example, how -- what we suspect that maybe something was placed in a restroom. Maybe there's some kind of -

SESAY: But you can't prove it?

CLAYPOOL: You can't prove it but you can prove by interference as well. You can prove by inference. You're going to have a report that's done after this investigation. You can look to that report. But the important thing here is we do now have a nucleus of where the fire -- there was possibly a fire started in the restroom. That triggers a possible -- either an electrical problem or a terroristic problem. If it's an electrical problem, then you can focus on the failure to maintain the plane. Why wasn't the plane properly maintained?

VAUSE: Right.

CLAYPOOL: If it was a terroristic problem, then you can sue the security, at the airport, possibly even the government, for not undertaking more efforts to secure the plane and make sure this doesn't happen.

VAUSE: Okay, Brian; thanks for being with us.

SESAY: Thank you so much.

CLAYPOOL: You bet. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: And also Bob Baer, who is sticking around for our next segment. Right now Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Fallujah from ISIS. The city is just 50 kilometers West of Baghdad and has been under ISIS control for two years.

SESAY: Iraq's Prime Minister went on TV early Monday urging civilians to flee. The military says it dropped safe passage leaflets on the city. Families who can't escaped are being told to raise white flags above their home. Human Rights Watch says ISIS has barred people from leaving.

VAUSE: Okay; Bob Baer is still with us. Also joining us is our CNN Military Analyst, Colonel Rick Francona. Thanks again to you both. Rick, the first question for you, sir: The Iraqis have not given a timeline here on this operation. How long would you take this would take?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, via satellite: I think they're going to wrap this up in 10 days to two weeks. Look at the template they used in Ramadi. I think we're going to see that same thing here. The only difference is that we're seeing them bring in these Shi'a militias once again. They used them in Tikrit quite effectively. They did not use them in Ramadi because they were concerned about Sunni sensitivities to these Shi'as, but they're using them this time, probably to good effect, because the Iraqis have gotten better over the last couple of months but they're not quite there yet; but they have to take Fallujah. This is a must-do because if they're serious about going north, up the Tigris Valley to liberate Mosul by the end of the year, they've got the clean out Anbar Province and this is the next step.

VAUSE: And, Bob, I want to ask you about that, the fact that the Shi'a militias are being engaged here, but the strategy at this point is for them to stay on the outskirts of the city, essentially to keep them away from the Sunni population, and the Iraqi National Forces will move into the city center. In practice, is that going to work?

BAER: John, no, it's not going to work. The problem is that the Sunni's are so paranoid that even people in Iraqi military uniforms, they're claiming are Shi'a militias. I talk to these people quite often and they said, look, these death squads are coming in and we have to fight for these cities, and none of these people are -- there's going to be no awakening among the Sunni. So what's happening is Fallujah will look, to them, like a sectarian war and they're looking at this in existential terms, John. It's -- this is very unfortunate, but there is no Iraqi army to take back Fallujah, so that Baghdad can assert its authority, its sovereign authority. I frankly think that Iraq is gone for good.

VAUSE: Rick, can I bring you in on that because, Colonel, you seem to think that maybe the Iraqi National Army has some ability here, maybe they can hold it together.

FRANCONA: Well, they have some ability but as Bob brings up a much bigger point. You know, Iraq, as we knew it, as Bob and I served there years ago, I think that Iraq is gone because when this is all over, I'm not sure you're going to see an Iraqi government in Baghdad that wants to exercise complete authority over areas such as Mosul, which is really a Sunni city. Then you've got the Kurds up in the North.

We have no idea how this will shake out after it's all over but the initial problem is, the tactical problem, forget the strategy. First of all, we've got to rid Anbar of ISIS. Then we've got to go and try and retake Mosul, and [00:15:02] then we have to figure out how we're going to put Iraq back together; and I'm not sure that it's going to look like it does today, but -- and I think the Kurds are going to have a big say in this. But, these are big questions that we don't know the answers to. So the Iraqis are going to do this step by step. The next step in this equation, of course, is let's retake Fallujah.

VAUSE: Yes, it's step by step and then on to Mosul, I guess, and then what? While I have you both, sources in al-Qaeda are now confirming from the Taliban that the Taliban leader Mullah Mansour has been killed. We have video which claims to show the aftermath of a U.S. air strike targeting Mansour, apparently, near the Pakistani-Afghan border on Saturday. Pakistani officials apparently angry because they found out about the strike after it happened Saturday. They call it a violation of their country's sovereignty.

Colonel, is there any reason for the U.S. to be concerned about this protest coming from the Pakistani's, that is this was a violation of their sovereignty or is this for public consumption; privately, they're relieved?

FRANCONA: No, this is a big problem for both the United States and Pakistan because if you look at the protocols that existed prior to this attack, if it's going to be an attack in Pakistan, the Pakistanis have to be notified before the strike, not after it. Generally, the strikes are conducted by the CIA to keep the U.S. government sort of out of it.

This was a U.S. Air Force strike launched from Afghanistan. The target was in Pakistan. This was a unilateral action on the part of the United States. The Pakistanis are furious about this and it violates a standing agreement. Secretary Kerry has tried to assuage the Pakistanis but this is going to be a diplomatic incident. In the end, I think it will probably be ok; but as we talked about this before, when we do this with the Pakistanis, the Pakistanis only approve operations that kill the Taliban that they want us to kill. This was somebody that we wanted to kill. So we're going to have to make nice with the Pakistanis to make this go away.

VAUSE: It's a selective kill list as far as Islamabad is concerned. Bob, to you, finally, the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, he says that he hopes the new leader of the Taliban, whoever that may be, might, in fact, be more willing to engage in peace talks because Mansour was an obstacle to peace, was taken out. What's your assessment? Do you think it's likely that any new leader of the Taliban is going to sit down and talk peace with the Afghan government?

BAER: I think you're going to get somebody that's going to talk peace, yes, but, remember, the Pashtun, and this is what Mullah Mansour was, have never been unified, and we're talking about thousands of years. So his passing, his assassination isn't going to make much difference. When these people are ready -- there are a lot of tribes up there and they're not unified and to find one of them to make a deal with is going to be very, very difficult. It's some giant surah -- I just - I just don't know, and I don't think they know. I don't think this will make any difference at all. When the Pashtun are ready to deal with Kabul, we'll see it.

VAUSE: We'll know it; absolutely. Bob Baer, former CIA operative; Colonel Rick Francona, thank you both for being with us. Appreciate it.

FRANCONA: Sure.

SESAY: To Austria now. Mail-in ballots will likely determine who becomes the next president. The race between a far right, anti- immigrant candidate and a pro-European Union, former Green Party Leader has become a dead heat. The presidency is largely a ceremonial role with some key powers, but a far right victory would resonate across the European Union.

VAUSE: Take a short break. When we come back, U.S. President Barack Obama on his tenth visit to Asia, still trying to make that pivot. His first stop, Vietnam. We'll tell you what he's trying to accomplish, just ahead. SESAY: Plus, new polls show it's almost a dead heat in the race for the White House, but that might be because most people say they don't like the candidates. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (WEATHER HEADLINES)

[00:22:46] SESAY: Hello everyone. U.S. President Barack Obama is in Vietnam, where he's hoping to strengthen ties with the government 40 years after the U.S. war with Vietnam ended.

VAUSE: He's meeting with the Vietnamese President at this hour. Both are expected to discuss regional security. Mr. Obama also seeking support for his Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

SESAY: Well CNN's Saima Mohsin is with us now, live, from Hanoi, Vietnam. Saima, good to have you with us. President Obama on a three-day visit to Vietnam, underscoring the importance of the relationship to the U.S. Bring us up to speed on his movements since he touched down in Hanoi.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: Hi, Isha. He arrived late at night, so was received with some flowers; went straight to bed, but this morning he's had a formal reception at the Presidential Palace here in Hanoi. He arrived as the entrance to the palace was lined with school children flying flags from Vietnam and the United States; shook hands with President Quang in front of a giant bronze statue of Ho Chi Minh. President Obama said a few words there, saying that his trip is a symbol of renewed ties with Vietnam and that he wants to focus on the increased cooperation across the board and their warm friendship.

Of course, this is his tenth visit to Asia, the third of any president since the war between the two countries. President Clinton came in 2000. President George W. Bush in 2006 and now President Obama. A lot to be discussed in these three days. Isha?

SESAY: Indeed. Saima, President Obama, as you were just making the point, has made a central platform of his administration's diplomacy a pivot towards the East. Talk to us about the significance of Vietnam within the context of that strategic shift.

MOHSIN: There were several factors here. We're talking about economic ties, trade deals, of course President Obama's key initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes 12 countries, including Vietnam. Crucially, Isha, the South China Sea is also a big talking point, particularly with Vietnam, one of the many regional countries that claim to own in particular [00:25:02] the Paracel Islands. In fact, a CNN team went down there. We filmed fishermen in the Paracel Islands, Vietnamese fisherman, who were very much being used as defenders of Vietnamese territory down there.

Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Taiwan, crucially, all claiming to own the Paracel Islands and the ownership sovereignty for the South China Seas. Now that is a huge matter for the U.S., which is trying to alleviate this issue and trying to, of course, stand up to what is considered Chinese aggression in the area. Isha? SESAY: Saima Mohsin with important context for us there. Saima Mohsin joining us from Hanoi, Vietnam; thanks so much.

VAUSE: A new poll just out shows the U.S. presidential election is a nail biter. A "Washington Post"/ABC News Poll has Republican Donald Trump at 46-percent ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton 44-percent, within the margin of error.

SESAY: Trump has picked up 11 points since March, but according to that same poll more than half of America's voters have an unfavorable view of both party frontrunners.

VAUSE: That poll also shows Democratic Bernie Sanders is more popular than both Trump and Clinton. The Vermont Senator support rallies voters here in Southern California on Sunday, with just over two weeks before the state's primary. Here's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN D.C. CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Isha, Bernie Sanders is certainly striking a defined tone as he campaigns here in California, in the middle of a five-day stretch of back-to-back events, leading into June 7th's primary here. As he speaks to supports, he's really trying to make the case why he's staying in this race, how he thinks he has a path forward, despite the fact that he's well behind in the popular vote, well behind in pledged delegates. Here is what he told his supporters Sunday night in Vista, California.

BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We win when voter turnout is high. If voter turnout is high, with your help, we are going to win the lion's share of those delegates.

[Cheers and Applause]

SANDERS: And if we -- if we can win big here in California, our largest state, one of our most progressive states, --

[Cheering]

SANDERS: -- if we can win big here, we're going to have the momentum taking us into the Democratic Convention to win the nomination.

[Cheering]

SANDERS: And if we win the nomination, I assure you are Donald Trump will not become president of the United States.

[Cheering]

SERFATY: And Sanders has also taken a much harsher tone toward the democratic nominating process and the democratic leadership. Now over the weekend that came in the form of Bernie Sanders speaking out against DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Here endorsed her opponent in her Florida Congressional race instead of her, which is a big affront to her and her leadership, personally. Here's what he told Jake Tapper.

SANDERS: Clearly, I favor her opponent. His views are much closer to mine than is Wasserman-Schultz's. Let me say this, in all due respect to the current Chairperson, if elected president, she would not be reappointed to her position in the DNC.

SERFATY: So absolutely no mincing of words there, coming from Bernie Sanders. Now Debbie Wasserman Schultz has responded. She says despite this she will remain neutral during the Democratic primary. John and Isha?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Our thanks to Sunlan Serfaty there. Get an inside look at America's remarkable race for the White House. Watch our new program "State of The Race" with Kate Bolduan, weeknights at 7:30 p.m. in London and Tuesday through Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.

VAUSE: A massive wildfire has exploded on the central coast of California. the blaze spread quickly to more than 1,500 hectares in Monterey County on Sunday. officials say the fire is only 20-percent contained.

SESAY: A story we'll watch closely for you. Still to come, the fight against aquatic cocaine. How smugglers are making big money off the bladders of an endangered fish.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:32:59] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody; you're watching "CNN NEWSROOM" live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay, the headlines this hour: Egypt is using a submarine to search the Mediterranean Sea for the so-called 'black boxes' of EgyptAir Flight 804. Searchers have recovered some parts of the wreckage about 290 kilometers north of Alexandra. The plane disappeared from radar early Thursday on a flight from Paris to Cairo. 66 people were on board when it crashed.

VAUSE: Sources inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban now confirm that Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a recent U.S. drone strike. This video apparently shows the aftermath of that strike near the Pakistani-Afghan border on Saturday. Pakistani officials say they didn't know about the strike until it was carried out. American officials say Pakistan was notified, they just don't say when.

SESAY: Iraq says an operation to retake Fallujah for ISIS is underway. The terror group has held the key city in Anbar Province since early 2014. The government is urging civilians to flee. But Human Rights Watch say ISIS has barred them from leaving.

VAUSE: Austria's presidential runoff is too close to call. The race between a far right anti-immigrant candidate and a pro-European Union, former Green Party leader has become a dead heat. Europe's migrant crisis and the huge influx of migrant's into Austria has been a key issue in this campaign.

SESAY: Now, the Mexican Government is cracking down on the poaching of endangered fish. The black market found off the coast of San Felipe is just as lucrative as illegal drugs.

VAUSE: Now, the bladder is known as "aquatic cocaine" and it's sold to Asian countries as an anti-aging product. Kyung Lah has more on the efforts to stop smugglers before fish disappears forever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A massive Mexican military operation, at sea, on land, in the air, not to fight illegal drugs, but to save endangered fish that live only in the remote and isolated Gulf of California, in San Felipe, Mexico.

Look what was trapped here. This is the fish we're taking about, the [00:35:02] Totoaba. Its bladder is the merchandise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a fresh swim bladder of the Totoaba fish.

LAH: Poachers can make as much money from these bladders as cocaine. They're smuggled out, just like illegal drugs. The buyers are in Hong Kong. Like rhino horn and elephant ivory, Totoaba bladder is sold on the black market for its supposed medicinal and anti-aging properties.

Selling endangered animal parts is illegal in Hong Kong, but that doesn't stop it.

This shop owner claiming he doesn't have any on hand showing CNN photos of dried Totoaba bladder, estimating this large one costs $100,000 U.S. Dollars. It's the best of the best, he says. It will make you more beautiful.

Is it possible that the fishermen could have their pathway as extensive as the business without the cartels?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, via translator: It's obvious organized groups are trafficking this product to other countries. It's obvious.

LAH: Poachers have fished the Totoaba to critically endangered levels. Another marine animal, the Vaquita, is the same size trapped in the same nets by accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, via translator: The Vaquita's head gets stuck -

LAH: So the head switches through here?

UNIDENTIFED MALE, via translator: Yes, once it tries to back up it's trapped.

LAH: It can't get out, it's trapped. And, now, nearly extinct. Only 60 Vaquitas remain.

Why at night environmental groups Sea Shepherd patrols these protected waters where fishing is illegal, searching for poachers. Why are they fleeing?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Well, poachers will flee when they're caught.

LAH: At daybreak, evidence of their crime surfaces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're looking at is a Totoaba that's been cut open. You can see that there's no swim bladder.

LAH: If a couple of species die in this one little bay, why should anyone care?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not looking at protecting just the Vaquitas or just the Totoaba, but you need all the parts to make the whole system work and if the system doesn't work, we're part of the system; so it eventually affects us as well.

LAH: This is the end of the line. What they've done is cut this large net in half. This is the half they've been able to pull up.

Sea Shepherd's, environmental activists, hunt for illegal nets and lines, found too often.

LAH: Is this a war?

UIDENTIIFED FEMALE: I think it's a fight, a battle that we're fighting.

LAH: A battle against a black market that spans the Pacific Ocean.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Felipe, Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Great reporting.

VAUSE: It's incredible just what money will do, isn't it?

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: What people will do for money and how it drives so many illegal activities around the world, like this.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: But you would never think that something like this would happen.

SESAY: You certainly wouldn't. Again, great reporting from Kyung. Now, zoo workers in Chile's capital say they were forced to shoot and kill two lions after a man jumped into their enclosure.

VAUSE: This happened on Saturday in front of a large crowd. The Santiago Zoo says the man removed his clothes and approached the lions in what may have been a suicide attempt, but an investigation is under way. SESAY: Coming up on "CNN NEWSROOM," L.A., new details in the

investigation of Prince's death; and, Madonna and Stevie Wonder pay tribute to the iconic artist at the Billboard Music Awards. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:35] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. There was a show of purple at the Billboard Music Awards. Madonna took the stage to pay tribute to Prince.

SESAY: The Queen of Pop performed a number of the late singer's hit and she was joined by Stevie Wonder for an emotional rendition of "Purple Rain."

[Madonna & Stevie Wonder sing "Purple Rain"]

SESAY: Soulful rendition.

VAUSE: Yeah.

SESAY: Meantime we're learning more about Prince's final days. The "Minneapolis Star Tribune" says the singer was said to be dead for hours before his body was found.

VAUSE: CNN's Sarah Sidner has more on these new revelations, plus what happened in the days before his passing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The publication, "The Star Tribune" here talked to a source who had heard from the paramedic who was on the ground here, the day Prince died, April 21, and he said that Prince's body had likely been lying there, slumped in that elevator, for at least six hours; dead for that long before somebody ended up finding his body.

we're also learning some new details about the days leading up to his death that the day before he died, he was in a hospital. He was given intravenous fluids, according to sources who spoke with "The Star Tribune", and that he was becoming more agitated over the days after his plane made that emergency landing in Moline, Illinois. Investigative sources have told us that he was treated for what may have been an overdose in the hospital and that's why the plane landed, because he was unresponsive, taken to the hospital but then he abruptly left the hospital to come back home. Six days later Prince was dead.

These details coming out as fans still come to Paisley Park. Dozens of fans still showing up on a daily basis. You'll notice something here at Paisley Park, the memorial that the fans put up is not really there anymore. There are just a few little things left over. We know now that Bremer Trust, the special administer that is supposed to be taking care of all of the estate and then dividing that estate up between his heirs, has decided to go ahead and pull some of those things down and preserve the items that they the feel need to be preserved. They haven't said if they're going to release that to the public, they're going to show people or put it in some sort of museum, but they're certainly keeping those items that his fans lovingly put here after Prince's death. Back to you guys.

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SESAY: Our thanks to Sara Sidner for that.

VAUSE: It's just one of these mysteries that eventually we'll find out what happened. It will just take some time.

SESAY: In time. Well, thank you for watching "CNN NEWSROOM" live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next and we'll be back with another hour of news from around the world. You're watching CNN.

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