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North Korea Test Fired A Ballistic Missile During a U.S. State Visit By The Leader Of Japan; At Least Six New England Patriots Players Will Not Go to White House; Anti-Trump Protests in Mexico; Heroin Overdoses in Louisville, Kentucky; SNL's Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer; Amtrak's New Train in Denver, Colorado. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired February 12, 2017 - 16:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:22] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. And thank you so much for being with me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

Absolutely intolerable. That is the joint response from the U.S. and Japan after North Korea test fired a ballistic missile during a U.S. state visit by the leader of Japan. South Korean officials say the north fired an intermediate range missile from the western part of the country. The missile traveled about 300 miles before crashing into the sea of China also known as the east sea. This is the first North Korean ballistic missile test of Donald Trump's presidency, taking place just as Trump was hosting Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida. The two appeared in an impromptu press conference last night and here is the president's full statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, it's great ally, 100 percent. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's go to CNN global affairs continue Elise Labott in Texas.

Elise, Trump has been very outspoken while on the campaign trail and here we go with the first test during his presidency and he was very short with words.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Very short, Fred. Really not even mentioning North Korea, or South Korea, the other U.S. critical ally in the region. I think this is a real kind of first test for him. It was very silver statement. He hasn't had a chance to get together with his aides and really talk about the way forward. But this morning on the Sunday talk shows, his White House policy advisor Steven Miller did put a little bit more about what the U.S. will be doing going forward. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER: Last night was a show of strength, saying that we stand with our ally, having the two men appear on camera worldwide to all of planet earth was a statement that will be understood very well by North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: I think that people are looking for a little bit more flesh on the bones of that, Fred. I mean, what is the administration going to do going forward. It is not like this was unexpected. There have been an expectation of some kind of provocation from North Korea, perhaps, even since the inauguration. They have been waiting for this.

This was not a long range missile. This was an intermediate range missile. But North Korea has made no secret that it's looking for that long range intercontinental ballistic missile and that it would be trying to develop that soon that could reach the continental United States. And so the U.S. -- this administration came into office very concerned. President Obama had warned President Trump this was going to be one of the key national security threats facing the United States.

And I think, Fred, this is really just the beginning. Not only is North Korea, Kim Jong-un the leader there, trying to test the new U.S. president. But this program is also - this missile program is a testing program. Every time North Korea makes one of those tests, whether it's a short range missile or a long range missile, they continue to develop their missile capability and that is something a very great concerns to the U.S.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elise Labott in Washington. Thanks so much. Appreciate that.

We are also covering this story from South Korea, CNN's Matt Rivers is in the country's capital of Seoul.

So Matt, can you say more about this call between a senior South Korean official and national security advisor Michael Flynn?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this was a pretty short call according to sources that we have here in South Korea. It was a very cordial phone call and really one where the U.S. side, Michael Flynn expressed support for its historic ally South Korea.

The call took place between Michael Flynn and his counterpart here in South Korea, the director of national security. And in that call, both sides agreed to explore any and all options as they put it to further prevent North Korean actions like we have seen recently. But in terms of specifics, we didn't really get there, but this is just kind of a further bolstering of alliances that we have seen recently within the Trump administration.

WHITFIELD: So we know there will be other launches, but do we know how soon? RIVERS: We don't really know how soon, but given what we have seen

from the North Koreans recently, I think you can can't it to be sooner rather than later. I mean from January of 2016 to October of 2016, there was about two dozen separate missile tests. I mean that's quite a number. And think that most experts that we have spoken to, expect the North Koreans to continue to push envelope there.

You know, as you just heard Elise, that every time they do this, they learn a little bit more about this kind of technology with that ultimate goal of getting a functioning long range ICBM missile that they can then test fire and really push the Trump administration to respond in a different way. It's one thing for the Trump administration to have to respond to a missile test that did not threaten the continents of the United States, to have to respond to a long range missile test is a whole other level of crisis that the Trump administration would have to deal with that. And frankly, that would be the first time that a U.S. administration will have to deal with such a test.

[16:05:35] WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Rivers in Seoul, thank you so much. And also Elise Labott out of Washington.

I want to bring Balbina Wang. She is a former advisor to U.S. ambassador Christopher Hill and a visiting professor at Georgetown University.

Good to see you. So why do you believe this intermediate range ballistic missile was tested in this manner now?

BALBINA WANG. FORMER ADVISOR TO U.S. AMBASSADOR CHRISTOPHER HILL: Well, I'm much more careful about ascribing motivations to North Korea about its timing. And to say that it was purposely done exactly at the moment that President Trump was meeting with Shinzo Abe, it may have been more luck than anything else.

The thing we have to remember is that North Korea is motivated first and foremost, obviously for domestic purposes, but also right now South Korea is undergoing quite an uncertain period. Obviously, the problems with South Korea's presidency, there is essentially a leader ship vacuum. And if anything, I think North Korea may be testing more South Korea. And frankly, the alliance. I think that's what's actually what was really attest here, not necessarily the Trump administration itself.

WHITFIELD: So then, how frightening is this for South Korea during such a precursor time for them?

WANG: Well, remember that South Korea has been living under the threat of North Korea for actually almost 65 years. So this is -- and the steady level of aggressive actions by North Korea have been steadily increasing since last year. So I don't know if this necessarily increases at a dramatic scale, the threat to South Korea. However, what it does is, I think it crystallizes the prioritization that South Korea feels for example regarding its missile defense system, in cooperation with the U.S. WHITFIELD: So is it your feeling that as it pertains to North Korea,

this launch is most certainly a precursor stage to an intercontinental ballistic missile, you know, capable of reaching the United States, even if it is long term, but these shorter medium range missile launches are always a precursor to something like that?

WANG: Yes. I think we have to look at all of North Korea's aggressive actions as part of a pattern and a plan for a longer term goal. And clearly, every single test that it makes, whether it's short range, medium range, intermediate and so on, all of these provide less than -- even if they spectacularly fail, they are all a part of a process of developing its missile program which I think this regime is absolutely intent on continuing and pursuing.

WHITFIELD: And do you want to take a guess on how far away North Korea may be in a position of doing that?

WANG: Well, we simply don't know, by all estimates according to the experts. You know, it will be at least another year, but we just don't know what North Korea's internal timeline is, or technological timeline for that matter.

WHITFIELD: OK. Earlier I also spoke with U.S. ambassador Bill Richardson about Russia and North Korea and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON (D), FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: So let's be sure that, one, we reduce our nuclear weapons. So yes, we should modernize them, keep an eye on Russia. That's the main issue and that worries me that too close a ties of the Trump administration with Russia. But remember, that North Korea, the nuclear agreement with Iran are in your portfolio so watch and get brief and find experts to lead us in the strong negotiations with North Korea which hopefully would reduce or eliminate their nuclear weapons and Iran so that they keep the nuclear agreement. And with Russia, don't let them forget that they are an important ally when it comes to nuclear weapons and they have not lived up to their side of the bargain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Do you see Russia as potentially playing a pivotal role here?

WANG: Well, potentially. We have to remember that Russia is actually also an Asia Pacific power. It is geographically right next to North Korea. And although, obviously, the focus has been frankly on China, I personally have to think a little too much because it's clear Chinese actions in the last, under two presidents, for 16 years has not been effective or responsible. Russia actually play potentially a pivotal role as well.

WHITFIELD: Balbina Wang, thank you so much.

[16:10:00] WANG: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, new details emerging in the battle

over President Trump's struck down travel ban, a new revision could come as early as tomorrow, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:13:44] WHITFIELD: All right. The Donald Trump administration says all options are on the table as they look to regroup after the appeals court's decided not to reinstate the controversial travel ban. And we could see a new executive order as early as tomorrow.

Let's go now to CNN's Athena Jones who is traveling with the president in Palm Beach, Florida.

So Athena, the president has a lot of options and indications on what he may ultimately do?

ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Well, it looks as though they are looking at a lot of different options, the president did talk about issuing a new order as early as tomorrow or maybe Tuesday. He did not commit to that time frame. It's clear his aides are working on several different approaches. The president does believe that he will ultimately successful in defending this travel ban in court. But he feels that there is a sense of urgency because he feels that the nation's security is at stake. And so, the big question is just what among these many options does the White House do.

Let's listen to some of what the president's senior policy advisor Stephen Miller had to say about all this on FOX News Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER: Right now we are considering and pursuing all options, those options include seeking an emergency stay at the Supreme Court, continuing the appeal at the panel, having an emergency hearing on bonk or going to a trial on the district level and the trial on the merits. They also include, as you mentioned, the possibility of new executive actions designed to prevent terrorist infiltration of our country.

But I want to say something very clearly, and this is going to be very disappointing to the people processing the president and people in Congress like Senator Chuck Schumer, who have attacked the president for his unlawful executive action, the powers here are beyond question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:15:26] JONES: And that last bit is very important, it's a point that Stephen Miller pressed over and over again in several interviews with the Sunday morning shows today, this idea that the president's actions are lawful, necessary and that his powers here are beyond question. He is saying that it's entire within President Trump's statutory and constitutional powers to issue this travel ban. On ABC, he cited, for instance, article two powers of the

constitution, the president able to conduct the foreign affairs of this country. So it is clear the Miller and the White House feel very strongly that the president's action on this front are not reviewable because they deal with national security. But that is exactly the argument that the ninth circuit court of appeals disagreed with explicitly in their ruling. And so, it's not surprising to hear the White House continue to push that, but it's an interesting point.

I will note, of course, that the White House said that they will do everything they can within the law. So they are going to abide by these rules and try to figure out a way forward. But I got to tell you, Fred, from what Stephen Miller said and also another Trump aide (INAUDIBLE), IT doesn't necessarily sound like that new order really is as imminent as the president suggested. It doesn't sound like they have one ready to go tomorrow, but of course we will have to wait and see because this White House has been full of surprises -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Needless to say the least.

All right. Thank you so much, Athena Jones in Palm Beach.

Now, let's talk more about this with Julian Zelizer, a historian and professor at Princeton University.

All right. Good to see you, Julian.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So Trump's travel ban has, you know, had two major setbacks in federal court, and now talk of an executive order, although, Athena says it's still not sure whether it is imminent. Why was this White House believe that that would be or should be a viable option?

ZELIZER: Well, look. The president has staked a lot in this order. They can challenge it in the Supreme Court. There's not a lot of grounds to think that the court is going to change this, especially as its split. But maybe if they rewrite it in a narrower fashion, and addressing some of the legal concerns that have now emerged twice, they think they have the stand to get this through. So, you know, and part of it is politics. Part of this is about the defiance of the president to keep trying as much as the outcome.

WHITFIELD: Would it be appealing that may broaden out adding more countries or eliminating the current seven all together.

ZELIZER: Well, I mean, that is an irony if this actually starts to cover more people rather than fewer people, in an effort to show that he is not targeting particular countries. But that will causes a lot of political problems. That's why many countries were already left off this list. So my guess is they will try to narrow it, define it more precisely, and address the issue that this is a ban on Muslims which is now come out during these reviews.

WHITFIELD: And now, on this is a provocation by North Korea. You know, what are other leaders evaluating and how Donald Trump handles this?

ZELIZER: They are testing him. This is what other countries do. You test the new president, you see if they will respond with force, you will see how erratic they might be and how far they will go. And you especially do that if you think there is a president without much experience and who has thin skin.

And so, my guess is this is as much about the technology and the missile as it is to see what he does. Can he be provoked into some kind of military action that make this is a bigger cause against the United States, rather than defending their own right to fire these missiles.

WHITFIELD: And a lot of eyes will be watching this week, as Donald Trump meets with other country leaders. He will be meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, followed by a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel's security.

How much is riding, do you believe, on this meeting particular between Trump and Netanyahu?

ZELIZER: A lot. You know, ordinarily these individual one-on-one meetings, they matter, they are important, but they don't necessarily change the way relations are working. There is deeper forces at work. But in this case, it is a little different. President Trump has gone back and forth on Israeli settlements, first giving a green light to do as much as the Israeli government wanted and then pulling back against that.

So I think here, Netanyahu comes in this private meeting doesn't come in knowing exactly where the president and his many advisers and is going to push on this issue to see how tough President Trump might be on this. And to hear from Jared Kushner and get a sense of what the potential peace plan might be that the administration is working on.

[16:20:04] WHITFIELD: And then, you know, I want to shift gears here a little bit, and ask you about your thoughts on this controversy involving twitter and the department of education and now apparently it really does put the new education secretary Betsy DeVos and her department in the hot seat toot. We are talking about the misspelling of the name, WEB, DeBois, you see right there spelled with the DE as oppose to a DU. And then there was an apology coming from the department of education, another misspelling on apologizes, apologies, is this just an honest mistake, or is this, you know, taking take on a life of its own? What does and how does this department and administration handle?

ZELIZER: Right. See, you are up twitter politics. And you know, misspellings and hash tags all of a sudden take on political importance.

I think the anger doesn't stem from that, the concern about her stems from her positions on public schools and some of her positions on the substance of education and the controversies from the culture wars. So I think that's why the misspelling starts to gain so much traction. But I do think that we have to be cautious to keep the focus on the real policy issues and not just the tweets which we can't always read the intentions or the significance of a mistake like this. T

WHITFIELD: And some are, you know, tweeting about just the attentions to detail, you know, the omission of the attention to detail also speaks volumes.

ZELIZER: It also speaks volume of the danger. The administration is using twitter and many cabinet leaders will as a central means of communication. So it is fair to say if you are going do that, you have to be careful about how use say things and what you say and mistakes like this, because a small mistake can mean a lot. Whether you are talking about Devos or whether you are talking about foreign policy and how the president has tweeted about situation overseas. So we can't just discount this issue as silly. We can discount the mechanism is not relevant because the effects can be very important and politically important in terms of policy.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julian Zelizer, always good to see you. Thanks so much at Princeton.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, an alarming fight in heroin overdoses in one state. WE will hear from one mom who lost a son to heroin and is hoping to convince people not to do drugs in the way she shares the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:21] WHITFIELD: As Trump dined with Japan's prime minister this weekend, a special guest was also invited, owner of the super bowl champions, New England Patriots' Robert Kraft. He is on the Left there. And while the team will soon be honored at the White House, at least six players with the New England Patriots say they will not be going. Some cited their political opposition to the president, others were less forthcoming saying only that they had other plans.

CNN's Jason Carroll has more on the very public intersections of politics and sports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president's controversial first few weeks in office has inspired a new wave of athlete activism. NBA player Lebron James, prima ballerina Misty Copland, Olympic medal-winning Fencer Ibtihaj Mohammed all speaking out against President Trump's policies.

Super Bowl champ Chris Long and Legarrette Blount now joining at least four other New England Patriots players passing on White House meeting with the president and their team later this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't be going to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It that a will not? No? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to expound on that at all or?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is just so many things that I just don't feel welcome into that house. I'm just going to leave it as that.

CARROLL: Patriots player Martellus Bennett will also a no-show shortly after the patriots' victory over the falcons, Martellus said he won't attend because the president has what he called too many prejudices.

MARTELLUS BENNETT, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: I'm not going to go. It is what it is. People don't know how I feel about it. Just follow me on twitter.

CARROLL: Bennett supported Hillary Clinton on social media during the election and criticized Trump's travel ban days after the order was signed, tweeting America was built on inclusiveness, not exclusiveness.

Patriots Leadership is firmly on team Trump. Owner Robert Kraft, head coach, Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady all say they are friends with Trump. Trump's make America great cap displayed in Brady's locker. And while Brady visited White House with his team all three times. During the Bush years, he skipped it during Obama's term citing family commitment. That day, Brady spotted shopping at an Apple store in New York City.

CNN has reached out to Patriots and White House for comment and has yet to receive a response.

Sports analyst Christine Brennan says her sense is that more athletes will come forward to express their political opinions.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: My sense is we are going to see more and more athletes speaking out and their fans actually supporting it and thanking them for it.

CARROLL: Already On the Record a number of former and current NBA players criticizing trump's immigration restrictions.

KYLE LOWRY, TORONTO RAPTORS: I think it's (bleep). I think it's actually (bleep). Our country is home of the free. And for that to happen I think is (bleep).

CARROLL: And when Under Armour CEO Kevin Planck praised Trump's pro- business approach calling him asset to the country.

Golden State Warrior's guard Stephen Curry said I agree with that description if you remain the ET from asset.

Certainly one the first time players have taken a political stance. This iconic image Olympics the 1968 in Mexico City, Tommy Smith and John Carlos raising their fists to support civil rights. And just last season, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick

(ph) refusing to stand during the national anthem in the name of racial injustice. Now other athletes standing up to challenge the White House.

Jason Carroll, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:30:04] WHITFIELD: And we'll be talking to a number of other athletes, next weekend when we take our show on the road to New Orleans for the NBA All-Star. We'll talk about that and many other matters coming up.

Also, people in Mexico now, coming up, taking to the streets today protesting President Trump, their message, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, scores of protesters are lashing out at President Trump across Mexico today. The biggest demonstration is in the capital where protesters are gathering near Mexico City's Independence Monument. They have been speaking out against Trump's plans for a border wall and his past rhetoric about Mexicans.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, we have seen new raids this week resulting in the arrests of hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least 12 states and we have learned most of those arrested had criminal convictions and at least 37 in California had been deported to Mexico. According to the "Wall Street Journal," a group of Mexican lawmakers and public figures are vowing to fight deportations by, "jamming U.S. courts."

Let's talk about this with CNN opinion writer and immigration lawyer Raul Reyes.

RAUL REYES, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: Thanks. Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, how would this work?

REYES: Well, to understand how this would work, this plan which right now I think is definitely in a, I would say a trial phase.

[16:35:00] We have to look another two structural aspects of Mexico's economy and our legal system. Now, think about this, in Mexico, one of their greatest source of cash to the government is remittances.

In 2015, Mexico received $24 billion in remittances. That's money that people from abroad send back home. By comparison that same year, Mexico received $23 billion, which is a $1 billion less in its money from oil exports. So Mexico needs this money from remittances.

Now, what the Mexican government -- they have a vested interest in protecting their nationals here in this country because if Donald Trump were to proceed with these mass deportation program that he has talked about and seems to be implementing already, it would start draining away the source of those funds. And those funds are a significant portion of Mexico's GDP.

Now on our side of the border, consider this, in our country right now -- I'm sure you know Fredericka, we have 11 million undocumented people here. We also have another 12 million people who are foreign nationals who are green card holders. So we're talking 24 people in this country who are foreign nationals. Do you know how many immigration judges we have in this country to handle this 24 million people -- 24 million?

WHITFIELD: What's the number?

REYES: We only have 274 immigration judges. And about 20 of those handle administrative tasks. So our immigration courts are tremendously backlogged and I think what this group of Mexican lawmakers is hoping to do is take advantage of that backlog and apply some pressure.

WHITFIELD: So then give us an idea. What is the process particularly for people who have been arrested, we mentioned that 37 already been deported, but then it (ph) never once not necessarily deported right away. There is a process. There is a holding, you know, area, et cetera, I mean, what's your understanding about the sequence of events?

REYES: Sure, well, I want to preface this by saying there are really two sequences of events. There's the sequence of event -- sequence of events that have that exists in theory and that should always happen and there is the sequence of events that just can happen and does happen to many undocumented people.

Anyone who is undocumented in this country who's detained by the federal government is entitled to due process under our constitution. That means they have a right to counsel. That means they have the right to go before a judge and have it during adjudicated.

WHITFIELD: Except a lot have been -- often don't even really know that but they can ask for a judge.

REYES: Right, exactly. They can ask for a bail hearing with some form of relief. A vast majority do not know this. Our immigration system and our law -- our legal system is just (INAUDIBLE) before Americans, so many people who are held by the government sign papers agreeing to be deported or they're just caught up in these mass raids and the paper work is done very quickly and then they are removed from the country.

So that's really the difference between what happens in theory and what generally happens. What we're seeing from Donald Trump, you know, we have heard so much about this travel ban, the so-called Muslim ban and how it's being challenged in court. But Donald Trump recently sent out another executive order, going back to January 26.

This really changes our immigration priorities and makes virtually anyone who is in the country now subject to removal because under the new deportation guidelines, if you are convicted of a crime, if you're even charged with a crime but not convicted -- WHITFIELD: Except that the Trump administration is saying that these

were things put into place by the Obama administration. They're simply executing it further.

REYES: Right. Well, that's what they're saying. However, any immigration lawyer can tell you under the Obama administration effective 2014, they had three priorities for removal. That was criminals, you know, cartel people, drug dealers, people who had national security threat and recent arrivals.

WHITFIELD: And Trump is saying that's the priority for them as well.

REYES: No, Trump has changed it. Under the new Trump guidelines -- those guidelines are out -- under Trump's executive order of January 26, the people who can be processed for removal immediately, those convicted of a crime, those charged with a crime and those who the arresting officer, the ICE agent thinks could be a threat to public safety. So that means basically anyone.

What Donald Trump, what his administration has already done has really lowered the bar for deportation. So this has created a lot of fear and panic and obviously in the immigrant community. There's also a lot of confusion surrounding the way it's going to be implemented that's why we're seeing so many -- so much confusion and I think anxiety over the raids that did take place this weekend.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it right there, Raul Reyes, good to see you.

REYES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

REYES: You too.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, an alarming spike in heroin overdoses in one state -- dozens of calls in just 32 hours. What officials on the frontlines are doing to combat this growing problem, next.

[16:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A disturbing spike in drug overdoses in Louisville, Kentucky. Emergency services receiving 52 overdose calls in 32 hours most of them involving heroine. The city is the latest added to the long list of places battling a surge in that illegal drug. Here now is CNN's Rachel Crane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARLENE RICE, MOTHER OF HEROIN VICTIM: These are Gabriel's ashes. I just love you. I kiss him all the time.

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arlene Rice knows all too well the toll the opiod epidemic is taking on families across the country.

RICE: And it has been very devastating to our family that has -- we will never be the same. We will never be whole.

CRANE: She lost her son Gabriel nearly four years ago to a heroin overdose. Of her four children, three have battled substance abuse.

RICE: They're all missing. He was the best boy, we always say, I love that boy, and he was the best kid. Even up until -- we were close up until the day he died.

CRANE: Janice Durbin's son Jason has been fighting addiction for more than 20 years. He is currently in a treatment center.

JANICE DURBIN, MOTHER OF A HEROIN VICTIM: The guilt is the worst I think because then you think what did I do wrong or should I've done this better or that better or -- because they -- everybody wants to tell you do tough love and until they have a child who has an issue with addiction, they don't know what that means.

CRANE: Louisville, Kentucky is the latest city to experience a spike in heroine overdoses.

[16:45:00:] This week, officials responded to 52 overdose calls in just 32 hours, more than double the amount from the week before in the same time span.

DURBIN: It makes me sick, really, that's the first thing that I think of. It's just getting worse and worse and it seems like there's nothing working or nothing being done.

CRANE: It's not just the parents who feel frustrated. E.R. doctors here are overwhelmed with patients. In January alone, Metro Emergency Services answered 695 overdose calls, that's 22 a day. Many of those patients are transferred to Norton Audobon Hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see it every day and in times past, it would be unusual just having, you know, very many heroin overdoses. Now, it's unusual if we don't have them. It's a very good day in the emergency department if I don't see a heroin overdose.

CRANE: And how often are those days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't had one of those days in a long time.

CRANE: His worst day, this past fall when he treated nine overdoses in one shift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's just an incredible burden on the health care system.

CRANE: According to Dr. Kelch (ph), doctors are administering higher doses of a drug called naloxone, a medicine that is used to treat opioid overdoses. That's because the heroin is getting stronger and stronger. That's why people like Arlene never leave home without her naloxone, also known as Narcan. She says she carries it with her lipstick.

RICE: I never got a chance to tell him, you know, how sorry I was. CRANE: How sorry you were for what?

RICE: For not understanding his plight.

CRANE: And for that, Arlene is now an advocator for those fighting substance abuse.

RICE: There does come a point where you sometimes wear down, but then you get back up and you fight. You're like, I am not going let this win. I will fight until the day that I die, to try to ensure that someone else's child doesn't die. I can't save all of them, but maybe one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: Now, Fred, one of the ways Arlene is trying to fight this epidemic is by trying to get Narcan in the hands of every single person in Kentucky. That's her goal. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, powerful testimonies. All right, Rachel Crane, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And so the political roast carries on, as Melissa McCarthy reprise her role as a screaming unhinged press secretary Sean Spicer on "Saturday Night Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA MCCARTHY, ACTESS: Here's how it's going to go down. You've got your TSA agent right here, OK? And first you got Barbie coming in, nice American girl, back from a dream vacation. We know she's OK because she's blonde. So she gets in. It's easy. We understand that, perfect. Now who's up next? Uh-oh. Uh-oh, it's Moana.

(LAUGHTER)

Slow your roll honey. And then we're going to pat her down, and then we're going to read her e-mails and if we don't like the answers, which we won't, Guantanamo Bay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about this. Joining me right now is CNN Money and media reporter Frank Pallotta. So Frank, I mean, its side splitting funny. You know that she's going to be back. One has to assume this is going to be regular role.

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MONEY MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: No. I mean, we're not exactly sure how many times they will use her because she's not a part of the cast in the same way that Alec Baldwin who was the host last night, who's been playing Trump all season, is not a part of the cast. But you can't go up against how great Melissa McCarthy has been in her two performances. I thought this one wasn't as good as say last week's. The last week

was such a surprise and this one had a lot of great moments such as the Melania moment you just show. And my favorite is when she took out this big piece of gum and then shoves this huge piece of gum in her mouth.

What needs to be said about McCarthy is it's not just funny. It's really pointed and it really kind of makes fun of Spicer in a way that kind of injures his credibility.

WHITFIELD: I can't imagine that he like this. All right, let's talk about numbers because we know a certain person in the White House really love to talk about numbers, but, Alec Baldwin, you know, hosting the show last night, it had its best ratings in six years, what's the appeal? What's going on?

PALLOTTA: Well, it brought in about a 7.2 overnight rating, which is the largest in six years as you said. But even more important than that, it brought in a bigger rating than when Donald Trump, the real Donald Trump, hosted just 15 months ago. That brought in a 6.6 overnight rating.

The appeal is that "Saturday Night Live" right now is much watched television.

WHITFIELD: It's hot.

PALLOTTA: I mean it's one of the biggest things of the week. I cover it every single week. I've covered it for years. I've never seen people really get into it as much as they were last night. And that's because of Alec and Donald Trump, both of them have made "Saturday Night Live" great again.

WHITFIELD: Yes, (INAUDIBLE), you know, it's a simple as (ph) I think people can predict. I mean, something happens, something newsworthy or not may say, oh my gosh, that's great material for SNL so everyone's kind of onboard.

So, Melissa McCarthy wasn't the only one, you know, taking aim at the administration, but Kate McKinnon also transformed herself in a man playing U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and we know that this kind of gets into the skin of Donald Trump. He said he didn't like, you know, McCarthy playing a man and now here we go times two.

PALLOTTA: I mean, Kate McKinnon is pretty in some (ph) great --

WHITFIELD: She's amazing.

PALLOTTA: Hopefully award-winning work. She's basically playing everyone in Washington, D.C. She played Jeff Sessions last night. She played Kellyanne Conway, which in my opinion is better than her Hillary Clinton. And the best one from last night was Elizabeth Warren.

So it's not just the Republican side. They're mocking everybody. And Kate McKinnon is just doing incredible work. And from the reports out there, this might be irking the administration.

WHITFIELD: Might be? I mean, yes. I think we're all -- we're all guessing that it must be. All right, Frank Pallotta, thanks so much, appreciate it. Good to see you.

PALLOTTA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this weekend. We have so much more straight ahead in the Newsroom with Ana Cabrera, but first in this week's "CNN Money Away" we take you to Denver where it just got a little easier to hit the slopes on the your next business trip.

[16:55:00] Here now is CNN's Chris Moody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MOODY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Denver, Colorado is a bustling western city surrounded by the stunning Rocky Mountains that welcomes more than 75 million visitors a year. If you're traveling on business, but want to sneak in some skiing after your meetings, it just got a lot easier to head to the mountains, and you don't even need a car.

I rode Amtrak's Winter Park Express, the only train in the country that takes you from a major city's downtown directly to a ski slope and it takes less than two hours.

Traveling by rail in the U.S. can actually be more convenient than flying even out west. Unlike most airlines, if your plans change at the last minute, Amtrak allows you to switch your ticket without any extra fees. Plus, there's no TSA, you just walk right on. I booked a seat on the Winter Park Express which departs every winter weekend from Denver's newly renovated Union Station.

BRAD SWARTZWELTER, AMTRAK CONDUCTOR: It's like nothing else in the world. It weaves through 28 tunnels. It goes in and out of the flat irons above Boulder. It goes along South Boulder Creek through some of the most remote wilderness on the front range of Colorado. It's something to see even if you never touch the snow.

MOODY: Brad's right. The journey is stunning. With the chair lifts just opening, we pull up to the mountain. And now that we're here, it's time to gear up.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOODY: Not bad.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMECIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Five o'clock eastern, 2:00 in the afternoon out west. Thanks for joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera and you're live in the CNN Newsroom. Let's begin with the ballistic missile launch by North Korea. It is now the first major test for President Trump from a country known for its aggressive provocations.

[17:00:00] The launch comes just three weeks into Trump's presidency. An expert say it's no coincidence it happened during the visit from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Now officials say the missile travelled roughly 300 miles before splashing into the Sea of Japan.