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Iranians Denounce U.S. in Protests; Giuliani Says Trump Denied TimeWarner-AT&T Merger Deal; Teen Bride's Death Sentence Sparks Global Outrage; Kelly Walks Back Embarrassing Comment; Heroic Pilots Describe Deadly Flight; A Royal Match: Harry & Meghan. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired May 12, 2018 - 05:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Thousands of people march in the streets of Tehran, protesting U.S. President Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Plus --

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Contradicting the White House. Rudy Giuliani suggests it was the U.S. president who denied the AT&T-TimeWarner merger.

And later --

ALLEN (voice-over): CNN gets an exclusive look at the mountain base that's still on alert to North Korea's missile threat.

HOWELL (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers here and in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN (voice-over): I'm Natalie Allen. Thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

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HOWELL: At 5:00 am on the U.S. East Coast, just days after the U.S. president rejected the historic nuclear deal with Iran, this was the scene in that nation's capital.

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HOWELL (voice-over): Big crowds there, anti-American emotions on full display on the streets of Tehran. The fate of the nuclear agreement now hanging in the balance.

ALLEN (voice-over): The foreign minister of Iran, Javad Zarif, heads to Brussels next week to meet with his counterparts from Germany, France and the U.K., U.S. allies. And they will be seeking ways to keep this deal alive without the United States. HOWELL (voice-over): And if that last-ditch effort fails, Tehran

warns it may restart its uranium enrichment program on a, quote, "industrial scale."

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ALLEN: Complicating the situation is the potential for military clashes between Iran and Israel. CNN's Ian Lee is in the Golan Heights. Israel says that area was attacked by Iranian rockets earlier this week.

We'll get to you in a moment, Ian.

HOWELL: Let's start our coverage with our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, live in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Fred, let's talk about the mood among people there. We saw images at the top of our show.

Has the mood changed any between moderates and hardliners, given the president's decision to back out?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting because there are, obviously, people here who criticize President Hassan Rouhani for having initiated the nuclear agreement in the first place, especially among the hardliners.

But if you look at the major big political line here of this country, then it does seem as though right now, at least, the hardliners and moderates seem to have the same political agenda.

You have Hassan Rouhani and his government, mainly Javad Zarif, foreign minister, traveling around, trying to salvage the nuclear agreement, saying it could survive in a smaller form without the U.S. in it if the Europeans agree to preserve Iran's interests.

Now the supreme leader is saying he doesn't trust the Europeans but he is willing to give all of that a chance. So while there seems to be some tensions between these two factions, certainly, at this point in time, it seems as though the supreme leader is at least sanctioning the fact the Iranian government is still trying to preserve that deal.

Nevertheless, there's, of course, a lot of concern among many Iranians that their country could be more isolated than before economically and there is also a lot of anger, especially towards President Trump after pulling out of the nuclear agreement.

Here's what folks told us yesterday at those very fiery Friday prayers.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have came here to say to all the people of the world and to Mr. Trump that we stand against Mr. Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We -- I want to say to American people that we are very sorry that they have elected such a president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I hope we become so strong that nobody can threaten us and that my country will not fear anything or anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So there you have it. And you also have the supreme leader, who was criticizing President Trump very heavily this week. It seems as though he also did some reading up on his arch nemesis.

The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was at a book fair here in Tehran on Friday. The book he was pictured reading was "Fire and Fury." It's unclear what he thought of the book but, clearly, he's trying to get more information on President Trump as Iran and the U.S. remain in that altercation that's been going on since the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear agreement -- guys.

HOWELL: That is an interesting picture, isn't it, Fred?

Look. So we've seen the frustration there on the streets for the U.S. president, for this decision to back out of this deal.

But there's also been frustration among people there who have not yet realized, not yet seen the tangible benefits from the Iran nuclear deal. The question now, is this putting more pressure on the government from people who are expecting to see a difference from this?

PLEITGEN: Yes. I really do think -

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PLEITGEN: -- it is. One of the things we have to keep in mind is that with President Hassan Rouhani's election victory last year is, one of the things he said is that he believed the nuclear agreement would evolve and things would get better.

The thing he originally sold it on in 2015 is he told people there will be more foreign direct investment. There would be more jobs coming. There would be more money pouring into Iran. That's happened to a certain extent.

To be fair, the oil and gas sector has done very well and there's been some investment, especially from French companies here into the Iranian economy. But again, it's more of a trickle than it is really a stream.

So right now, he's under a lot of pressure to sell to people. Look, this agreement that the U.S. doesn't seem to want anymore, why on Earth should Iran still want to try to preserve that as well?

HOWELL: The U.S. focused on more sanctions. So obviously, we'll have to see how this plays out. Fred Pleitgen, live for us in Tehran, thank you for the reporting.

ALLEN: Let's go to Ian Lee. He is live for us in the Golan Heights.

And Ian, the decision by the U.S. to pull out of the Iran deal, that is supported by the Israeli government.

But is that in part what might have caused the incursion between Iran and Israel this week?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Natalie, Israel made no secret that they wanted the United States to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the very beginning, since the Obama administration, had been calling for the U.S. not to enter it and then to pull out once they did, using the line, "Fix it or nix it."

The tensions did rise after the United States pulled out. But it's hard to peg if that was the reason why. We saw the clash up here in the Golan, mainly because the Iranians haven't even admitted that they carried it out, let alone give an explanation for why they did.

Israel said Iran launched over 20 rockets at the Golan Heights and Israel retaliated with dozens of strikes on Iranian targets. The defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that almost all Iranian sites inside Syria have been hit.

Now while we've heard from the Iranian president, he said he wants this tension to ease. Israel wants tensions to ease. But it really, we're expecting this to continue, as Iran isn't abandoning Syria and Israel will be monitoring them there closely.

ALLEN: All right, thank you so much, Ian Lee, reporting from the Golan Heights for us.

HOWELL: Extra Marine units will beef up U.S. diplomatic posts across the Middle East next week. Officials telling CNN they are taking no chances. All of this around the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem on Monday. This after President Trump ordered it to be moved from Tel Aviv. And the Palestinian Authority is calling for a day of rage.

ALLEN: It's urging Palestinians to protest Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Monday is also the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. And officials will be watching for unrest over the Trump administration's exit from the Iran deal.

HOWELL: Let's get some insight from Fawaz Gerges, the chair of contemporary Middle East studies at the London School of Economics.

It's always a pleasure to have you here on the show. Let's start with the Iran nuclear deal, Fawaz. European allies still want it. They see a ripple effect of problems to come from the president's decision to abandon it. Listen.

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ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): I agree that there are a lot of other worrying issues to talk about when it comes to Iran: The fight with Israel, the ballistic missile program, Iran's role in Syria, all correct.

However, I think it is not correct to pull out of a deal that has been agreed on, that has been voted for unanimously in the U.N. Security Council. That hurts the trust in the international order.

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HOWELL: So drawing on your knowledge of the inner workings of the region, how do you see this playing out?

And can this deal survive without the United States being part of it but also increasing pressure with sanctions?

FAWAZ GERGES, DIR. MIDDLE EAST CENTER, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: I doubt it very much, George. Even though the European powers, even though the European Union, even though Russia and China have made it very clear they would like to preserve the nuclear deal, I was really surprised yesterday to hear the German Chancellor Merkel making it very clear that, once American sanctions kick in, this would make it very difficult and very dangerous for European companies to invest in Iran.

You have tens of billions of dollars that European companies have invested in Iran. And once the American sanctions kick in, basically they would be major costs for European companies.

Also, European companies are deeply invested in the American economy and the American financial system. And it will not really want to be subjected to American sanctions. So even though the European powers would like to stay in -

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GERGES: -- I doubt it very much whether you're going to see a great deal of European investments in Iran in the next six months after the American sanctions go into effect.

The second factor that's really not taken into account, George, is that what France and Germany and Britain are trying to do is to also engage Iran in new talks to address its ballistic missiles, to address its interventions in the neighborhood, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Syria and Yemen.

And Iran has made it very clear it will not make any concessions on its infiltration of its neighbors' countries.

So multiple factors in the next six months, even though Iran and the European powers and Russia and China would like to maintain it. I think -- my take on it, after six months, Iran will most likely pull out of the deal because it's going to realize that the investments that it had hoped to attract from Europe will not be coming in.

HOWELL: You mention Russia and China. There's another question.

Is this drawing Iran closer to Russia and China along with allies in the European Union that are trying to salvage this deal? GERGES: Oh, absolutely, George. I mean, I think Trump's decision drives a wedge with its -- his European allies. I mean, think of what the chancellor, the German chancellor said. We can no longer rely on the American security umbrella. We must defend ourselves.

Think of what the French ministers have said in the past 48 hours. They have said, well, look, we are unwilling to pay the economic cost of a unilateral American decision. There is a sense in Europe that basically the U.S. has changed, that the U.S. can no longer really rely on.

The major beneficiaries of Trump's pullout of the deal will be Russia, China and Turkey. China, of all the three powers, China will benefit the most. It has made tens of billions of U.S. dollars in investments in Iran and will likely basically invest more, given the drying up of European investment.

The reality is, George, though, Iran has been counting on European investments. It wants to modernize its commercial flights. It bought 100 airplanes from Europe. Investment in the gas and the oil sectors. And this will not be coming in. What Iran is trying to do now, you might ask me why Iran has not pulled out of the deal.

Iran is playing for time, for the next six months are very crucial before the American sanctions kick in. It's really trying to speed up European investments, in particular, the commercial airplanes and other investment.

At the end of the day, though, I see Iran pulling out in the next six months because it wants to have cards to play in the future talks with the European leaders about not only the nuclear deal but also its role in the region as well.

HOWELL: Fawaz Gerges, live for us in London, thank you so much for the perspective. We'll stay in touch with you.

ALLEN: Another issue involving the U.S. president. Rudy Giuliani, the U.S. president's new lawyer, has again made a statement that's put his client in a tough spot.

HOWELL: Giuliani told the "Huffington Post" that the president has denied the merger of AT&T and CNN's parent company, TimeWarner. That is quite a different statement than what we've heard from the president and the Justice Department up to now. Hadas Gold explains for us.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudy Giuliani is causing another headache for the White House and now also the Justice Department this weekend. It is all because of comments he made in an interview with the "Huffington Post."

Giuliani told the "Huffington Post" that whatever lobbying Michael Cohen did on behalf of companies like AT&T, who paid him for consulting, as we've recently learned, did not work. Giuliani used the example of AT&T's proposed merger with TimeWarner.

Now the Justice Department blocked that merger. They sued to try to stop it because they said that it would harm consumers.

But Giuliani said in his interview with the "Huffington Post" that it was the president who denied that merger. Now that matters because the Justice Department is supposed to operate independent of the president.

And they said that they sued to block the merger without any sort of interference from the president or any sort of political bias.

Rudy Giuliani's comments fly in the face of that and, in fact, there was even a sworn affidavit from the head of the antitrust division for the Justice Department, saying that he was not influenced at all by the president or the White House or anybody involved.

But now Rudy Giuliani is saying that in fact Donald Trump himself was the one who denied this merger. The question now is what AT&T will do with this information. A judge is currently taking his time deciding whether this merger can go through or not.

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GOLD: We're expecting that decision from him on June 12th.

But AT&T could issue new filings on appeal; they could try to bring up this political bias defense. It's really giving them another part of their arsenal that they can bring forth in this defense. But at the end of the day, it is just another Rudy Giuliani headache for the White House and the Justice Department -- this is Hadas Gold, CNN, Washington.

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ALLEN: For his part, Donald Trump wants to make sure everyone knows the Justice Department has been against the merger from the beginning.

HOWELL: On Friday, Mr. Trump tweeted, "The Trump administration's antitrust division has been and is opposed to the AT&T purchase of TimeWarner in a currently ongoing trial. The Justice Department is currently trying to block the deal in court."

ALLEN: Let's talk more about it with Inderjeet Parmar, professor of international politics at City University of London.

Inderjeet, thank you for being with us.

INDERJEET PARMAR, CITY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: You're welcome.

ALLEN: As far as this AT&T merger story, Rudy Giuliani muddies the waters, yet again.

Remember the Stormy Daniels saga?

He was saying that it was President Trump, not the Department of Justice, that blocked the merger. The DOJ has previously denied the president was involved.

Is Giuliani helping or hurting the president?

PARMER: It's very difficult to say. He was brought in, I think, partly because of his reputation. He's a fighter, a sort of political street fighter by reputation. And I think the idea was a much more aggressive stance, particularly with the media and kind of painting a picture of a beleaguered president, a man of the people, fighting the system.

But unfortunately, it seems to have gone the other way. That is, he's opened up President Trump to more exposure in the Stormy Daniels question and possibly widening or deepening already existing investigations into his other behavior, particularly towards the Department of Justice.

So it would appear to be to some extent backfiring, although I think we shouldn't disregard the symbolic effects, which is a kind of a man against the Washington, D.C., machine or the system. But I think that plays quite well more broadly.

ALLEN: It's interesting you say that because that connects to my next question. With the news that Mr. Trump's lawyer, Mr. Cohen, was a consultant for the deal, hired by AT&T, does this fly in the face of Trump's promise to drain the swamp?

PARMER: Absolutely, it does. There was no question, really, at the very beginning or now, that the Trump administration is effectively governance for a family corporation right at the center and for the corporate sector more broadly, particularly those who are much more based on the territory of the United States and are much more, therefore, nationalistic in character.

And that draining the swamp never occurred. It hasn't occurred. And everything we find out on a weekly basis about Michael Cohen and the other business associates and linkages of the Trump administration, it shows that it is deeply mired in that very swamp itself.

And, quite frankly, I think you can probably extend that to the Democratic Party's leadership, too. Their linkages with Wall Street and so on are very, very powerful.

So I think President Trump is a very different kind of president in a number of different ways but actually in many other respects, especially in regard to the kind of swamp -- lobbyists, corporate people and so on -- he's exactly the same as the people that he claimed to be against.

ALLEN: That swamp is thick up there in D.C., isn't it?

Well, this whole story about blocking the AT&T purchase of TimeWarner, which is the parent company of CNN, which is a network he does not like, does it bespeak of a vendetta on part of this president?

PARMER: It could well be. It's very difficult to know the motivations. I think this is a president who thrives on chaos. And I think chaos means that he's the center of attention of everything.

And in the course of that, he can basically paint an image of a man under siege. And at his rallies, he talks about him being under siege from bogus investigations as well as the United States being under siege from bogus -- from hostile powers and so on. He's the only defense that the United States has.

ALLEN: Yes, and he continues to use those rallies and get that base riled up over these situations. We always appreciate your thoughts, Inderjeet Parmar, thank you for joining us.

PARMER: Thank you.

HOWELL: Still ahead, protesters are calling on the president of Sudan to pardon a teenager sentenced to death for murdering her husband while he allegedly raped her. We'll have a live report ahead.

ALLEN: Also, this hour, a unique look inside the U.S. military's command center, where officials keep constant watch for incoming missiles and possible attacks.

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ALLEN: Activists around the world are calling on Sudan's president to pardon a teenager sentenced to death for murdering her husband while he allegedly raped her.

HOWELL: Noura Hussein says that she tried to ask her parents for support but they turned her in to police. Her case has put the spotlight on marital rape, which is not illegal in Sudan.

ALLEN: It has also put the spotlight on forced marriages, which occur commonly in Sudan.

Our Isha Sesay has been following this story. She joins us now from London.

Isha, this young woman, Noura, this is such a sad, sad story in so many ways. She has two weeks to plead her case before her death sentence.

What are the chances the judicial system will show her mercy, do we know?

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Natalie and George. Having just spoken to one of Noura's lawyers, he tells me that there is precedent for death penalty sentences being overturned in Sudan.

So he is hopeful that, upon re-examination of the evidence and looking at whether the law was followed, the technical elements of this case, that upon reassessment by three judges in the appeal process, that they will be successful.

In terms of the actual grounds for the appeal, the argument that they will use, you won't be surprised to hear that the judge said he wouldn't disclose that, bearing in mind there's a prosecution preparing their own case to meet their appeal. But he felt fairly confident in the strength of Noura's case.

He also said that he was pinning his hopes on the family of Noura's dead husband because they can still intervene here. They can still basically give her amnesty -- that's what it would be termed as -- and stall this death sentence.

And this is something they can do right up until her final moments, up until the moment she's taken to the place where she would be hanged. If they were to intervene and say we grant amnesty, Noura's life would be saved.

HOWELL: That's the court of law.

But what about the court of public opinion?

This issue viewed very differently there compared to how international audiences might view it.

Does she have support in Sudan?

SESAY: According to a lawyer, a great deal of support from women's groups and civil society groups there in the country, a lot of them saying that Noura's actions and her bravery -- and that's how it's seen by many of these women's groups, the fact she fought back against her attacker -- is -

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SESAY: -- something to be hailed and something that shines a spotlight on the practices there in Sudan, which very often make women and girls victims in such situations.

But then again, you did make the point -- and it is worth highlighting for our viewers -- that in Sudan, marital rape is legal, that the legal age of marriage in Sudan is as young as 10 years old. So in some quarters, Noura is not a victim. In some quarters, she is, indeed a murderer. That's how they see her, that basically she took the life of a man who was doing nothing wrong.

But it is worth stating that this has created a groundswell of support and a conversation in Sudan about the actions of men and the treatment of women and girls there in that country.

ALLEN: Right, because the other part of this story is that she ran away from home to avoid this forced marriage because she wanted to be a teacher. Her parents lured her back home to force this to happen. It's just unbelievable. We know you'll be following it for us, Isha. Thanks so much.

HOWELL: Thank you. Now to Iraq. People there are going to the polls to vote in that country's parliamentary election. Voting kicked off several hours ago. It is the first such vote since ISIS was declared defeated just last year; 329 seats are up for grabs with a quarter reserved for women.

ALLEN: Iraqi prime minister Haider al Abadi cast his vote a short time ago and hopes to win back his position which must go to a Shiite. But the country's Shia bloc has fractured into several major coalitions. That makes it hard to predict who will come out on top.

Immigration officials in Malaysia say the former prime minister and his wife are banned now from leaving the country. Najib Razak is accused of corruption involving state funds.

HOWELL: Rumors spread that he was planning to leave the country after losing his re-election bid earlier this week. But he has tweeted that he will respect the order and that he and his family will remain in Malaysia.

ALLEN: Political tension between the U.S. and North Korea appears to be calming down. But that's not stopping the U.S. military from doing its job.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a job to do that's measured in minutes and seconds. And for us to try and account for that, the political rhetoric, it doesn't fit in. We're worried about pieces of metal flying through space coming to North America.

ALLEN: Still to come here, we get rare access inside the U.S. military command center that keeps a 24/7 watch for incoming missiles and threats to the U.S.

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HOWELL: Live coast to coast across the United States, good morning to you. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: A pair of statements from White House chief of staff John Kelly has brought a swift backlash.

HOWELL: First, Kelly is walking back his statement that the U.S. president is "embarrassed" by the special counsel's probe. Kelly later told CNN he meant to say Mr. Trump was, quote, "distracted" by the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Here's Kelly's original comment made to National Public Radio, NPR.

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JOHN F. KELLY, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There may not be a cloud but certainly the president is somewhat embarrassed, frankly, when world leaders come in. It's like, you walk in and the first couple minutes of every conversation might revolve around that kind of thing.

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ALLEN: In that same interview with NPR, Kelly, known as an immigration hardliner, said most of the immigrants crossing into the U.S. are poorly educated.

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KELLY: The vast majority of the people that move illegally into the United States are not bad people. But they are also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States. They are overwhelmingly rural people. In the countries they come from, fourth, fifth, sixth grade educations are kind of the norm.

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HOWELL: The United Nations Agency (sic) is reporting that North Korea's government has promised not to carry out unannounced missile tests as well as other activities that are hazardous to commercial aviation. Pyongyang also says its nuclear arms program is, quote, "complete."

The move comes ahead of President Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month, where many topics, including Pyongyang's nuclear program, are expected to be discussed. And while tensions between the U.S. and North Korea appear to be calming, the U.S. military isn't, of course, letting down its guard.

HOWELL: CNN just received unique access to a facility that monitors incoming threats to North America in the skies, including Kim Jong- un's missiles. Our Scott McLean has this report for us.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the first time in a long time, there are positive signs coming from North Korea but the political optics here mean very little for the people at NORAD who are tracking the North Korean nuclear threat.

In fact, they are just as leery of North Korea now as they were a year ago. Their work is done in two command centers here in Colorado Springs. And one of them is buried under that mountain.

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MCLEAN (voice-over): This is America's first line of defense from an incoming nuclear missile. Deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, south of Denver, this sprawling underground bunker is the home of NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense command.

The U.S.-Canadian partnership formed to defend against long-range Soviet bombers during the Cold War. Today it warns of incoming threats from the sky 24 -

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MCLEAN (voice-over): -- hours a day, including a North Korean missile, something that seemed like a real possibility just months ago.

KIM JONG-UN, NORTH KOREAN LEADER (through translator): They must never forget that the nuclear button is placed on my desk at all times. They must realize that this is not a threat but a reality.

TRUMP: North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Since then, tensions with North Korea have cooled down. Kim Jong-un's missile tests have stopped and threats of fire and fury have been replaced with handshakes and talks of optimism ahead of a Trump-Kim meeting next month.

But here inside the NORAD command center, you'd never know it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a job to do that's measured in minutes and seconds. And for us to try and account for that, the political rhetoric, it doesn't fit in. We're worried about pieces of metal flying through space coming to North America.

MCLEAN (voice-over): CNN was granted rare access to this complex, buried under 2,400 feet of solid granite at the end of a nearly mile- long tunnel. It's designed to survive a nuclear blast and maintain communications even after being hit.

It's secured by 23-ton blast doors. Five underground lakes store water and fuel and its 15 buildings sit on more than 1,300 giant springs. But the buildings sway by up to a foot without being damaged in an earthquake or a missile strike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We like to say it's the most secure facility in the world.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Colonel Travis Morehen, a Canadian, has been at the helm of the command center standing watch during five North Korean missile tests. Despite North Korea's talk of denuclearization, he says NORAD still gets intelligence on Kim Jong-un's nuclear program three or four times a day.

MCLEAN: What should we read into that? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You shouldn't read anything do into that. It's just that that's the scan of the intelligence community looking at North Korea. We've been watching the same as we were previously, the same as we watch any other nation that poses a threat to the United States and Canada.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The persistent focus on North Korea comes despite President Trump's announcement that the U.S. is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Iran's president has yet to commit to staying in it, meaning the world could soon have another aspiring nuclear power -- or even two more if Saudi Arabia makes good on its pledge to follow suit if Iran restarts its nuclear program.

MCLEAN: If there actually is a deal to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, is your work done here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, it's not. We need to be able to respond to any threat from any nation. In my opinion here, our work will never be done.

MCLEAN: NORAD is marking its 60th anniversary this weekend. It is the only binational command of its kind in the world. But it is not the only tenant inside Cheyenne Mountain.

There are actually some 15 other U.S. government agencies who operate inside. But the officials who took us in wouldn't say which ones -- Scott McLean, CNN, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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HOWELL: It is fascinating to get a look inside that facility and the work continues around the clock.

For the first time since last month's deadly engine failure, the pilots who safely landed Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, they are now talking about what happened. Tammie Jo Shults and Darren Ellisor say teamwork and training helped them get through a nightmare that left one passenger dead.

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DARREN ELLISOR, SOUTHWEST PILOT: We had a very severe vibration from the number one engine. It was shaking everything. And it all kind of happened all at once.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you think had happened?

ELLISOR: My immediate reaction was a seizure of the engine.

TAMMIE JO SHULTS, SOUTHWEST FLIGHT: We knew that something extraordinary had happened pretty quickly.

Southwest 1380 has an engine fire, descending.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 1380, you're descending right now?

SHULTS: Yes, sir. We're single-engine descending, have a fire in number (INAUDIBLE).

ELLISOR: She was just so calm. She really had nerves of steel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Where would you like to go, which airport?

SHULTS: Give us a vector for your closest. Philadelphia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: What a tremendous landing they made, too; of course, 43-year- old Jennifer Riordan was killed during the flight. The pilots say they waited to talk about the ordeal to give her family some time to heal.

HOWELL: Still ahead this hour, what could be responsible for a deadly dam collapse in Kenya. The latest on the search for the missing -- still ahead.

ALLEN: Plus in just one week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will walk down the aisle and into the history books. We take a look at their modern love story ahead here.

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HOWELL: All right, everybody. Welcome back.

Kenyan authorities say that the dam that burst on Wednesday and killed dozens of people was built illegally. At least 45 people are now confirmed dead; 40 people still missing.

ALLEN: The rush of water swept away homes after heavy rain and flooding soaked the area. The Kenya Red Cross estimates some 500 families have been affected.

More help is on the way for Hawaii's big island. The Kilauea volcano erupted just more than a week ago and now President Trump has declared a major disaster.

HOWELL: That frees up federal funding and assistance to help local authorities there. There haven't been any new lava emissions since Wednesday but the threat of more explosions has again forced the closure of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Officials are also warning of dangerous toxic gas.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[05:45:00]

ALLEN: We now have details of what kind of cake Harry and Meghan will be cutting on the big day. That's coming up here.

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HOWELL: The final touches are being set for Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle to tie the knot just one week away.

ALLEN: Some royal watchers are placing their bets on key wedding details. Here's our Max Foster in London.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A week to go and no official announcements about the wedding for days now. But that hasn't stopped the speculation. When there's a vacuum of information from the palace, we tend to revert to what people are betting on. So here's what Brits have been obsessing about this week.

First, the dress: Ralph & Russo are the firm favorites as the designers. Erdem and Christopher Bailey are the other front-runners. The palace insists they won't confirm or deny any of the rumors until Meghan actually steps out of the car at the church on the wedding day.

Maybe she's had two made and hasn't decided which to go for we could speculate for England.

Harry's outfit isn't causing nearly as much excitement of course but people are betting that Harry will be wearing a uniform on the day and money is also being placed on whether he'll keep his beard. Most thinking he'll shave it off for the big day.

Then the weather. This is the U.K. and we obsess about nothing more. There's a mini heat wave on its way. And bets are being placed on it being the hottest day of the year. Good news for Markle, who was brought up in the California sun. Less so for Harry, especially if he's in the stifling ceremonial uniform.

Finally, they aren't even married and people are already talking about the baby. Ladbrokes have slashed their odds on Markle making a pregnancy announcement by the end of this year.

Let's give them a chance, though, shall we, to enjoy their first big royal event together without any of this. Not long now -- Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: Thank you, Max, love it.

While some wedding details are under wraps, we do have an idea of what kind of cake guests will be enjoying on the big day.

HOWELL: Cake. Here's CNN's Lynda Kinkade with more on that.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you are one of the millions of people who did not get an invite to the royal wedding, we have a taste of what you can expect.

I have with me Kristen Maxwell Cooper from The Knot. This is a traditional wedding cake. Kate and William had it.

Will this be on the menu?

KRISTEN MAXWELL COOPER, THE KNOT: This is a traditional fruitcake from For Goodness Cakes here in Atlanta, Georgia. This is actually one of the traditions that Prince Harry and Meghan had decided to skip.

Like you said, Prince William and Kate had one. Prince Charles and Princess Diana had one. It's often all white, very grand in appearance. This one is eight tiers. And it has a lot of intricate detailing.

KINKADE: We do know that Meghan had a good say in the pastry chef. She chose an American in London.

And what does she want created?

COOPER: She wants a lemon elderflower cake. She did choose a pastry chef based in London. Claire Ptak is an American. She also wants buttercream topped with fresh flowers.

KINKADE: So we do get a little taste of what the wedding guests will be served. It's very good.

COOPER: Shouldn't skip it.

KINKADE: And I understand Prince Harry is going to go with tradition. Most men like chocolate. He's selected a chocolate cake.

COOPER: Yes, for his groom's cake. We see that groom's cakes are a big tradition in the U.S. But they're just making their way to the royal wedding right now. So Prince William had one. We expect Harry to have one. We know his favorite dessert is actually a banana caramel chocolate cake. So we expect he'll choose those flavors.

KINKADE: Of course, what is a wedding without some sparkles and some wine?

We know Meghan is partial to a pinot, particularly one from Flowers, from the Sonoma Valley in California.

Will there be a mix of British and American wines?

COOPER: I think we can expect some of these wines may be flown in so we have a mix of American and British drinks for the occasion. And when it comes to sparkling wine, we can expect them to be from Chapel Down. They provided a rose brut for Prince William and Kate and also sparkling wine for the queen's diamond jubilee.

KINKADE: Here is to Meghan and Harry. Cheers.

COOPER: Cheers.

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HOWELL: Why didn't that cake or wine make it into the newsroom?

ALLEN: Cheers, George.

HOWELL: Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were even thinking about marriage, the American actress spent years struggling to make it in Hollywood. CNN takes an inside look.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): For Meghan, her identity struggle is magnified in Hollywood.

CAMEROTA: What has she said about how her race impacted her getting jobs?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Casting agents weren't always sure what to make of her. Is she going out for a Latina role?

Is she somehow maybe Italian or even Middle Eastern or is she African American?

Is she Caucasian?

She undoubtedly felt like at times that casting agents threw up their hands and went, never mind.

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Cast over for big roles, Meghan does get -

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CAMEROTA (voice-over): -- some small parts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe she'd have one scene or be there for one moment. I think she was on a bunch of TV shows. "Friends," "Beverly Hills 90210." She was famously a "Deal or No Deal" girl. She had her little moment, opening one of the briefcases.

CAMEROTA: She has said that her 20s were brutal. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meghan struggled a lot.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To become a successful actress, to be able to make a living, that's like winning a lottery ticket. The number of forces that have to combine to get you even the smallest scrap of success are so astronomical.

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Meghan auditions for 10 years. And then, at 29, she lands a significant role, female lead on USA Network's legal drama, "Suits."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She got lucky. She undoubtedly handed in a great audition, a great screen test. She had excellent chemistry with her co-stars and she hit the jackpot.

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ALLEN: That's just a sample of our special report, "A Royal Match: Harry and Meghan," several times this weekend. You'll see it, including Saturday night in the U.S., Sunday night in London. We can't get enough.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell. For our viewers in the U.S., "NEW DAY" is next. For other viewers around the world, "AMANPOUR" is ahead. Thanks for being with us.

ALLEN: See you later.