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South Korean Artists to Perform in North Korea; U.S. and South Korea Begin Joint Military Exercise; Deaths in Gaza Protests; Trump Accuses Amazon of Scamming USPS; Bill Cosby Headed for Retrial on Assault Charges; Christians Worldwide Celebrate Easter; Kenyans Question Cambridge Analytica Role in Election; Chocolate Burgers and Smart Shoephones. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 01, 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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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. blocks a call at the United Nations for an independent inquiry into deadly violence in Gaza.

Plus this:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Protesters in California are angry about the shooting of an unarmed African American man and there are questions after one protester was apparently hit by a sheriff's deputy's vehicle.

HOWELL (voice-over): Plus, Easter at the Vatican. This is a live look at St. Peter's Square. We have a live report ahead on how the pope is marking Easter Sunday.

ALLEN (voice-over): And Happy Easter to all of you and thank you for joining us. To our viewers in the U.S. and around the world, I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL (voice-over): I'm George Howell from CNN World Headquarters. NEWSROOM starts now.

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N. ALLEN: And we begin with the war games ongoing on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. and South Korea kicking off an annual military exercise, this despite thawing tension between the two Koreas.

HOWELL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to meet with his South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-in later this month. A meeting between Mr. Kim and the U.S. President Donald Trump could follow the month after that. Let's go live to Seoul, South Korea, CNN's Paula Hancocks is on the story this hour.

Paula, so, this time the drills shorter than last year. Is this a concession?

And does North Korea seem more accepting to more diplomacy underway?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, the U.S. has not called it a concession. You look at the facts, it's a month long. It's usually up to two months long. So certainly that is a big change. The Pentagon insisting, though, it is still going to be the same size, the same scope.

This is the Foal Eagle, the field training exercise, that every single spring annoys Pyongyang. They see it as having the power, seeing it as a dress rehearsal for an invasion.

Interestingly, what we've heard this time around is that the South Korean delegation that went to meet the North Korean leader, Kim Jong- un, said they brought up these drills and that Kim Jong-un had said he understands that they will go ahead.

So we would imagine that we're not going to see much of a reaction like we usually do from the North Koreans. Often we will see a number of missile launches, potentially even a nuclear test from the North Korean leader. But he said that, while negotiations are going on, tests will be on hold.

One interesting point, though. At this juncture, when the drills stop, we usually know when media days are going to be. We usually know when we can go along and film this fairly visual military exercise. We haven't heard of anything at this point.

The assumption is that they will not be showing this to the world very much. They'll be going ahead with these drills but not necessarily allowing us to film it so North Korea can see it.

HOWELL: And, Paula, one other question. So diplomacy underway, these drills will take place, of course, and K-pop also in play here, cultural exchanges between the two Koreas.

How important is that?

HANCOCKS: Yes, this is a concert in Pyongyang that will take place in just a few hours. It was pushed back a couple of hours at the request of the North Koreans, saying they wanted more people to see it, though it's the first time since 2005 that you've had a South Korean act in North Korea performing.

There's a number of K-pop acts, individuals and groups. And it's going to be an interesting viewing because certainly k-pop is not something that most North Koreans would be very familiar with.

But it's unclear at this point whether or not the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will be in attendance. We heard from the culture minister, who is leading that delegation up there from South Korea, he said that President Moon went to a performance by North Korean artists in South Korea during the Olympics. They're hoping that will be the same situation in the North. They're

hoping the North Korean leader will be there. But they simply don't know that at this point. He's also saying that he wants more cultural exchanges.

So it's certainly significant in the way that it shows that this momentum in improving inter-Korean relations is continuing, not just on the political side and the sporting side, which we saw during the Olympics, but also the cultural side.

HOWELL: Paula Hancocks live in Seoul, South Korea. Thank you so much for the reporting.

Here in the United States, there is anger on the streets of California; Sacramento, California, two weeks after the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed African American man, who was shot by police.

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HOWELL (voice-over): Take a look at the scene in Sacramento. This happening late Saturday night. Police say the protests began peacefully, demonstrators there chanting Stephon Clark's name, demanding justice.

ALLEN (voice-over): But they grew tense with the crowd --

[04:05:00]

N. ALLEN: -- of around 100 or more facing off with a line of riot police. Protesters also blocked traffic. And police are investigating after a sheriff's vehicle struck a protester in the street. We've got video of that and we warn you, it is disturbing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my, oh, my God! Oh, my God!

HOWELL (voice-over): There you saw it right there, this again from the other side of that car. You can see the panicked reactions of the protesters. The woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, we understand. An eyewitness describes what he saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman was walking in between the two vehicles, stopped in front of the deputy's vehicle, put up her hand in a stop sign and the vehicle accelerated and struck her, accelerated very fast and struck her violently. She fell to the ground. And the deputies then sped off.

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N. ALLEN: More from Sacramento, here's our Ryan Young.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The protests for Stephon Clark in Sacramento have been peaceful up until this point. Tonight we felt the most tense interaction between police and protesters. You look behind me, you can see that police have donned their riot gear.

That is after an interaction between a sheriff's deputy and a protester. It appeared a woman was trying to stop a sheriff's deputy's car from moving through protesters. And then there was a hit. There was an impact between the two. We're not sure exactly what happened.

But to show you what is happening now, look at all the sheriff's deputies and police officers from around the area that have decided to come down here. They are queued just in case anything happens here.

Of course, this is after a day full of protests, where nothing has happened. But now that tenseness has bubbled up and there is definitely a tense moment. not only between protesters but between police officers, who are definitely trying to protect and maintain the peace.

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N. ALLEN: Ryan Young there.

We turn now to the Middle East. The European Union calling for a transparent investigation into the deaths of 17 Palestinians in clashes with Israeli troops Friday. Hundreds of Palestinians were wounded in the unrest at the Gaza border.

According to U.N. diplomats, the U.S. has blocked the U.N. Security Council from adopting a similar statement urging an independent investigation.

HOWELL: There is also this video posted by the Palestinian Media Center. A woman waving a Palestinian flag is seen running back and forth. Gunfire is heard as she appears to fall.

The Palestinian Media Center said she was shot by Israeli forces during Friday's unrest. In the meantime, the Israeli Defense Forces say its own videos, like this one that you see here, shows its troops were confronted with gunshots, firebombs and burning tires, as alleged terrorists attempted to, quote, "infiltrate Israeli territory."

It insists troops fired only when necessary.

N. ALLEN: Extremely tense in that region right now. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live for us from Jerusalem.

It is mid-morning there, Nic.

How is the day progressing so far?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, so far all indications are that it looks a little bit more like the protests of Saturday, which were relatively quiet compared to Friday. It still is early in the day. And I think this is the scene that is going to be set now. You know, Friday, if you will, both sides had said what they were

going to do; Israel had been very, very clear, warning that if people approached the fence, they would be breaching Israeli sovereignty and that Israel would take appropriate action. They were very clear on what that action would be, strong, hard, tough reaction.

Hamas, for their side, the Palestinians, called their protests; people did go close to the fence. Certainly there are plenty of images of people using slingshots and, in some cases, attaching explosives or fires to the fence.

So both sides have now tested each other out. And if you look at what happened Saturday in the light of what happened Friday, fewer people, a calmer day; six more weeks of this to come.

But Fridays are typically going to be the day where you tend to see more protests here and where typically traditionally there's more of a potential for greater violence. So today, so far as we know, you know, it seems to be going like Saturday.

But each day, though, I think has the potential to be different. But what we've heard from the United Nations, what we've heard from the U.N., what we've heard from the Israeli ambassador at the United Nations saying it was antithetical to the spirit of the U.N. to call an emergency session on the first eve of -- on the first evening of Passover.

He also went on to say that the statement from the Palestinian representative at the U.N., who said that these were unarmed protesters, was inaccurate. So you know, both sides have their positions --

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ROBERTSON: -- very clearly staked out here today. As I say, so far relatively calm, as best we know at this time.

N. ALLEN: Nic Robertson, covering it for us. We're glad to hear that the day is getting off to a peaceful start. We hope it stays that way. Thank you.

Well, some of the Russian diplomats expelled by the U.S. are now heading home. Two Russian airplanes took off from Washington on Saturday, bound for Moscow. More than 20 countries have expelled Russian diplomats over the poisoning with a nerve agent of a former spy and his daughter in the U.K. Russia denies any involvement.

HOWELL: In the meantime, the Kremlin wants the United Kingdom to pull out more diplomatic staff so the diplomatic missions in both countries are equal in size.

Also, there was this. Crews removed the U.S. flag from the building that had been used as the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg. Russia ordered that consulate to be shut down.

N. ALLEN: That was after the U.S. did the same with the Russian consulate in Seattle, Washington. Moscow has also retaliated by expelling 60 U.S. diplomats, the same amount of Russian diplomats the U.S. expelled.

Meantime, there is another indication President Trump could make significant changes to the U.S. involvement in Syria. Mr. Trump has placed on hold more than $200 million that was meant to be used for a Syria recovery fund.

HOWELL: On Thursday, President Trump said the United States will withdraw from Syria, quote, "very soon." U.S. officials fear, though, a complete and quick withdrawal of U.S. troops could lead to a dangerous power vacuum.

We are also learning the identities of the two soldiers who were killed in a bomb attack in Syria on Thursday. They were taking part in an operation against ISIS in northern -- in the northern part of the area, so the city of Manbij; one of the soldiers was British, the other from the United States.

N. ALLEN: Defense officials in the U.K. say British soldier Sergeant Matt Tonroe was a natural in his role. The Pentagon says 36-year-old U.S. Army master sergeant Jonathan Dunbar from Austin, Texas, died from his injuries on Friday.

HOWELL: Back here in the United States, President Trump is attacking Amazon again, accusing the online retailer of scamming the U.S. Postal Service.

N. ALLEN: However, the facts do not back up the president's accusations. Our White House correspondent, Boris Sanchez, is on this one.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A relatively uneventful Saturday for the president at his Mar-a-lago estate; a quiet one, too, at least by Trumpian standards. He did, as usual on weekends here, take to Twitter to attack a political foe, at least in his eyes.

President Trump targeting online retailer Amazon, tweeting out, quote, "While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to billions of dollars. The failing 'The New York Times' reports that the size of the company's lobbying staff has ballooned and that that does not include the fake "Washington Post,' which is used as a lobbyist and should so register. If the post office increased its parcel rates, Amazon's shipping costs would rise by $2.6 billion. This post office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs and taxes now."

Now there are some factually questionable claims that the president made in these tweets that we have to point out. First off, Amazon does pay state and local taxes. There are some third-party vendors, especially international ones, that sell via Amazon that don't pay U.S. taxes. Further, we do have to point out that the post office itself has

claimed that it has a mutually beneficial relationship with Amazon. So it's not clear exactly where the president is getting those figures.

And further, it appears that he's conflating Amazon with "The Washington Post." The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, privately owns "The Washington Post" but the two businesses aren't related in the way that they conduct business.

It leads many to speculate that the president perhaps is targeting Amazon because of "The Washington Post," which has been very critical of his administration thus far.

The president has no public events on his schedule for Sunday. Of course, we may be talking about more tweets to come -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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N. ALLEN: Let's talk more about political developments with Kate Andrews, she's the U.S. political columnist at City AM and she joins us from London.

Good morning to you, Kate.

KATE ANDREWS, CITY AM: Good morning.

N. ALLEN: Well, we heard the familiar language there in Boris' report from President Trump, the fake "Washington Post," the failing "The New York Times," always attacking two of the most bold and prestigious newspapers in the world.

But what do you make of the fact that he's pro business on one hand and on the other seems to undermine it?

Is it personal or is there something more businessy here?

ANDREWS: Well, look, because of the connections, which aren't particularly meaningful connections between Amazon and "The Washington Post," I agree it is hard to separate those two facts and surely part of the president's attack is related to the fact that --

[04:15:00]

ANDREWS: -- he's frustrated with certain news outlets. But that being said, we cannot forget that Donald Trump has moved so far away from what really was the Republican Party platform on economics since Ronald Reagan. He's done a big 180 here and he really enjoys talking about companies not paying their fair share, countries not putting in their fair share.

We've heard a lot of this around trade negotiations with other countries, particularly looking at China, but also with the U.K. and the E.U., talking about slapping tariffs on allies. His attack on Amazon isn't really out of character with that. He's

suggesting that taxpayers and the public sector aren't faring as well because a private company has come into the market and been a disrupter.

Of course, traditionally, for decades now, the Republican Party has encouraged disrupters into the market for very good reasons. They tend to bring down costs for consumers. They tend to make things more efficient.

As you pointed out and as your program pointed out, the post office is not necessarily complaining about this. There have been some calls about readjusting who pays what costs in terms of shipping between companies and between the post office.

But Amazon is not getting any kind of special deal. It's the kind of deal that is carried out for all bulk carriers. So it does seem personal on the part of the president but it's also part of a new economic ideology, a more Keynesian, almost Democratic ideology sometimes that he's bringing to the party.

N. ALLEN: Interesting take there. We want to talk about his remarks on Syria, saying that he would pull out troops very soon. We just reported that that could cause some instability in an area that's already unstable.

What might our allies be thinking about efforts in that area?

ANDREWS: Well, surely everyone would be deeply concerned. Trump did run on a more isolationist platform, saying he wanted to bring troops home. He didn't want the U.S. involved in as many foreign engagements.

But, of course, the U.S. has been bombing Syria. It's been very actively involved there. And we have to be responsible for part of the mess that we ourselves have contributed to. Of course, we have very good efforts there.

But given the fact that we have contributed to some of the destabilization in the region, we can't simply walk away. The president did make these remarks very off the cuff at a speech that was supposed to be about infrastructure. So it doesn't seem fully thought through.

Yet again, something that the president has said on a whim at a big speech, almost a throwaway line, has become international news. But as you point out, this international news could have our allies deeply concerned about more instability in the region.

N. ALLEN: Kate Andrews, we always appreciate your thoughts. Thank you for joining us.

ANDREWS: Thank you.

HOWELL: The pope is presiding over Easter mass at the Vatican this hour. N. ALLEN: Billions of Christians all around the world are celebrating Easter. We will go live to the Vatican right here, live video for you, as we prepare to hear from Pope Francis.

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N. ALLEN: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby is headed back to court. It has been less than a year since his first trial for aggravated indecent assault ended in a hung jury.

HOWELL: The new legal showdown is happening, though, during a new era. Women are speaking up about assault and people are listening. CNN's Jean Casarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROTESTERS: Survivors, united.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the momentum of #MeToo --

PROTESTERS: Survivors, united.

CASAREZ: -- and public accusations against Hollywood --

ROSE MCGOWAN, ACTRESS, ACCUSED HARVEY WEINSTEIN OF RAPE: I have been silenced for 20 years.

CASAREZ: -- only one major celebrity has been charged with a felony sexual offense. America's dad, Bill Cosby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck, Mr. Cosby.

CASAREZ: The comedian and T.V. legend's retrial beginning now with jury selection.

EMILIE LOUNSBERRY, COVERED COSBY TRIAL FOR "VARIETY": The atmosphere has shifted. It's not a very favorable time to be defending yourself against accusations of sexual assault.

CASAREZ: Charged with three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, the 80-year-old Cosby could face a decade in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say in 2004 he assaulted this woman Andrea Constand. At the time, the director of women's basketball operations at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Diana Parsons is her sister and says it took a year before Constand said anything about what happened and went to police. DIANA PARSONS, SISTER OF COSBY ACCUSER ANDREA CONSTAND: She said that she just knew she had to lie down and she said that Bill Cosby helped her to the couch. She said she really couldn't walk on her own.

CASAREZ: Constand told police Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Cosby denied the allegations. The district attorney at the time said the case was weak.

BRUCE CASTOR, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Did I think that I could prove beyond a reasonable doubt based on available, credible and admissible evidence? No, I didn't.

CASAREZ: No criminal charges against Cosby.

Constand then filed a civil suit. Cosby testified in a sworn deposition before they reached a confidential settlement.

Fast-forward to 2015. That deposition was unsealed, revealing Cosby had admitted giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with.

Prosecutors reopened the criminal investigation and days before the statute of limitations ran out, Cosby was charged in criminal court.

Pennsylvania defense attorney Brian McMonagle represented Cosby from the beginning. He pleaded not guilty. A first trial last year ended in a hung jury.

KEVIN STEELE, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: She's entitled to a verdict in this case.

CASAREZ: Now, a new trial with some big differences. A new defense team for Cosby led by Tom Mesereau, who got an acquittal in 2005 for Michael Jackson in his child molestation trial.

Before representing Cosby in 2015, Mesereau told CNN how he would question Constand.

TOM MESEREAU, BILL COSBY'S ATTORNEY: The first thing I would ask her would be what's more important to you, money or principle? Did you take money and walk away confidentially or did you take this to a jury and do it publicly?

CASAREZ: In the last trial, one --

[04:25:00]

CASAREZ: -- other woman who said Cosby drugged and assaulted her was allowed to testify for the prosecution, Kelly Johnson.

KELLY JOHNSON, BILL COSBY ACCUSER: I remember waking up in a bed, with Mr. Cosby naked beneath his open robe.

CASAREZ: In this trial, the judge says five prior accusers can take the stand. One who has been subpoenaed, former supermodel Janice Dickinson. The defense, for instance, wants a witness by the name of Margot Jackson to take the stand. She knew Andrea Constand and would testify, according to the defense, that Constand said she could fabricate everything, that Bill Cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her, and then she could get a lot of money.

Prosecutors say that is blatantly false. With no forensic evidence, the case is all about credibility -- Jean Casarez, CNN, Norristown, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

N. ALLEN: On Good Friday, Pope Francis said he feels shame for the state of the world. Live video right here from Vatican City.

What will his message be this Easter Sunday?

He will speak soon and we'll go live to the Vatican -- next.

Plus, with Facebook at the center of a data scandal, is your data safe?

We speak to a tech expert later this hour on the topic. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta, at this hour on CNN USA here in the states, CNN International worldwide. Thanks for being with us. We'll be right back.

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ALLEN (voice-over): And welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM on this Easter Sunday. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL (voice-over): Happy Easter to you. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

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HOWELL: Around the world, Christians are celebrating Easter Sunday.

N. ALLEN: It is one of the most important holidays in the Christian calendar and it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. This hour, Pope Francis presiding over holy Easter mass at the Vatican. And our CNN senior Vatican analyst, John Allen, joins us now.

Hello and Happy Easter to you, John.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Natalie. Happy Easter to both you and George.

N. ALLEN: Thank you.

What are the expectations of the pope's message to the world today?

He certainly didn't hold back in his address on Good Friday.

J. ALLEN: No. Well, Easter fundamentally from the Christian point of view is about hope, it's the hope of new life, hope of conquering death and so on. And so I imagine we will be hearing and Pope Francis is preparing to give his homily as we speak. We will be hearing from the pope today a strong message of hope.

Pope Francis is, in many ways, a pope of hope, particularly for the most suffering and marginalized people around the world and I would expect that there would be some sort of reference to those folks.

And let's remember, this is -- there are two big events today for the pope. One is the mass and then at the end of the mass he will also be giving his Urbi et Orbi blessing to the city and the world.

That's sort of his 360-degree review of the global situation, where the pope will talk about his diplomatic and political concerns. There, too, Natalie, I would expect hope to be the top note.

N. ALLEN: That is something he certainly can bring the world on this day, where we've begun this newscast with war games and South Korea, et cetera, et cetera. He often does talk about and urge people to keep their priorities straight, to be noble in your pursuits and service to others.

Do you think Pope Francis ever gets somewhat weary of telling us to do that and collectively maybe people aren't?

J. ALLEN: Well, listen, you know, the pope certainly has eyes. I mean, you know, he can look around at what's happening in the world today and discern that it is not exactly the way he would like it to be.

But, on the other hand, you know, I think Pope Francis is a deep Christian believer and, therefore, believes there is all this hope.

And the other thing, Natalie, you know, when you watch this pope in action, he is just indefatigable. He's like the Energizer Bunny of popes. He just keeps going. So you know, I think he would be concerned about the state of the world. But I don't think he would be in despair.

N. ALLEN: That's good to know. John Allen, we'll be covering the pope's remarks when we hear from him. We thank you very much for joining us and Happy Easter again.

HOWELL: And just in time for Easter snow, Natalie, you might get to see some snow, yes?

N. ALLEN: Oh, 100 percent chance of snow --

(CROSSTALK) N. ALLEN: -- coming to New York City, not here.

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[04:35:00]

HOWELL: Stephen Hawking lived most of his life in a wheelchair. But his world, fair to say, was the universe.

N. ALLEN: On Saturday, a private funeral was held for the famous cosmologist at a church near Cambridge University in England, where Hawking probed mysteries such as black holes and time itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you imagine for more than 50 years being trapped in that body but his mind was free?

So this is the most important thing about Stephen. I think the favorite thing that he said is, he said, don't look down on the floor. He said, always look up at the stars in the sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Hawking died March 14th. He was 76 years old and he never let his physical condition keep him from exploring the cosmos.

N. ALLEN: His ashes will be interred in June at Westminster Abbey near fellow scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

HOWELL: Kenyans are demanding answers after learning their politicians hired Cambridge Analytica to target voters.

ALLEN: We'll talk more about that in a moment. Plus Facebook under scrutiny for how it is handling your data. We'll discuss how you can keep your information safe with a tech expert joining us here on the set. That is ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

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N. ALLEN: Data from Cambridge Analytica is embroiled in scandal in the U.S. and the U.K. and now it's affecting Kenya. The company denies allegations that it misused data from millions of Facebook users to influence elections.

HOWELL: Politicians in Kenya hired the firm and voters are looking for answers. Our Farai Sevenzo reports from Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nairobi, thousands of miles away from the offices of Cambridge Analytica. When the political consultancy firm revealed to an undercover news team that Kenya's current president was a client, their managing director claimed, "The Kenyatta campaign which we ran in 2013 and 2017 for Kenyatta, we have rebranded the entire party twice, written the manifesto, done research, analysis, and messaging. I think we wrote all of the speeches and we staged the whole thing. So just about every element of this candidate."

These are polarized elections, full of animosity and questions are being raised now over how big Cambridge Analytica's reach was.

Kenyans are painfully aware of the dangers of negative campaigning given the history of violent elections in this country and, of course, they want to know what it is Cambridge Analytica did for their government and what impact that it had on Kenyan democracy.

Have you heard of Cambridge Analytica?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have.

Those are the guys who manipulated -- in a way, manipulated the elections.

SEVENZO: Do you think they gave Mr. Kenyatta unfair advantage?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if there is substance to that story. But if there is, then it's unfortunate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It (INAUDIBLE) into question the whole electoral infrastructure in relation to the elections which were held last year must be fully audited. I think we'll see the footprints of Cambridge Analytica.

SEVENZO: (voice-over) Images of Kenya's president appear on Cambridge Analytica's website as well as on that of parent company SCL, where these images have since been removed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's not absolve Kenyan politicians of their role in this because Cambridge Analytica didn't pay themselves. They paid a foreign company to come to Kenya.

SEVENZO (voice-over): This video appeared on social media. It made astounding claims about the opposition leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whenever you try to --

[16:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- go to Kenya, you can -- your first greeting was (INAUDIBLE) and all that trash about me.

SEVENZO: And do you think it contributed to ethnic tensions in this country? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly and there's dozen of loss of lives. I think very many innocent people lost their lives as a result of that negative epic campaign (INAUDIBLE) by Cambridge Analytica. Somebody need to take responsibility for this.

SEVENZO (voice-over): We arrived at President Kenyatta's party headquarters to try to find some answers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hired them to do analysis, a focus group discussion, focus group discussion results because they did have that expertise. They did demonstrate to us that they had that expertise.

SEVENZO: And that was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that was it.

SEVENZO: No sort of strategy to be completely negative about the opposition?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

SEVENZO: And you don't know where all of these videos that were around in 2017 came from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had no idea. We saw them, some of them were sent out to us.

SEVENZO: Now it's possible that, in this investigation, there will be a massive paper trail that leads right here to (INAUDIBLE) headquarters.

What do you say to people who are worried about things like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't bother me because, in our engagement with SCL, which you say is related to Cambridge Analytica, in our engagement, at no time did we ask them to do any kind of data mining.

SEVENZO: Why don't you want to find out who they are and who their parent company is?

[04:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, it's not necessary, not by a business who find out who else are your business associates, is it?

SEVENZO: But if this business associate have such a terrible reputation and (INAUDIBLE) in terms of negative campaigning, would you hire them again in 2022?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I would not and there would not so much of the reputation. I would not because I don't have time to be dealing with all these side issues. I have to deal with my core business. And my core business is to run a campaign and win an election.

SEVENZO (voice-over): The fallout over Cambridge Analytica's tactics is far from over for this East African nation and time will tell whether Kenyans get the answers they're looking for -- Farai Sevenzo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Farai, thank you so much for the report.

Cambridge Analytica has denied any accusations of wrongdoing. The company has suspended its chief executive officer.

N. ALLEN: We're going to discuss the Cambridge Analytica scandal further and Facebook's role in it.

HOWELL: Dennis Yu is the chief technology officer for Blitz Metrics, joining us now on set, an industry insider, an expert.

Good to have you with us to give some context to all of this. Let's talk about the situation. There are the users, us; there's Facebook, the company that we've all opted into and then there's Cambridge Analytica that, in turn, used that data, personal data. Many people are upset about that. But here's the question.

Who is to blame here?

Is it a combination of all?

What are your thoughts?

DENNIS YU, BLITZ METRICS: I think it's Facebook to blame for not educating the users about what's possible with data because Cambridge Analytica could not have done the massive targeting and massive psychographic profiling that they claimed to do

What they did was they used Facebook in the way that it was intended, all the data that Facebook has to be able to build profile, things you and I can do, for a dollar a day to be able to push out our messages.

The stuff about Cambridge using data that was from three or four years to upload to Facebook just isn't technically possible. So Facebook didn't educate us that that wasn't possible. It looks like they're hiding stuff and they're doing this P.R. coverup. But Facebook has actually been doing the right thing this whole time.

HOWELL: Interesting.

N. ALLEN: What about the #DeleteFacebook. George and I have been talking about, what do we do, what do we do -- ?

(CROSSTALK)

HOWELL: Delete, not delete.

N. ALLEN: Is that having an impact?

YU: I think that Facebook will lose 1 percent or 2 percent of their users and it's going to be like delete Uber or it's going to be like United Airlines every six months, something bad happens.

But are people really stopping using the airline?

People are still going to be on Facebook. They're going to get mad.

But are they going to leave?

Their friends are there.

HOWELL: And there is the push now for more government regulation. We even hear from the CEO of Facebook that he seems to be open to it, as he told our Laurie Segall. Listen to this. We'll talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Given the stakes here, why shouldn't Facebook be regulated?

MARK ZUCKERBERG, COFOUNDER AND CEO, FACEBOOK: I actually am not sure we shouldn't be regulated. I actually think the question is more, what is the right regulation rather than, yes or no, should it be regulated.

SEGALL: What's the right regulation?

ZUCKERBERG: Well, there are some basic things that I think there are some big intellectual debates on. On the basic side, there are things like ads transparency regulation that I would love to see. But if you look at how much regulation there is around advertising on TV and print, it's just not clear why there should be less on the Internet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: OK. So, Dennis, when it comes to regulation, what would more regulation mean for Facebook?

YU: Can you imagine cigarette labels being on Facebook and surgeon general warnings about your data may be used in certain ways?

I don't think that really solves the problem. Look at what happened with Microsoft and the regulation they had 20 years ago about trying to bust up Windows. Of course, Facebook doesn't want to be regulated, so that's an impossible question for -- Mark can't say, oh, I don't want to be regulated. Then it looks like he's not being open.

N. ALLEN: Right.

YU: But at the same time, what's he going to do?

Share his algorithms or share all the data that he has with regulators? With the government?

So something has to happen. Something must be done, just like GDPR. But like he said, there's no clear answer.

N. ALLEN: Speaking of algorithms, with all this data mining of me, I feel like every little fingerprint, digital, like algorithms swirling around my head.

Is it that bad?

Are they looking and breathing down our necks with everything we do?

YU: Feels like "Enemy of the State" or "Minority Report," right?

(LAUGHTER)

YU: Look how much Amazon has or Visa. Think about Alexa in your home, listening to the commands you have. This Facebook thing is just the beginning of data issues, where consumers are willing to trade their privacy for convenience.

N. ALLEN: And how do you think Facebook is doing overall owning up to this?

YU: I think it's a weak apology. I think there is a lot more they can do. But how else are -- they didn't have a data breach. So they're real clear saying there wasn't a security scandal. It was a breach of trust that Mark said.

So he really needs to educate the population, educate the media about what's going on with your data. The fact that fake news can spread, that Grandma will see a claim that a celebrity died or if you share this message, that Bill Gates will give you $100, how do you combat that?

That's the real problem.

HOWELL: One other question to you, Dennis.

[04:50:00]

HOWELL: So what can people do?

Look, so when you opt into these things, there are, you know, things will happen.

So what can people do to make sure they understand exactly what happens when they post that picture, when they share that information?

YU: It's tough. But every time you sign up for a loyalty card or you want to earn the points at Macy's or airline things, you need to read the fine print because all of us just click --

(CROSSTALK)

N. ALLEN: -- agree to terms and services.

YU: -- understand who can you trust, understand what they're doing with your data.

Do they want your e-mail address, do they want your phone number, what are they going to do with that data?

HOWELL: You want something free.

But is it really free, is the question?

Not really. Dennis, thank you so much.

N. ALLEN: We'll speak with you about it some more next hour. OK, stick around with us, Dennis. Thank you.

Well, it could be the most delicious dessert you've never tasted -- thank goodness. Why this chocolate hamburger is tempting folks unless they've figured out what day it is.

HOWELL: A chocolate hamburger?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HOWELL (voice-over): A live look at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, where the pope is presiding over Easter mass.

N. ALLEN (voice-over): Around the world on this day, billions of Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:55:00]

N. ALLEN: Today is April 1st, though, that means it's also April Fool's Day.

HOWELL: So watch out for pranks popping up all over the Internet, pranks like this one.

OK, Burger King is offering diners a sweet new item, a chocolate Whopper with raspberry syrup and vanilla frosting?

N. ALLEN: Mayo.

HOWELL: Mayo, I don't know about that.

Does that look appetizing?

If that does not whet your appetite, well, what about this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Now all the capabilities of your smartphone are at your feet, literally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

N. ALLEN: I like it. Yes, it's the world's first smart shoephone.

What do you think?

According to T-mobile, it got has a step screen, a toe camera and retractable lace buds.

Sound too good to be true?

Well, if you've ever found the queen's English a little difficult, this may be for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not know (INAUDIBLE) before I thought you were the last man in the world whom I could ever marry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've said quite enough, madam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, well, now he's gone.

Any chance of a cup of tea?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's cold.

HOWELL (voice-over): The BBC and ITV's (INAUDIBLE) say they're offering real-time translations from complicated British speak to plain old American slang.

N. ALLEN: And if face I.D. or footprints aren't your flavor, how about tongueprints? Pin Drop is offering a whole new way to get access to your phone. If anyone you know thinks these are real -- don't lick your phone. Remember, y'all, it's April Fool's.

(LAUGHTER)

HOWELL: I bet some people would go for it, though.

N. ALLEN: All right. We're going to get serious here in a moment, right?

HOWELL: That's right.

N. ALLEN: The day's top stories are coming up here.

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. We'll be back right after the break.