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Outrage around the World over Trump's Slur; Trump and the Porn Star; Iran Nuclear Deal; Pakistani Girl's Murderer a Possible Serial Killer; Puerto Ricans Living in Homes without Roofs; LG Shows off Latest Gadget. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 13, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Global outrage over a vulgar slur used by the U.S. president. Now Donald Trump is walking back part of his comments.

Plus, as Pakistan honors a young girl brutally raped and murdered, police are on the hunt for a serial killer.

And later this hour, we take you to the world's largest technology expo and show you the television of tomorrow.

For now, thanks for watching the television of today. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

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ALLEN: The President of the United States now denies calling some African nation, quote, "shitholes." The comments were reportedly made during a closed door meeting on immigration in the Oval Office Thursday.

According to one source, Donald Trump is delighted by this controversy. Another source tells CNN some White House staffers believe it plays well with the president's base.

But there is plenty of outrage. The African Union, which represents all 55 nations of the African continent, is demanding both a retraction and an apology from Mr. Trump. Despite the president's denial over exactly what he said regarding both Haiti and Africa, senators who were in the room at the time have confirmed Mr. Trump uttered the offensive term. We get the whole story from CNN's Jim Acosta.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we gather in the White House to honor the memory of a great American hero, the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a moment filled with sad irony. The same day the president signed a proclamation honoring civil rights hero Martin Luther King, Mr. Trump was dodging questions about his own racially charged rhetoric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you a racist?

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president is running away from comments he made to a bipartisan group of lawmakers on immigration. On the subject of immigrants coming from Africa, the president said, "Why are we having people from all these shithole countries come here?" wondering whether more people could come from Norway.

Later, Mr. Trump questioned the need to protect Haitian immigrants from deportation, saying, "Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out."

MLK's nephew, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., told CNN the president talked to him privately about the controversy.

ISAAC NEWTON FARRIS JR., MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S NEPHEW: The president just simply said to me that I'm not the guy that's being described in the media.

ACOSTA: Do you believe him?

FARRIS: I think -- I don't think that President Trump is a racist in the traditional sense as we know in this country. I think President Trump is racially ignorant or racially uninformed. But I don't think that he's a racist in the traditional sense.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president tried to deny he made the remarks, tweeting, "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians, never said 'Take them out.' Made up by Dems. And the language used by me at the meeting was tough but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made, a big setback."

Democratic senator Dick Durbin, who was at the meeting, said the president is not telling the truth.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-ILL.), DEMOCRATIC WHIP: Said things which were hate-filled, vile and racist. When he said Haitians, "Do we need more Haitians?"

And then he went on, when we started to describe the immigration from Africa that was being protected in this bipartisan measure, that's when he used these vile and vulgar comments, calling the nations they come from shitholes.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Two other Republican senators, Tom Cotton and David Purdue, who were also at the meeting, issued a joint statement, saying, "We do not recall the president saying these comments specifically."

But GOP senator Lindsey Graham, who was also there, all but confirmed the remarks, saying in a statement, "Diversity has always been our strength, not our weakness."

The president has a long history of making racially insensitive remarks, from his comments on Mexican immigrants ...

TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people.

ACOSTA (voice-over): -- to his defense of white supremacist protesters...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are a people.

ACOSTA (voice-over): -- in Charlottesville last year.

TRUMP: You had some very bad people in that group but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president's latest comments raised questions about past White House denials, that its immigration policy is racially motivated.

ACOSTA: You're trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is one of the most outrageous, insulting, ignorant and foolish things you've ever said.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Now lawmakers from both parties worry the president's remarks could jeopardize talks to reform the nation's immigration system.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I read those comments later last night. So the first thing that came to my mind was very unfortunate, unhelpful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The U.S. House Speaker with those comments.

On Capitol Hill, top House Democrats plan to unveil a congressional resolution next week to censure the president for those disparaging --

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ALLEN: -- comments he made about developing countries. A censure against the president means formally reprimanding him. Congressman Cedric Richmond says he is among those leading the charge.

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REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D), CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: I think that Congress should state for the record that we find these statements to be horrible, to be disturbing and to be factually incorrect.

So we will introduce a censure resolution. I'm sure that the Republican leadership will maneuver so that we don't have an up or down vote on it.

But we think it's important, not only for America but for the world to know that Donald Trump is not speaking for America when he says statements like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The question is, do people around the world believe that?

There is strong reaction to the president's comments globally, especially in Africa. CNN's David McKenzie joins us from Johannesburg, South Africa.

David, hello to you. It's not like he took on a country or two. The president, in his statement, condemned an entire continent.

What has been the reaction?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly that's the reaction from Africans across this continent, that this was racist comments by the President of the United States.

Now there's no real questioning whether it's racist or not, in this part of the world, and throughout social media, people I'm speaking to on the phone and just my experience in covering more than 30 African countries over my career, you know, it's very disheartening for Africans to see the U.S. president speaking in broad strokes about their nations and about their race, frankly.

Because many people don't see this necessarily as describing certain countries but being more a racial issue about who is welcome in the eyes of the president into the U.S. and who is not welcome.

And on a diplomatic front, it is very damaging, say many, for the U.S.' attempts to garner relationships here on the continent; the African Union, as you mentioned, saying that they demand an apology from the President of the U.S.

I spoke to the spokesman of that continental body. She told me that, you know, frankly, she was shocked. And given the history of the U.S., with so many slaves from the African continent helping build the U.S. economy, she said it's -- it shows real ignorance on the part of the U.S. president when dealing with issues like immigration -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes. And this issue, is it going to have long-term effects perhaps, with the U.S. and its relationships in Africa?

Or can the words of the president somehow be isolated and they look at the United States apart from the words of our leader?

MCKENZIE: Well, there are two separate questions there. I think on whether this will fade or not, people's memories are long. And they don't necessarily forgive someone who is the leader of the free world in their eyes for making these statements. And it's not the first time Africans have seen the president of the

U.S. make questionable, potentially racially tinged remarks about people and places within the continent.

So that's a difficult one. On a real practical level, though, just look at it like this. South Africa doesn't have a U.S. ambassador. There are several countries in the continent that don't have ambassadors yet, more than a year in, or at around a year into the presidency.

There are key State Department officials who haven't been named. This shows to Africans at least potentially a lack of interest in the continent from the U.S. president, as China and other countries come in and take advantage of that vacuum that the U.S. potentially is creating.

The African countries, many of them, growing at a faster rate than the U.S. in terms of the economies aren't to be ignored when it comes to relationship building. And so comments like this from the U.S. president are very damaging not only in terms of people-to-people relationship but also for what the State Department is trying to do on the continent, in terms of building the governmental relationship between the U.S. and more than 50 countries on the continent.

So, yes, it's very damaging. And, no, I don't think it's going to fade away quickly -- Natalie.

ALLEN: So unfortunate. David McKenzie for us there in South Africa, David, thank you.

Of course, some of President Trump's reported comments specifically disparaged Haiti, not just Africa. The island nation is marking eight years since the earthquake that killed some 300,000 people. The Trump administration apparently now wants to remove many of the survivors who fled to the U.S. after the earthquake.

The Haitian embassy is responding to the controversy by thanking those who offered words of support after the president's remarks. And the embassy --

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ALLEN: -- says it looks forward to maintaining its longstanding relationship with the U.S. A sampling of residents we spoke with in Haiti also was quite revealing. Here it is.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're not really shocked by what he said because we know who he is and he's used to saying offensive things. This is another level. We're angry but we're not really surprised by what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The entire world should pray for Trump. We need to pray for him. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We as Haitians, we need to do better so people can respect us because, if we don't respect ourselves first, no one will respect us. But as Haitians, he hit us hard. It shocked us. It's more than shocking, especially coming from an American president who made such a statement.

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ALLEN: Really amazing responses there, heartfelt and heartbreaking.

For her perspective, let's bring in Leslie Vinjamuri. She teaches international relations at SOAS University of London.

Leslie, thanks for joining us.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, SOAS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Thank you.

ALLEN: We've done a lot of Donald Trump interviews. But this is probably one of the tougher, at least it is for me, considering what he has said.

Can Mr. Trump hurt the United States in ways, economically and otherwise, if alienates countries or in -- for Africa, its entire continent?

VINJAMURI: Oh, well, it's undoubtedly the case that this is doing tremendous damage to America's reputation, to the symbolism of America.

Remember, America is important not only in terms of specific relationships that it builds in terms of its foreign aid and diplomacy and its strategic partnerships but it's important as a symbol, as a country, that's an immigrant nation that's founded on the idea, the basic idea that it welcomes immigrants to its borders, that it seeks to incorporate them into America fully as people, as citizens.

And immigrants have made the most extraordinary important and long- standing contributions to the United States of America. So it's tremendously damaging and it's upsetting, obviously, for people, for leaders abroad. It makes it difficult for leaders abroad to explain to their people why they continue to work with the United States.

Inevitably, they need to and must, in many cases, because of America's tremendous resources. But it also plays very negatively within the United States. And I think we're seeing people are very distressed. We've seen the opinion pieces, we've seen the public reactions.

Congress is not sure how to respond. It's very damaging and it's tremendously disruptive.

ALLEN: Yes. Republican leaders have been quite quiet, as a matter of fact.

Well, Donald Trump has made racially charged comments in the past. There were undertones during the campaign that his slogan "make America great again" was semi-code for make America white again. Is this Donald Trump we are seeing now the man that people elected him voted for?

VINJAMURI: Well, I think there were very complex set of reasons, different across many populations, for why people elected Donald Trump. I would be very reluctant to say that the American people were looking or seeking to have a racist president.

The comments undoubtedly are racist. They're also more than racist because remember they're pointed at countries that are weaker in general economically, politically, militarily than the United States.

So it's this combination of race and of relative -- countries that have less power resources. And when you bring that together, it's a form of bullying that, I think, is just tremendously dangerous. Hopefully what we'll see from the president is an apology. I think he owes that to the American people, to the American Congress.

And I think people would like to hear him not simply ignore the negative impact and certainly not deny it but to acknowledge and walk back. At a minimum, to say that his remarks didn't do himself or the country any justice. But I think the political implications cannot be understated.

ALLEN: One of the most revered leaders, heroes, if you will, in our country is Martin Luther King Jr. His nephew spoke privately with Mr. Trump after assigning Friday to remember MLK Jr. as the nation celebrates a holiday in his honor. He was asked later outside the White House, did he think Donald Trump is a racist. He said he didn't but he said he does think the president is racially ignorant and racially uninformed.

Do you agree with that?

VINJAMURI: Well, it's very difficult -- and I'm not even entirely sure it's helpful -- to try and decide whether or not Donald Trump as an individual is racist. The language that he's used is clearly language that will inevitably --

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VINJAMURI: -- be interpreted as highly racially charged and as racist and as discriminatory and, even more importantly, as being targeted against people who engage with the United States very productively, many who come and live and build their lives and contribute very importantly to American society.

And for that reason, he's absolutely got to address the language and to -- if he wants to be successful politically and if he wants to contribute to America's diplomatic role and its symbolic appeal abroad, to rethink the use of the language.

ALLEN: Right. There's one report that says he's enjoying this controversy. I hope that's just a way of saying perhaps he's opened up an issue that the country needs to address in some way. We will see. Leslie Vinjamuri, as always, thank you for being our guest.

VINJAMURI: Thank you. ALLEN: The White House doctor says President Trump's health is excellent. On Friday, Mr. Trump had his first known medical exam since taking office. Not many details have been released yet but past presidential exams have included readings on height, weight, heart rate, blood pressure.

In a statement, the White House doctor says, "The president's physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well.

"The president is in excellent health and I look forward to briefing some of the details on Tuesday."

We'll learn more then.

President Trump keeps the Iran nuclear deal for now. Coming up here, what he says has to change though for that deal to stay in place.

Plus, in Pakistan, protesters demand justice and answers for a little girl, whose rape and murder rocked the country.

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ALLEN: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.

He's called it the worst deal ever but U.S. president Donald Trump says he's giving the Iran nuclear deal one last chance. On Friday he waived sanctions to keep the landmark agreement alive.

But he also said the U.S. would withdraw from the deal if major changes weren't made. He wants more limits to Iran's nuclear development and for the deal to cover Iran's long-range missile program.

For more on the Iran nuclear deal, I'm joined from London by Sanam Vakil, she's an associate at the Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Program and a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Sanam, thank you for joining us.

SANAM VAKIL, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you.

ALLEN: First of all, your reaction to the president going along with U.S. allies and approving the deal again?

VAKIL: Well, Trump is really passing the buck, giving his allies, co- signatories to the deal, specifically the European countries, another four months to try and strengthen or improve upon the deal. At the same time, he's also trying to pressure Congress and the

Iranians. So he has a multipronged objective here to build upon the deal and try to get all of these three parties to agree to extend the life of the deal beyond its current limits, to make sure that the United States can get behind what Trump would like to be a stronger deal, one that would prevent Iran from ever getting nuclear weapons.

ALLEN: What are a couple of the elements that has him thinking this is a bad deal?

VAKIL: Well, there are a few provisions that he has spoken directly against. The first is the issue of the sunset clauses. And President Trump thinks that the deal should never expire.

And he's heavily criticized the Obama administration for agreeing to limits on the deal that would allow Iran after 10, 15 and 25 years to return to a peaceful nuclear program.

The second element that he would like to improve upon is to allow access to military sites inside the country.

The third would be to also include Iran's ballistic missile program in the deal as well. And this is an agreement or this -- building upon this agreement is what he wants to do only with his European counterparts. He doesn't require Iran to get on board and accept these provisions.

But rather, he wants to pressure Europe to accept harder penalties against Iran.

ALLEN: While a nuclear deal is still in place for now, the U.S. did impose new sanctions on Iranians, mainly for human rights abuses and ties to its missile program. Iran says that has crossed a red line and its response will be severe.

What form could that take?

VAKIL: Well, I think, for the time being, the Iranians are just trying to demonstrate that they can be rhetorically strong against the United States. They are coming out of over a week-long nationwide protests.

And this tension over the nuclear agreement is rather -- sends very bad signals for President Rouhani, who is trying to build a more open, economically integrated Iranian economy.

If the nuclear deal, fails, so, too, will Rouhani's plans. And so they're trying to put on a very tough front and trying to be united and build a coalition of support with European countries as well as with Russia and China against the United States here.

ALLEN: We appreciate your expertise. Thanks for coming on, Sanam Vakil for us.

Thanks, Sanam

VAKIL: Thank you.

ALLEN: Well, the United Nations says it's worried about the large number of arrests amid a wave of protests in Tunisia. The U.N. Human Rights Office says around 800 people have been detained since Monday. It wants Tunisia to allow peaceful assembly.

Many protesters are angry about hikes in fuel prices and sales taxes. State media report those arrested are accused of looting, vandalism and other crimes.

Police in Pakistan are on the hunt for the person who raped and murdered a 7-year-old girl and then just tossed her body on a trash heap. People gathered across the country Friday to honor Zainab Amin's memory. Many of them accuse the government of not doing enough to protect children. Alexandra Field --

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ALLEN: -- has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zainab Amin's family is demanding justice and they are joined by people across Pakistan, who took part in demonstrations that turned deadly, as frustrations were vented in the recent days since the death of this 7-year-old girl.

Her body was found dumped on a pile of trash. Police say, before she was murdered, she was raped, tortured and sodomized. It's a pattern that fits a number of other crimes in the city of Kasur in Eastern Pakistan. Authorities say there have been attacks on a dozen young girls.

Now one official from Punjab says it appears that there could be a serial killer and they say they've discovered DNA links between six of the murders. Officials say they are still trying to find Zainab's killer, though they have taken some suspects into custody. They say they're determined to bring this person to justice.

But Zainab's family says the police haven't done enough. They say they're the ones who went out and found the CCTV video that shows some of the last moments of Zainab's life. She's seen in that video with an unknown person on the same day that she disappeared from her family's home.

Zainab's family has also now released the final page in her journal.

It reads, "Myself, I am a girl. My name is Zainab. My father's name is Amin. I am 7 years old. I live in Kasur."

Zainab's death, the attacks on a dozen girls have gripped this country's attention. In a powerful move, a news presenter here in Pakistan appeared on TV, calling for justice for Zainab, calling for justice for all of the victims, with her own small daughter seated in her lap -- in Islamabad, Alexandra Field, CNN.

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ALLEN: Such a tragic story there.

Chinese officials say they have found two more bodies on the burning oil tanker drifting in waters between Shanghai and Japan. Rescuers have been searching for the tanker's 32 crew members since it collided with a freighter last week. Three bodies have now been recovered.

While searching the vessel, rescuers also found the ship's voyage data recorder. The ship was carrying 136,000 tons of oil from Iran to South Korea, when it collided with the freighter on January 6th.

Next here, President Trump's alleged comments on immigrants from developing countries send shock waves across the world.

And CNN goes to the heart of Trump's base to gauge reaction to the latest furor surrounding the president.

Also, could the newest television trend be a big screen you can roll up?

Sounds pretty cool. Our tech reporter puts it to the test at one of the world's biggest tech shows. That's ahead here as we push on. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta, I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our top stories.

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ALLEN: We turn back now to those inflammatory comments from the U.S. president. There's been a firestorm of criticism around the world. The African Union says it is infuriated and outraged, is demanding Mr. Trump retract the statement and apologize. Others have similar views and here's a sample.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I find him quite offensive; OK, actually very offensive because I think Africa, most countries in Africa are pretty stable and we are doing good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's not the right thing for him to do. He's the President of the United States of America. We expect more of him. We expect him to be an example. We are growing democracies and we don't expect such remarks. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not agree because, first, it's a downgrade on humanity here because we're not any less of beings. Two is that the U.S. needs those immigrants to help fund the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no shit immigrants and there is no rich immigrants. I mean, there is immigrants all over the world, who are immigrating because they need to find a better future for them and for their child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's clearly revolting. We know very well that it's not the opinion of all Americans. It's a racist part of America that is expressing itself more and more, which is unfortunate in the 21st century.

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ALLEN: While President Trump's reported remarks sent shock waves around the world, many of his loyal supporters in the U.S. are willing to give him a pass. But they also admit he's far from perfect. Our Gary Tuchman reports from one of Mr. Trump's electoral strongholds in the state of Alabama.

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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you ready?

BOB HOLLINGSWORTH, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Ready. Ready to get brave.

TUCHMAN: The Rack and Roll billiards bar in Aniston, Alabama is in the heart of Trump country. And Bob Hollingsworth (ph) is a loyal Republican who voted for Donald Trump.

Bob -- I want to ask you. Overall, what do you think of the job Donald Trump is doing so far?

HOLLINGSWORTH: I would give him overall a seven -- seven out of ten.

TUCHMAN: He doesn't get a higher grade, says Hollingsworth, because of some of his personal behavior, including what he just said.

HOLLINGSWORTH: He used shithole countries.

TUCHMAN: So what do you think of the President using that term?

HOLLINGSWORTH: We could have done better there, but I think he talked more so in terms of voicing that against the leadership of the country more so than the people of the country.

TUCHMAN: Right. But the fact that he used that word at all to describe a country in any way, shape, or form --

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HOLLINGSWORTH: Not presidential -- no. Not presidential -- shouldn't have done it. TUCHMAN: We found that to be a common sentiment in downtown Aniston among people who generally admire the President.

Rodney Perser (ph) works in a restaurant.

With the President using that word, how do you feel about that?

RODNEY PERSER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: He should have been more professional about it. He shouldn't have used that word.

TUCHMAN: And as far as the restaurant customers go --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that that was unprofessional and I would think that that shows a little bit of lack of morals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably unpresidential.

TUCHMAN: Gene Robinson feels a bit differently, though. The store owner is a former mayor of Aniston and isn't even a registered Republican, but strongly defends the President.

GENE ROBINSON, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I don't think that he would have intentionally insulted any country and that just came out of his mouth and that's the way he operates. He operates from the hip.

TUCHMAN: So you think it was a mistake he said that?

ROBINSON: Yes, I do.

TUCHMAN: You don't think he's being derogatory towards any country?

ROBINSON: I don't think he's being derogatory towards anyone.

TUCHMAN: Back at the billiards hall, Bob Hollingsworth rejects accusations the President is racist.

Do you think that he ever would have said that about a country that is mostly white? The countries he said that about are mostly black.

HOLLINGSWORTH: Well, that's a good point.

TUCHMAN: Could it affect you when you vote in 2020? Could it make you say maybe I'm not going to vote for Donald Trump this time?

HOLLINGSWORTH: Crude, but I can live with it.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN -- Aniston, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The U.S. ambassador to Panama is resigning because of differences with the Trump administration. John Feliz's (ph) was made before this week's controversial comments by the president but the career diplomat's resignation letter makes it clear disagreements with the White House prompted his decision.

Feliz (ph) was appointed during the Obama administration. When he steps down in March, Panama will join dozens of countries without a U.S. ambassador.

Here in the U.S., the White House and President Trump's lawyer are pushing back against a potentially damaging new report from "The Wall Street Journal." Tom Foreman has the details.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big new claim in "The Wall Street Journal" is this. A woman was paid $130,000 a month before the presidential election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Donald Trump.

According to this story, Trump had this encounter with an adult film star, who goes by the name Stormy Daniels, in 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament. "The Journal" says this new report of hush money comes from people familiar with the matter.

But the president's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, is hitting back hard, saying, "These rumors have circulated time and again since 2011. President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence, as has Ms. Daniels."

Cohen did not directly address the idea of a payment but he did give CNN a statement he says is from Stormy Daniels, saying, "My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.

"When I met Donald Trump, he was gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and everyone in my presence. Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false.

If, indeed, I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn't be reading about it in the news. You would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true," she says.

CNN has tried to reach Ms. Daniels for independent confirmation. We've not spoken to her yet. And Trump's lawyer Cohen has not provided contact information for her.

If the alleged event did nonetheless take place, it would have occurred the year after he married now first lady, Melania Trump. The White House, however, is calling this old, recycled news, strongly denied prior to the election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Tom Foreman with our report there from Washington.

Puerto Ricans are craving normalcy on their hurricane-hit island. Just ahead, we explain why tens of thousands of people still don't even have a roof over their heads.

Plus, we're going to a soccer match. It is a really, really big deal because there are women in the stands. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. We're coming to you live from downtown Atlanta. That's us right there, broadcasting on CNN U.S. and CNN International. And we'll be right back.

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ALLEN: For three months, people in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico have been picking up the pieces of their tattered homes. More than 70,000 have applied for a professionally installed tarp or Blue Roof from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A CNN investigation has found that tens of thousands are still waiting for one. We get more on the story from CNN's John Sutter; he's in Puerto Rico.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

JOHN SUTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hector's childhood home was torn apart when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico more than three months ago. He still doesn't have a roof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

SUTTER (voice-over): By the door when we visit in mid-December is this piece of yellow paper. It says Hector applied for a free and professionally installed tarp from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the time, the Corps says it's installing about 500 tarps per day.

But keeping them honest, an CNN investigation finds the program has left tens of thousands of people like Hector waiting.

Only 20 miles from his home is this room, full of 20,000 tarps. When we visit, they sit idle, waiting to be delivered.

Our analysis shows more than 70,000 people have asked for Blue Roofs as of December 18th. Yet three months after Hurricane Maria, only about a third have received them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ability to bring materials to the island is a little bit different from being able to truck it from one state to another or from one county to another. The warehouse full of roof is evidence that we've been able to overcome at least one part of that challenge.

SUTTER (voice-over): A bid dispute in December, which was first reported by CNN, temporarily slowed installations. But two attorneys tell us there was no legal reason for delay while that dispute was resolved, especially given the emergency on the ground in Puerto Rico. The Army Corps' own guidelines say people should get Blue Roofs within

two weeks of a date they apply for them.

In October, we meet Carmen. She says she broke her arm trying to sweep water out of her living room.

[04:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).

SUTTER (voice-over): The Army Corps determined Carmen was eligible for a Blue Roof. But when we visit two months later, she's still waiting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).

SUTTER (voice-over): Back in San Lorenzo, we show Hector an image of all those tarps sitting in a Puerto Rican warehouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

SUTTER (voice-over): John Sutter, CNN, Puerto Rico.

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ALLEN: Emergency workers are in a race against the clock, searching for miracles in Montecito, California. They hope to find five people, who have been missing since Tuesday, when those violent mudslides tore through neighborhoods already devastated by wildfire.

The mudslides have killed at least 18 people. On Friday, rescuers discovered the latest victim, an 87-year-old man, found in his home. A terrible way to die.

Another brutal round of winter weather is slamming the northeast U.S.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ALLEN: Saudi Arabia, a major milestone has been reached in that country. For the first time, women have been allowed to attend a men's soccer match. Stadiums in three Saudi cities will now be open to women.

It is the latest move toward a more open society in the kingdom. Earlier this week, the first car show aimed at women was held. Beginning in June, women will officially finally be allowed --

[04:50:00]

ALLEN: -- to drive.

Keep going in that direction, Saudi Arabia.

Coming up here, the winner of the $450 million Mega Millions jackpot comes forward in the U.S. We'll tell you who he is and what he hopes to do with his winnings. Plus, the must-have gadget of the future. We get a look at one of the world's biggest tech shows.

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ALLEN: He's 20 years old, he lives in Florida and, man, oh, man, is he rich all of a sudden. Shane Missler is his name. Shane bought the winning ticket in last week's $450 million Mega Millions drawing at this store in Port Richey, Florida.

He's now come forward to claim his prize. And by taking the cash option, Shane walks away with almost $282 million.

What's he going to do with it?

He says he's planning on doing something good for humanity. We wish him well in that.

Companies from all over the world unveiled the future of technology in Las Vegas this week. Get a load of the future here. How about --

[04:55:00]

ALLEN: -- smart underwear? A high-tech fertility tracker? And a 3D photo booth that creates a digital clone of you?

Those were just some of the innovative products showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show. Here's CNN's Samuel Burke with a look at the TV of the future.

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SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This box above me has a rollable television inside of it. I am sitting under it so that you can see it is not just going up and down. It is actually unrolling out of the box. We'll show you the technology in a second.

But for the past few years, lots of people have thought they know where TV was headed: 3D TVs, when was the last time you saw somebody with 3D glasses?

Curved televisions but who needs those when you can just roll up a television into a box and store it away?

A couple of years ago here at CES, LG Display showed us another prototype, a smaller 18- inch display that you might be able to roll up and stick in your back pocket like a newspaper one day.

They have taken the same technology and applied it to a TV. But this is just a prototype. And LG Display just makes screens. They hope that one day, TV manufacturers might actually incorporate this technology into their sets. But what you can see here is how the technology works under the hood

as the TV shrinks down.

So what's the point of having a rollable television?

You can tuck it away when you're not using it. But LG Display thinks you might actually want to use your television at different heights, maybe just to know what music is playing in the house or what the weather is.

But they also think you may want to use a super wide format like we're used to in movie theaters or possibly, just watching it to watch television in the format we have all become accustomed to. Imagine that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: I like the idea of just rolling it up, after you watch CNN hopefully.

Thanks for watching this hour. I'll have more news, another hour of news, right after the break. Be right back.

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