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Several Killed After Van Hits Pedestrians In Toronto, Driver Identified; Armenia PM Resigns After Protesters Decry Power Grab; U.S. Sending $50M In Additional Aid For Refugees; Royal Couple Welcomes Baby Boy. Aired 2:30-3a

Aired April 24, 2018 - 02:30   ET

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


[02:00:38] ISHA SESAY, CNN, ANCHOR: This is CNN Newsroom live from Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN, ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, a violent attack on a busy street in Toronto as a van speeds down the sidewalk and rammed into pedestrians.

SESAY: Plus, the manhunt ended in Tennessee after police arrests a suspect in a deadly shooting at one of America's most powerful restaurants.

VAUSE: And just a day after the funeral for his wife of 73 years, former President George H.W. Bush is admitted to intensive care at a Texas hospital. Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us, I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. Newsroom LA starts right now.

VAUSE: The driver of a van that mowed down a dozen of pedestrians in Toronto is in police custody but investigators still do not know his motive.

SESAY: Mourners from Canada's biggest city have been leaving flowers and makeshift memorials for the victims. CNN's Alex Marquardt has the latest from Toronto.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Federal and local authorities have provided an update, saying that some 10 people have been killed in this attack, with 15 wounded, several of them in critical and serious condition. The officials have also identified the alleged attacker, saying he is a 25-year-old male from Richmond Hill, which is about half an hour outside Toronto.

They identified him as Alek Minassian, and contrary to some earlier reporting, they're saying his name was not known, that it was not in the files. For now, they're not calling this a terror attack, saying he is not a threat to national security, that they are no other attacks that they know of that are in the works, and they are not raising the terror threat level.

They've also given a fuller picture of how this attack unfolded. It took just 26 minutes from start to finish, starting at 1:26 p.m. right here on Young Street, one of the busiest streets in the country. It was a beautiful day. People are out and about, going to and from work, to and from lunch when the attacker hopped up onto the curb in that white rider rental van, driving down the sidewalk southbound plowing into people.

Witnesses say that the driver was doing some 40 to 50 miles an hour, calling the scene a nightmare an absolute pandemonium. At 1:52 p.m., the police managed to corner the attacker. They got him out of the car. There was a dramatic standoff, in which the attacker appeared to be holding something in his hand, pointing at the police, claiming to have a gun.

The police showing restraint, did not fire their weapons. They said they ordered him to get on the ground, which he did. And he was handcuffed and taken away without incident. Take a look. The big question what is the motive. So far there is no claim of responsibility, no indication yet that this was terror inspired.

But of course, it does drudge up some horrific memories of very similar terror attacks in other major cities like Berlin, Barcelona, and Neese, and of course, New York last year on Halloween. Alex Marquardt, CNN Toronto.

SESAY: Well, Steve Moore is a CNN Law Enforcement Contributor and retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Steve, as always, thank you for being with us. I want you to listen to what Toronto's police chief said about the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this particular point in time, there is nothing that does affect the national security footprint. We are looking very strongly to what the exact motive or motivation was for this particular incident to take place. And at the end of the day, we will have a fulsome answer and we'll have a fulsome account as to what the conclusion of this is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Steve, did not affect the national security footprint. What does that statement say to you?

STEVE MOORE, CNN, LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's a slightly equivocal, I think, what -- that could mean anything from -- this was an individual attack to -- he wasn't related to any kind of political thing at all, or so it doesn't tell us whether this was an attack based on ideology or not. It just says that they don't think that there's anything else out there.

[02:04:58] SESAY: Is their saying so clearly without really revealing much or being definitive but still making the clear statement about national security and the threat level. Does it mean, though, that they know more than revealed publicly?

MOORE: Well, to make any kind of statement where they say it is not current national security threat, they have to know something. And in these situations frequently, the initial interview with the suspect, the initial searches, the initial contact to friends and family will give you a very quick read of the entire situation.

My thinking on this is -- it is still out there, but I think we're probably dealing with somebody with more mental illness than political.

SESAY: Yeah, political affiliations. As we try and get to that, that understanding of the motive, CNN's letting that on the Facebook account that investigators believe belongs to this suspect, Minassian that he posted earlier on Monday a message claiming all hail the supreme gentleman Elliot Roger. Now investigators believe that the Facebook post is referring to Elliot Roger, who just to remind our viewers, Steve, is that deceased active shooter who killed a number of people with a gun and vehicle actually here in California back in 2014.

That individual was said to be agreeing because he felt he'd been spurned by women. So if this Facebook account does belong to Minassian, if he was the one that posted that statement praising Roger, what does that say to you?

MOORE: Well, again, a lot of these people -- we've got a violent problem in the world right now. People walking into schools, shooting people, people driving these vehicles down streets like this, what we're finding out is that a lot of people just want to kill more people than the last one. It's their way of immortality. It's their way of securing a place in the world, regardless of how gruesome that place is.

SESAY: As we talk about, you know, the desire for immortality in the cases of these individuals, I want to play the video of Minassian being taken into custody. And as we play it, Steve, I want you to take a close look at it and tell me what stands out to you, because you know I watch it and there's the police officer and standing to the right of the screen and he keeps making this movement, almost like he's drawing a gun, like you see in the westerns.

And then he stands there with his arm outstretched. I mean what stands out for you, and you really think he wanted to be shot and killed when you look at how this played out.

MOORE: Yeah, I really do think he wanted to be killed. He obviously didn't have a weapon with which to kill himself or the guts to do it at the moment that this happened. I am sure this was his best attempt at ending his life at the moment, and the police were very right, obviously did not fire on him. You only fire when your life is in danger.

The police officer was probably close enough. It was a bright sunny day, day he probably saw that there was no firearm there. That's a great deal of discipline.

SESAY: Steve Moore, always good to talk to you, really important insight and context. Thank you so much.

MOORE: Thank you. VAUSE: Well, another shooting here in the United States is renewing

the debate about gun control and mental health. A 24-hour manhunt in Tennessee is over after a shooting suspect was arrested on Monday. Travis Ryan King is accused of shooting and killing four people at a Waffle House diner in Nashville earlier on Sunday.

He was known to police that he appeared to be mentally unstable. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: The suspected Waffle House shooter in police custody. Travis Ryan King was apprehended in a wooded area behind an apartment complex where he was last seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a maroon shirt, dark jeans, and a backpack. Once he was in custody, the detectives went, cut off the backpack off of him because he was in cuffs. When they looked into the backpack, they had, they saw a silver Kimber semiautomatic weapon with 45 caliber ammunition, a flashlight, and a holster.

GALLAGHER: Ryan King was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's top 10 most wanted list that had been on the run since Monday, accused of killing four people at this Nashville Waffle House, the shooting spree stopped by this man, who is being called a hero wrestling the gun away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just really waiting for a moment. He gave me that moment when he put the barrel he aimed -- the barrel was -- the gun was aimed down and then I just kind of go for it, and I went for it and I ran through the door.

GALLAGHER: In July 2017, Ryan King breached a White House security barrier, demanding to speak to President Trump, and was arrested for trespassing. Following that incident, the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office seized four firearms and ammunition from Ryan King's apartment, including the AR15 recovered from the Waffle House crime scene.

[02:10:07] Officers later released the firearms and ammo to Ryan King's father, who authorities now say returned them to his son. His father had taken his guns away before after multiple incidents in Tremont, Illinois, including one where Ryan King was reportedly threatening his father's employee with a gun. On that same day, according to this police report, Ryan King "barged into the pool wearing a pink woman's housecoat, showed his genitals to lifeguards who told him to get out of the pool."

And in 2016, according to this police report, he had a delusional episode, where he accused Taylor Swift of stalking him, "Travis stated he did not want to hurt Taylor Swift or anyone else. He only wanted the harassment to stop," Diane Gallagher, CNN, Antioch, Tennessee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: A quick break here. The French President says he and Donald Trump are mavericks on day two rather of a state visit. Will Emmanuel Macron commence his counterpart of the Iran nuclear deal is worth keeping?

VAUSE: Plus, it's all about babies for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge as they introduce number three to the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, it is day two of the French President's state visit to Washington. It will get underway in just a few hours. And now it's time to get serious with policy talks on some major issues.

SESAY: After dinner at George Washington's home in Mount Vernon Monday night, Emmanuel Macron will spend Tuesday trying to sway President Trump's -- well, President Trump on topics, including trade, military presence in Syria, and of course, the Iran nuclear deal. Mr. Macron will also address a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday.

VAUSE: Well, for more, live to Paris now to CNN's Melissa Bell. And I guess, Melissa, if you look at that list of things to do, it is the Iran nuclear deal which is more pressing. What are the expectations, not just in France, but of course, Europe that Emmanuel Macron (Inaudible) convince the U.S. President not to scrap that agreement?

MELISSA BELL, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, they at least say (Inaudible) a pain really to dampen the expectations, saying you know you must not measure the success of this visit on along the lines of what progress is made in changing Donald Trump's mind on the necessity to say within the Iran nuclear deal, and yes, that is clearly what Paris has said that it wants.

Time of course, is pressing, not until the 12th of May to get Donald Trump to change his mind on what was after all, John, a campaign promise to tear this document up. But Europeans, and in particular, Emmanuel Macron have not said they'll give up. In fact, Emmanuel Macron has really staked a lot of political capital on this possibility of changing Donald Trump's mind, really a very different approach to any of his European counterparts, the American President saying let's keep this conversation open.

[02:14:59] And in a sense, the next couple of days are crunch time. Was his tragedy sensible, was it the right approach, did he have any chance of succeeding. There will be two measures of that, his ability to change Donald Trump's mind on the Iran nuclear deal to go sufficiently far to us reaching the American President's doubts.

But also on the question of trade, Emmanuel Macron hopes to change Donald Trump's mind on the trade tariffs, you know that for the time being the European Union benefits from an exception. That runs on out the first of May. There is another very tangible area where Donald Trump can have his mind changed by the French President or not, and the result will really determine whether Emmanuel Macron has been right to consider that it was appropriate or wise or hopeful to keep that conversation open, John.

VAUSE: Yeah, it's interesting, Melissa I guess with Germany's Angela Merkel sort of sidelined over policy differences, and Theresa May of Britain busy with (Inaudible) in Macron in Europe's last talk earning hope I guess of getting the President to change his mind on those key issues. Thank you. Melissa Bell there live for us in Paris.

At this hour, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is in intensive care at Houston's Methodist Hospital. He was admitted just a day after the funeral for his wife, Barbara. In a statement, a spokesman says the 93-year-old had contracted an infection that spread to his blood. He is responding to treatment and appears to be recovering.

We will issue additional updates as events warrant. Well, joining us now here in Los Angeles, Political Analyst Michael Genovese and CNN's European Affairs Commentator Dominic Thomas. Good to have you both here. Michael, let's just start with the situation with George H.W. Bush, because obviously in the last couple of hours there has been a lot of focus on him, his health, but also his presidency, his legacy.

And what seems to be incredibly stark here is just how different he was in style and substance to the current Republican President Donald Trump.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the truth of the matter (Inaudible) to begin with. I worked very briefly for President Bush, did work as a consultant in the Pentagon crisis management, and I have a great deal of respect and admiration for him.

VAUSE: It seems to be universal in many ways.

(CROSSTALK)

GENOVESE: And it's earned. It's not just -- those aren't just words. People who know him really respect and admire him. His legacy, I think there are three things that stand out, one he inherited from President Reagan an incredible ballooning deficit that he had to deal with. So he cleaned out the (Inaudible) stables, raising taxes in the process would hurt him politically but he did for the country.

He was President at the end of the Cold War, and instead of a lot of fanfare and throwing himself a big parade. He was very mature, quiet, because they feared that if we brag too much about it, there could be a backlash. And the third thing, of course the Gulf War where he masterfully orchestrated a coalition of nations from all over the globe, known for what he did do, which is drive Saddam Hussein our of Kuwait.

But what he didn't do as well, didn't go to Beirut, didn't take out Saddam Hussein...

(CROSSTALK)

GENOVESE: -- like his son, basically own a broken country. He had some mistakes. He made some mistakes. I mean Dan Quayle as Vice President became a national joke. Clarence Thomas as Supreme Court Chief Justice, to some was a national nightmare, a super justice, and he wasn't a great retail politician. But his legacy, I think will be a very positive one compared to Trump.

They couldn't be more opposite. I mean one was very mature. Trump is very childish. One very polished, the other one is kind of crass. One has great humility. The other can't stop bragging. One was a great war hero, one did not serve in the military. One is a family man. The other thrice married.

They could not be more opposite and you can see that in the way that people respect H.W. and not President Trump so much.

VAUSE: And Dominic, as Donald Trump prepares for this meeting, the serious end of the -- the business end of these meetings with the French President Emmanuel Macron that's happening this week. There is a state dinner on Tuesday. You know George H.W. Bush, when he was President. He cultivated a very strong relationship with then President of France Francois Mitterrand.

That was a close personal relationship which paid off for George W. Bush when it came to the reunification of East and West Germany. This time if you look at Macron and Trump, it almost seems though the roles are reversed. Macron is cultivating Trump because he needs Trump.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN, EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yeah, interesting to go back to that moment that father Bush became Vice President, the year that the socialist, let's not forget, Francois Mitterrand became President of France. And for the next decades that included father Bush becoming President, the one big thing that they worked on together was this remarkable historic moment was the fall of Berlin Wall and the gradual collapse of the Soviet Union.

And they worked very closely with Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the (Inaudible) process of German unification, at a time where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was completely really opposed to a return of a strong Germany. And one could argue that was the last moment of the 20th century and for the next 20 years where the Atlantic relationship was privileged in the sense of the United States and France, because of course, Bill Clinton and then after him, the son, George W. Bush were very close to Tony Blair, right, in the United Kingdom.

[02:20:12] And the chemistry with Nikola (Inaudible) subsequently, and Francois Hollande really wasn't sort of that impressive.

VAUSE: Yeah.

THOMAS: And so now what we have you know some 20 years later, I think two things. First, when Emmanuel Macron realizes there's an opportunity and an opening here, that this is an incredibly important, afflantic relationship, and that both of them need each other for their projects to work out. And Emmanuel Macron is fastening on the fact that across the channel, that the leadership of Theresa May and the Brexit sort of circumstances have left a giant opening in terms of negotiating that relationship.

VAUSE: Well, Macron is in town. They've had some sight seeing on Monday. They had a retreat. They went down to George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. Macron though was smart enough though over the weekend to appear on Fox News to deliver a message about the Iran nuclear deal. This is it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: What's his scenario? Or your plan B, I don't have any plan B for nuclear against Iran. So that question we will discuss but that's why I just want to say on nuclear, let's process this framework because it's better than a sort of North Korean type of situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And going obviously, you know Macron knows that Trump watches Fox. He wanted to get a message to him before he arrived. This is the man they call the Trump Whisper.

THOMAS: Yes, and so very interesting. Not only does he go on this particular network, but let's not forget the fact he is speaking in English. He is not using a translator. That communications skill that he has is incredibly important here.

He's gone to Fox News. Of course, he's been criticized of working with this particular network. But I think by appearing on there, he not only (Inaudible) potentially a Trump base by coming across as a fairly reasonable rational individual, but I think he also explained a number of incredibly complex issues from North Korea and Iran.

In wraith that perhaps President Trump has not been able to do on Twitter and through his public appearances, thereby, in some ways further disowning that base and paving the way for more open dialogue with President Trump and allowing Trump to be perhaps more enlisted without feeling like he's backing down on issues that he dug himself in on.

VAUSE: During an interview with the National Interest, it's a policy magazine out on Washington. The Iranian foreign minister said -- about you know U.S. President wanting to renegotiate this nuclear deal. And now the United States is saying what's mine is mine and what yours is (Inaudible) but whatever I gave you now I want back.

Who would, in their right mind deal with the United States anymore? Michael, clearly, he's talking about the North Koreans ahead of this summit between Trump and Kim Jong-Un.

GENOVESE: That's right. And Kim Jong-Un's strategy has to be well, can I trust this guy. If he pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal with all of our allies are supporting, then his word is not going to be his bond. And so it makes a difficult situation even more difficult. And so as Macron said, there's no plan B. There's no -- his right argument is there is no plan B. And if there's no plan B, is Donald Trump just going to let it fizzle away.

VAUSE: And we have the German Chancellor Angela Merkel arriving on Friday. So Dominic, will she be -- obviously having the similar message on Iran, but will she be the bad cop to Macron or good cop.

THOMAS: I think it better be that some of that, that something about Macron being new and fresh on the scene, and both of them have talked about that, where Chancellor Merkel has been around for 12 years with all kinds of baggage. I do think however that Macron's visit paves the way for a gentler, kinder relationship with Chancellor Merkel.

And the hope is that after these two days, that there's been some movement on issues that are incredibly important to the European Union beyond the Iran deal, but the question of trades and tariffs and those sorts of things.

VAUSE: But Michael, what is interesting is that the backdrop or the background noise amounts to all of this, the ongoing investigations, you know the legal cases, the lawsuits, the Russia investigation, Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen being criminally investigated, a lot of speculation that Cohen will flip.

He will tell the prosecutors all that he knows about Donald Trump. That is a questions which obviously the President has been thinking about over the weekend, series of tweets, one of them partly read most people will flip if the government let's them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories.

Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible witch hunt and the dishonest media. OK, Michael Avenatti, who represents the adult film star Stormy Daniels, who is suing the President. He had this theory about why the President was tweeting that out. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL AVENATTI, STORMY DANIEL'S, ATTORNEY: But the President is laying a foundation to be able to argue when Michael Cohen does flip, and I have been firm for weeks about this. I called it first. I firmly believe that he is going to flip. I firmly believe he is going to tell prosecutors and investigators a lot of damaging information about the President, and what the President did by way of these tweets is he laid the foundation to argue later that somehow Michael Cohen has fabricated all this and it is not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Michael?

[02:25:06] GENOVESE: Well, it's been commented before. So this is not original to me. But why should we worry about him flipping if the President's done nothing, if there's nothing that's flippable.

VAUSE: Right.

GENOVESE: But Cohen does face some serious jail time, possibly. And that has a way of loosening a tongue. But if you look at the people who've worked for President Trump, how many of them have met a terrible, terrible fate, debilitating legal fees, humiliation, and threat in jail time. I don't think Michael Cohen sees himself as being the kind of guy who would do well in jail. And so depending on what Mueller has, he could very well get him flip.

VAUSE: He'd take a bullet but not an indictment. Dominic, there are so many scandals and controversies surrounding this White House, how does that infect the view of European leaders when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump.

THOMAS: The view of the American President and of the United States, all research shows has gone down dramatically in the past year and a half. The biggest issue is not just the offensive rhetoric of this President, the nationalist protectionist comments on immigration, women, whatever it happens to be, that are seen as highly offensive, really -- and the way in which he has been able to also to sort of encourage and lead to far right parties, to disrupt, is really the question of trust.

And on every issue, it seems that he is unable to keep the ship going in one single direction. And for people living in Europe and for those who are members of the European Union, the question of trade and tariffs and sanctions is incredibly problematic. The future of the Iran deal is incredibly problematic. And of course, climate control, Syria, the Middle East, these all the stories that shaped the daily news across the Atlantic.

VAUSE: And just to bring it full circle, it seems George H.W. Bush was a President, and a CIA director, and a Vice President, and a Senator who spent his entire life building this post World War II system, which the U.S. created. Donald Trump in many ways seems to be the President who is trying to tear it apart.

GENOVESE: They used to call Donald -- President Bush the rolodex President.

VAUSE: Yeah.

GENOVESE: That he would go through his rolodex and knew everyone and could call everyone down. Donald Trump doesn't have that ability.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Dominic and Michael, thank you.

THOMAS: Thank you.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

SESAY: Well, Friday morning, Kim Jong-Un will step over the border in South Korea. What happens then is anyone's guess. We'll look at what's at stake in Friday's summit.

VAUSE: Also ahead, massive protests in Armenia become celebrations after the Prime Minister accused of a power grab makes a surprise move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:13] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, if you're just joining us, do you think you miss the last two and a half hours? You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour. Police in Toronto is searching for a motive that a van attack that killed at least 10 people. Witnesses say the driver deliberately targeted the pedestrians on the street and the sidewalk for more than a kilometer on a busy day. The 25-year-old suspect is in custody.

VAUSE: After 24 hours on the run, the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Waffle House Restaurant in Tennessee is in custody. Travis Reinking was arrested in his apartment on Monday. He's accused of killing four people on Sunday. He was notably (INAUDIBLE) mentally unstable.

SESAY: Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush is in intensive care at a hospital in Houston, Texas. He's admitted for an infection a day after burying his wife Barbara who died last week. Bush is the country's 41st president serving from 1989 to 1993. Just one of two American presidents to also be the father of another president.

VAUSE: On Friday, the leaders from North and South Korea will meet for the first face to face talks. The first Inter-Korea Summit in more than a decade.

SESAY: Officials are hammering out the final details things like protocol, security, and press coverage part of the summit will be broadcast live.

VAUSE: Ivan Watson joins us live from Seoul in South Korea and (INAUDIBLE) preparations there as the silencing of those propaganda speakers on the -- on the South Korean side of the DMZ. They have been fixed since '60s, so I guess how significant is this as a goodwill gesture and how the North Koreans reciprocated?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Actually, 2016 in January after being silent for years, the South Koreans turned those propaganda speakers back on blaring K-pop across the demilitarized zone in response for a North Korean nuclear test. As far as whether there's been a reciprocal move by the North Koreans, we have seen some reports about this. We've asked the South Korean officials multiple times about that and they have not said whether there's been any change there. However, the response from the South Korean government to the statement over the weekend where North Korea announced it would suspend nuclear tests, suspend long-range ballistic missile launches, and its own words discard its nuclear testing site in the north of the country.

There is no end to the superlatives that have come from the South Korean government in response to that. Moon Jae-in, the South Korean President called it, "An act of good faith ahead of the upcoming summit, the first one on Friday between North and South." Saying that it should -- it was like a green light and that now the two countries, "Stand at the crossroads of denuclearization." So there's clearly been a tit-for-tat exchange of goodwill which is all the more striking when you consider that five, six months ago. It was tit-for-tat kind of hurling accusations in ramping up military tension on both side of the demilitarized zone, John.

VAUSE: And anything would silence is K-pop has to be a good thing. Both sides will have their turn to stage rehearsals at the peace (INAUDIBLE) media coverage, security, so what are those details?

WATSON: I'm so glad you asked me, John, because we've just gotten from the Blue House the menu for the welcome dinner that the South Koreans are going to provide for Kim Jong-un on the summit day. And among the items on the menu is basically (INAUDIBLE) sea cucumber, roast beef, potato pancakes, octopus salad, two kinds of alcohol will be served, rice wine and soju. There's some symbolism here as well, fresh fish from President Moon's hometown and the statement says that President Moon proposed a cold buckwheat noodle which is a traditional Pyongyang dish from North Korea and North Korean chefs will come and hand-rolled these noodles to be served to the two leaders and that just gets kind of to the details of the preparations here wherein three days of rehearsals for the summit and both sides will participate in some of those rehearsals. Nobody is taking any chances. This is going to be very carefully stage manage. It's been 11 years since the last Inter-Korean Summit. President Moon highlighted the fact that he helped plan that last summit in 2007. So we're seeing basically his fingerprints all over trying to ensure that this one will be a success. And again, if you consider just a few months ago, last November, North Korea was firing missiles and now we're talking about menus, John.

VAUSE: What is also interesting, Ivan, is that there is this report from China's Xinhua state-run news agency that Kim Jong-un will actually go to the demarcation line and he will walk across that demarcation line and he will be greeted by the South Korean President.

[02:35:02] That seems to be quite, you know, a symbolic move, a TV rain moment if you'd like carried out by the North Korean leader. It shows a level of sophistication if you like when it comes to sending out a message.

WATSON: Absolutely. And the South Korean government has said this is going to be the first time ever that a North Korean leader will cross that demarcation line and we've learned from the South Koreans that some members of the South Korean press will be allowed to the North side in the Panmunjom compound. The so-called peace village where this is all going to take place. They're going to be allowed across and they'll be live broadcasting the images of the North Korean leader taking these historic steps. So make no mistake both North and South are trying to make the most of it and from Seoul's perspective, from the South Korean government's perspective they have repeatedly framed this as basically a stepping stone. This is a warm-up act to the North Korea-U.S. Summit when you'll have the first ever meeting between the North Korean leader and a U.S. President, so that's part of why they want all of these to work, no surprises, no mistakes, John.

VAUSE: And as for that U.S.-North Korea Summit, we're still waiting for, you know, a date and a location. I think a long way to catch up. Ivan, good to see you. Thanks so much. Mike Chinoy is the senior fellow at the U.S.-China Institute of the University of Southern California. He's also the author of Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis and he joins us now live. Mike, is it good to see you. The White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, she was pressed on Monday on the issue of denuclearization by North Korea. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're going to continue the maximum pressure campaign. We have to see real and concrete steps taken towards denuclearization. But I'm not going to get ahead of any negotiations what the president is going to have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does full denuclearization look like to this president?

SANDERS: I would think it looks to this president like it would to every other person across the world that means that North Korea doesn't have and is testing nuclear missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) seems odds with the U.S. President. He seems to believe that denuclearization is a done deal. He tweeted that this past Sunday. There seem to be a long way to go before the North Koreans actually give up their nuclear missiles and their nuclear program.

MIKE CHINOY, SENIOR FELLOW, U.S.-CHINA INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: I think there's a very long way to go and I'm not at all clear that North Korea is ever going to give up its nuclear capabilities. It is interesting that the North has taken the sort of symbolic steps that they've -- that they've indicated that they said they'll close their nuclear testing site and will refrain from future long-range missile test. But there's a fundamental question here which is the definition of denuclearization. The North Koreans talked about the denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula and for North Korea, what that means is an end to the American security umbrella particularly the nuclear umbrella that the U.S. provides to its ally South Korea and Japan. It does not mean simply that North Korea gives up its nukes. President Trump to the extent that he understands this seems to think that when the North Koreans talk about denuclearization that that is in fact what they're talking about. So there's a fundamental gap here and there's also a lot of question marks about the sequencing if there is any agreement about who does what, when, who gives what to whom in return for what -- so I think there are a lot of ways the North Korean-U.S. Summit could run into trouble.

VAUSE: You know, Sarah Sanders said that President Trump was basing his claims the denuclearization essentially being a done deal from a statement by the South Korean President who said last week that North Korea was expressing its commitment to complete denuclearization to the international community. When it comes to diplomacy, there's a world of difference between expressing a commitment to something and actually agreeing to it.

CHINOY: Not only is there a world of difference between expressing a commitment and doing something. There's also a question over the fact that it's been the South Koreans who've been conveying what they say are North Korea's intentions to the rest of the world and to the Trump administration. In South Korea, you have a president and an administration who have really jumped at the olive branch that Kim Jong-un has offered and I think it's not all clear to me that what they are saying North Korea is agreeing to is in fact what North Korea is itself prepared to agree too. We might get some clarity on this after the North-South Summit later this week. My impression is that the South will be hoping that North Korea will say something more about denuclearization than it has said so far. But there's a lot of expressions of intent but the devil is always in the details all the previous negotiations involving the North's nuclear program have been painful, slow, difficult, lots of ups and downs, and I don't think that the idea that this can be solve in one fell swoop like this is a very realistic one.

[02:40:08] VAUSE: Also the U.S. President and now this claimed there this weekend announcement of on North Korean television and they say, this is another reason for optimism. This is exactly what was said on North Korean state TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): North Korean will stop nuclear test s and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles from April 21st, 2018 to guarantee suspension of nuclear test in a transparent manner, the republic's northern nuclear test site will be abolished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, at first the nuclear missile tests are concerned, the North Koreans have stopped testing (INAUDIBLE) test anymore. And even if they wanted to conduct another nuclear test, there's plenty of evidence that suggest the entire site would collapse.

CHINOY: Well, it's not clear what the status of the nuclear site is. But what I would interpret the North Korean statement as indicating is that North Korea has achieve enough success in its nuclear program that it feels confident in its nuclear capabilities. This to me is not the language of a country that's coming and saying, we're ready to give up our nukes. This is a country that is confident that it's coming into a meeting with the American president expecting to be treated as an equal nuclear power and under those terms is willing to discuss arms control, so there's a world of difference between the steps that the North Koreans announced and genuine denuclearization. That being said I think there's something else that is important here which is that the language that the North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un has used talking about a new kind of strategic line in North Korea suggest that he wants to or is interested in exploring ways to make a more fundamental shift in North Korea to focus more energy and resources on the economy to reach out to the international community and that is very significant but if North Korea wants to do that while retaining its nuclear arsenal, it becomes a very tricky situation.

VAUSE: And just (INAUDIBLE) Kim Jong-un has been using, it seems that he's making a virtue out of what essentially is a necessity or, you know, (INAUDIBLE) or maybe they don't have the capacity to do it. At the same time, they're making this announcement ahead of the summit. He avoids the risk of looking weak like he's being pressure into making any concessions. It looks like he really is committed to this diplomacy. CHINOY: Kim Jong-un I think has played this very, very skillfully and these conciliatory sounding gestures do put Donald Trump on the defensive. Even if there's less there than meets the eye in terms of the substance because the North has not indicated the willingness to actually to give up its nuclear arsenal simply do not make -- not do any further testing. The North looks like it's interested in peace and taking steps to defuse tensions and the pressure there for is on the American president to reciprocate and so I think the North Koreans are playing this very, very skillfully and they've got everybody else responding to their gestures. That's typical of what has emerged with Kim Jong-un which contrary to all the speculation about his character and his previous behavior. He's a very smart cookie and a very shoot operator.

VAUSE: Kim Jong-un was always famous for playing a weak hand very well and looks like the sun has that ability as well I guess. Mike, as always, thank you so much.

SESAY: (INAUDIBLE) CNN NEWSROOM, more trauma for Rohingya refuges in Bangladesh as heavy rain signal a start to monsoon season and the threat of floods and mudslides.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:49] SESAY: Well, Armenia's prime minister has resigned, accused of a power grab which sparks 10 days of nationwide protest.

VAUSE: His decision to step down was unexpected and look to see some celebration in the capital and other cities. Details now from Paula Newton.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The celebrations were matched by a top able sense of relief on the streets of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, as a political crisis came was swift and surprising in. In blanch speech, the country's prime minister abruptly resigned saying, "The street movement is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your demand." Serzh Sargsyan ended days of street protests turmoil and his own 10 year legacy as Armenian leader.

Tens of thousands of protested what they saw as a power grab. Term limits met Sargsyan, could no longer be president. Instead, in 2015, as his term was ending, he transferred real power to the office of the prime minister. Parliament controlled by his party, then, elected him prime minister earlier this month. Sparking days of contempt as protest that escalated as opposition party members were detained.

The symbolic leader of the protest, Nikol Pashinyan was promptly released and thanked those who he said made a difference on the street. But he also appeals for calm and now some contemplation as Armenia begins to try and work out a political compromised as is so far an elusive. Paula Newton, CNN.

SESAY: Well, on Monday, the U.S. amount further $50 million dollars in aid for Rohingya refugees' camp in squalid conditions in Bangladesh. The aid comes out on especially desperate time with the onset of monsoon rain that threatened to inundate the camp. Well, Daphnee Cook is Communications and Media Manager for Rohingya Response at Saved the Children. She joins us now from Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Daphnee, thank you for joining us. We saw the first of those pre-monsoon rain a few days ago. Talk to me about the impact they've had in the camps.

DAPHNEE COOK, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA MANAGER, ROHINGYA RESPONSE, SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL: Sure. So, (INAUDIBLE) after the first downpour hits last week on Thursday, we already saw some flooding and some access roads affected. (INAUDIBLE) the home to over 700,000 newly arrived Rohingya and it's surely begin huts made of bamboo and top (INAUDIBLE). So, it's really concerning to say how quickly the first rain affected life in the camps.

And indeed, I went out on Saturday, and I met a Rohingya woman who said that her shelter was completely destroyed by the winds. And just being escorted then to the old (INAUDIBLE) to rebuild a home.

SESAY: I mean, to a point, I mean, this are pre-monsoon rains, it wasn't a lot of rain compared to the predictions of what lies ahead. But when you see what this little bit of rain did, what is that say to you about what these refugees are potentially facing when the winds and the rains really picked up?

COOK: Yes. So, these rains ignore even harder times of Rohingya families and children. People are scared, children are scared. And you have to remember this, the children's emergency are the 55 percent of the people in this camps are children. And children remember what of his life when they first arrived in Bangladesh last year, and it couldn't get dry. Many children suffered from skin infections that less than scars because their skin never had the chance to dry out.

SESAY: I know that the kid, as you said, they are scared. I mean, many of them have never been in the situation like camps led alone, face the monsoon before. Say that you want us making some specific preparations for the young in this places. And I know that you're giving them I.D. bracelet, to identification bracelet. Talks to me about that, the thinking and why that considered a priority?

COOK: So, as you say for months now, Save the Children has been working with the government of Bangladesh and other agencies to make sure communities are prepared for this (INAUDIBLE) crisis. And we're particularly concerned about children because children are much more vulnerable than adults than more vulnerable to getting separated in a storm, and the more vulnerable to (INAUDIBLE).

So, you think like this bracelets, and we're working with other agencies to provide kids with (INAUDIBLE) so that they can be identified if they get lost. Because you may know -- your listeners may know that when you have a monsoon rain, it's not just a small storm, it's a downpour. Visibility goes (INAUDIBLE), such flooding happens very quickly. And so, it pretty means, existence in plates can show that if kids get separated, they can -- they can reconnect with the families as quickly as possible.

[02:50:33] SESAY: I know that thousands of people in these camps had built their homes in low lying areas, and now, they're at direct risk ones the monsoon season really kicks in. Not everyone can be relocated ahead of the heavy rain. So, talk to me about what's happening? What you guys are doing to effectively minimize loss of life in these areas?

COOK: Yes, but (INAUDIBLE) children has been working around the clock. We distributed what we called shelter upgrade kits which are basically really strong bamboo poles. (INAUDIBLE), I mean, working with communities to strengthen their houses. Sometimes rebuilding them from the ground up. We've been improving critical infrastructures like terrains and bridges. I'm happy to say that they're stand out everywhere in the camps. And then, in the last month, those saw was being concreted.

So, we're really sort of trying to stabilize that fragile (INAUDIBLE) to make sure that people can still get around once it starts to merely downpour.

SESAY: And do people know where to go? What to do when thing really turn bad? As it's expected during this monsoon season?

COOK: So, messages have been going out to community leaders and to families over the past months. By speech to help them plan for when the rains do get severe. So, people now are working to get strategies in place, for example, making sure that valuables are in plastic bags that when it starts to get rain it doesn't get flooded. Their I.D. cards don't get flooded.

And we are also working with community leaders to make sure that if -- you know, there is flash flooding which is what we expect, they (INAUDIBLE) as a friends or people in their communities, they can go to on higher safer grounds so that they can get through those instances without as you say well supplies.

SESAY: Yes. Daphnee Cook for Save the Children, thank you so much for joining us, and thinking about everyone out there, and wishing you the best.

COOK: Thank you.

VAUSE: For the (INAUDIBLE) break, the changes be when we come back here next on CNN NEWSROOM. So, who is a (INAUDIBLE) an escorting (INAUDIBLE). More on the U.S. but still unnamed member of Britain's royal family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: British Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge labor for their third child on Monday. The baby boy who doesn't have a name just yet is fifth in line to the throne.

SESAY: Our CNN's Max Foster, reports the royal couples new arrive across Kensington.

VAUSE: They always do. [02:54:44] MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A new royal baby boy, a third child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, of the queens sit great-grandson. Seven hours after giving birth, the Duchess of Cambridge introduce her youngest son to the world. Just in red, standing next to Prince William and holding her newborn. She waved and smiled to the waiting cameras on the well-wishers.

The announcement to the birth was made on Twitter, which was consequently flooded with congratulatory messages. The traditional isle proclaiming the birthplace on the four courts of Buckingham Palace. First, princess of a newborn were his brother and sister, George and Charlotte. It was Prince William who've been in the delivery room who left the hospital to collect them. They ride, walking by their father's hand and end to the building not before Charlotte gave a little wave to the press and crowds.

"Thrice the worry now," William said as he stepped in to drive his wife and baby back home to Kensington Palace. The excitement outside the hospital was pout able. Some royal fans have been waiting for this moment for days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been (INAUDIBLE) I want to (INAUDIBLE) to the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's absolutely fantastic, a happy healthy prince there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited to be here. We're just here by chance and I'm so glad it was today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so exciting (INAUDIBLE) the royal family, I've never seen them before, so, (INAUDIBLE).

FOSTER: The new baby is fifth in line to the throne. He's the first male not to step in front of his older sister in the line of succession. In the past, royal sons took presidents over the female siblings, but they'll always recently updated. Now, we wait the name expected in the next couple of days. Max Foster, CNN, Kensington Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, today are going to be.

SESAY: And how at Lenny?

VAUSE: Sweetie, sweetie. OK. As the cup of Prince Sweetie, as recovery case of a monkey selfie. In U.S. federal bills code as favorite humans over animals. The court apart of ruling that animals did not have the right to sue for copyright.

SESAY: This Naruto and (INAUDIBLE) as spotted the case of photographer was on assignment when Naruto grabbed his camera and smack the selfie. Well, the photographer has agreed with the animal rights group PETA to donate 25 percent of any future revenue from the selfie to charity that protect (INAUDIBLE) habitat in Indonesia. Did (INAUDIBLE) say excuse than a sue?

VAUSE: I think so. It looks pretty happy though.

SESAY: Do he?

VAUSE: Looks like a he? What do you think? Looks like a boy?

SESAY: You've been watching CNN -- it does (INAUDIBLE), you've been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Who was on Twitter, CNNNEWSROOMLA. There you find hubs and clips in our show. The news continue is next with --

SESAY: The one only --

VAUSE: Rosemary Church.

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