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Biden Faces Scrutiny From Dems Over Lucy Flores; Rapper Nipsey Hussle Killed In Los Angeles Shooting; Venezuelans Face Shortages Of Food, Fuel, And Water; Hospitals In Dire Conditions Struggle To Treat Patients; Deadly Storm Swipes Through Nepal; Meteor Blazes Into The Atmosphere; Trump White House Not Backing Down; Allegation on Vice President Joe Biden; Doan Thi Huong to be Set Free Early; British Parliament Scrambling to Save Brexit; Erdogan's Party Leading the Local Municipal Elections; Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky No Laughing Matter; Young Rapper, Nipsey Hussle, Dead. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 01, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Trump and his administration not backing down, saying they will close the border with Mexico and cut aid to the countries where many of the migrants are coming from. Plus, escaping the death penalty, the remaining woman accused of killing Kim Jong-Un's half brother gets a plea deal. We will have a live report from Hong Kong. We will have a live report from Hong Kong.

Also ahead, an allegation of inappropriate behavior, former Vice President Joe Biden is under scrutiny, and we will have his response to the controversy ahead. Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I am Rosemary Church live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. CNN Newsroom starts right now.

Well, the White House is defending President Donald Trump's threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border. The president fired off this on Twitter Sunday. The Democrats are allowing a ridiculous asylum system and major loopholes to remain as a mainstay of our immigration system. Mexico is likewise doing nothing, a very bad combination for our country. He also closed with what could be a vague threat. Homeland Security is being so very nice, but not for long.

The White House isn't just threatening to seal the border. The State Department says it's cutting off aid to three Central American countries, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Mr. Trump has accused those countries of setting up migrant caravans. The acting White House chief of staff backed his boss on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We could prevent a lot of what's happening on the southern border by preventing people from moving into Mexico in the first place. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, but that's what the U.S. aid money does, is

it makes these countries more stable. This is not according to me. This is according to experts in your own administration.

MULVANEY: OK, career staffers. But let's talk about that for a second. If it's working so well, why are the people still coming? Why are these historic numbers? Again 100,000 people will cross the border this month alone. That is -- that is a crisis. It's a humanitarian crisis. It's a security crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. Customs officials say there is a crisis at the border, and it's pushed them to breaking point. They are dealing with a surge of Central American migrants, and facilities are packed way beyond capacity. Thousands of migrants have been released over the past week in south Texas with more expected in the coming days. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more now from El Paso.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Communities like El Paso here along the U.S. southern border, where we are waiting to see, if President Trump is going to follow through on his threat of closing down the border. Here in El Paso, this is one of the main bridges that takes you from the United States into Mexico, into Juarez, Mexico. Tens of thousands of people use bridges just like this up and down the border here in Texas, which crosses the Rio Grande and also other ports of entry from New Mexico all the way to California.

It would be a significant blow to local economies and local communities if these ports of entry are closed. Not to mention just to people -- everyday crossing you see family and friends to get to work, to get to school, but also economically. There are millions of trucks with goods that cross back and forth across these border points of entry everyday.

It is part of the economic engine that exists daily between Mexico and the United States. So the threat of closing down these border points of entry is taken very seriously here along the U.S. southern border. And then there's the question of what is being done to process the large amounts of migrants that are coming here to the U.S. southern border.

Just underneath this bridge over the last few days, there had been hundreds of migrants that are essentially being stored there by border patrol agents as they waited to process these newly arrived migrants. We're told, as the images of these people standing behind these chained link fences started to circulate around the world, that area has been shut down and that those migrants have been moved to other facilities.

But customs and border protection officials say they are in pace for a significant number of apprehensions here in the month of March alone. Over 100,000, and if those numbers hold true, that would be the largest number that they've seen here along the U.S. southern border in more than a decade. So critics of the administration say that the administration is simply trying to create a sense of chaos with the images coming out of the border to try to bolster their argument for the national emergency, and building more border wall in these types of communities.

So that is what is going on here. Many people looking here toward the week ahead as to what is going to happen next and if President Trump is going to follow through on that threat of closing down the border ports of entry, Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:10] CHURCH: Thanks for that, Ed. And President Trump is expected to travel to southern California this week near the Mexican border. Here's what some of his political opponents were saying about the border on Sunday talk shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: When the president says he's going to close the border. That is a totally unrealistic boast on his part. What we need to do is focus on what's happening in Central America, where three countries are dissembling before our eyes, and people are desperately coming to the United States. The president's cutting off aid to these countries will not solve that problem.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), VERMONT: You have a terrible humanitarian crisis. You have women and children traveling 1,000 miles or more, often by foot, in order to escape the violence and poverty in their countries. So what we need to do, of course, is a, comprehensive immigration reform. But, b, we need to make sure that our borders are secure. But also we need a humane policy at the border in which we are not yanking tiny children from their mothers...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So would you keep these children in detention?

SANDERS: That's not what America is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's Ana Cabrera spoke earlier to a U.S. border patrol agent in Texas and the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. They offered very different views on the situation on the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CABRERA, U.S. BORDER PATROL AGENT: I think the issue here is both sides have failed to come together and act on this. They're the ones that can change this. Get in there and fix this loophole with this catch and release system, because we don't have any more places to hold these folks. The places we have set up aren't for long term. We're short-term facilities.

We don't have the means to care for these people. It's unsafe for them. It's unsafe for our agents. It's unsanitary and it's inhumane. And somebody, either these lawmakers need to get to work or they need step aside and let somebody else come who will do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to come back to you on the solutions here. But I want to (Inaudible) into the conversation, because we had the head of the GOP in El Paso, basically your counterpart on yesterday. And I asked him why he thinks it's getting worse at the border two years in the Trump presidency. And I want you to listen to what he told me.

ADOLPHO TELLES, EL PASO TEXAS REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: That's why there are family units coming across today. Because they know that there is a law that protected them, and it was set for a specific issue a number of years back. And now it's been taken advantage of, and it's being promoted. And that's why we have what we have. Do these people have problems in their country?

Without a doubt, we have a civil war and we had an American revolution, and people stayed here and fought for what were right. These people need to learn to stand up for what's right for them, too, not just run.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gilberto, what's your response to that?

GILBERTO HINOJOSA, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: Well, I mean, for him to say that these people have the ability to stay in locations where their children are being murdered everyday, their daughters are being raped by gangs, and that they shouldn't take any action to try to save their families and to come over here to try to find some kind of refuge is pretty coldblooded, as far as I can -- I am concerned.

Look, I mean, it's pretty sinister and more than disturbing that this president is using human suffering to manufacture a crisis so that he can build a wall in order to please his rightwing base. That's not what America's all about. And that's not what we should be doing. We should be finding solutions through a comprehensive immigration program, where we look at the asylum program.

Figure out how we can accommodate some of these people that are coming to this country in order to save their families, and at the same time, ensure that we are securing our borders. The Trump administration is not even doing that. All they want to do is a bunch of hype. You know, talk about closing the border. What good is it going to do to close the border in the state of Texas or any border state?

You know, there is $1 billion of commerce that passes through those border stations all across the border, $1 billion that creates jobs in the United States. Why would you want to penalize Americans because you're wanting to create and manufacture this crisis so you can get this stupid border wall? That's what this whole argument is all about.

You know, I understand that a lot of these border agents are working 24/7 to try to ensure that they can do their job. But most of these refugees, most of these people that are seeking asylum, they're coming in the front door. They're not sneaking across the border. They're not crossing the river on inner tubes. They're walking to the border station and asking for asylum at that point.

[02:10:02] And what Mr. Trump is doing through his administration is he's taking these people, putting them in detention, and then releasing them out into the community to make it look like there is chaos and that something has to be done immediately, hence he makes the argument for his border wall. This is not what we're all about. And I think Americans can see right straight through this.

CABRERA: We didn't create this problem. It was dumped into our laps. And we've been doing the best we could for the past five years. And finally, we're starting to -- the wheels are starting to come off this thing. And nobody wants these ports of entries to close. That's just not what we want. But we may have to do that in order to get the problem fixed.

Everybody's kicked the can down the road since 2014. It's time to get something done. And manufactured crisis, I don't understand that. I mean maybe you guys need to come and then strap on a pair of boots and walk around with me for a day, and you'll get that little catch line out of the vocabulary real quick. It's a real crisis. We have men, women, and children risking their lives everyday because we have this beacon of light beckoning them in.

And granted, yeah, they need to be taken care of once they're here. But where do we house them? I mean where? I don't -- we don't have any place left. I mean unless you guys have some answers or some empty space somewhere, because we don't have it down here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And that was border patrol agent Chris Cabrera and Texas Democratic Party Chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, speaking earlier to CNN's Ana Cabrera. Well, a woman accused of killing Kim Jong-Un's half brother could soon see freedom. This woman, Doan Thi Huong, pleaded guilty to causing hurt by a dangerous weapon as part of a plea deal.

The Vietnamese national and another woman were arrested in 2017 for wiping poison on the face of Kim Jong-nam. Now, Huang's three year four month sentencing includes time served, and an automatic reduction means she could be out by May. Her alleged accomplice was freed last month after her charges were dropped. Now, Ivan Watson is following the story from Hong Kong. He joins us now live. Good to see you, Ivan.

So this Vietnamese woman, Doan Thi Huong, was facing a mandatory death penalty. Now, she's accepted this plea deal. She could very well be free as early as next month. But why did she receive such different treatment compared to her alleged Indonesian accomplice, and how has this been the end point to all of this?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, my suspicion is that in the case of the first suspect, Siti Aisyah, who was abruptly released after the prosecutor dropped charges last month that Indonesian lobbying had a great deal to do with that decision to set her free. And the moment that happened, that put the onus on the Vietnamese government and the defense attorneys for Doan Thi Huong to say, hey, this isn't fair.

Both of these women faced the same charges. This is not justice if our suspect now, our citizen will be the lone person to take the rap for this. So that was an immediate argument made by the defense, made by the Vietnamese government as well. And ultimately, the prosecutor did offer a lesser charge against Doan Thi Huong, provided she accept a guilty plea for this charge of "voluntarily causing hurt" by dangerous weapons or means.

Now, the judge spelled out that the penalty for this was a maximum of 10 years in jail, a fine, and whipping, though he ruled out whipping in the case of a woman. He ultimately gave her three years, four months. Her defense attorneys think she may be out within a month. And this does seem to be drawing the trial for one of the most brazen assassinations in recent history.

Drawing it to a close without either of these suspects ever really testifying about what they said was them being fooled into carrying out this assassination, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Right. And Ivan, when we look at this outcome, it looks like these two women, initially at least, were the fall guys for this crime. So what about the true suspects in this case?

WATSON: There are four North Koreans who are wanted, but managed to escape Malaysia quite quickly after the initial murder took place in Kuala Lumpur Airport in February of 2017. At that time, there was a diplomatic spat between Malaysia and North Korea. North Korea effectively holding Malaysian diplomats hostage, so there was a kind of informal swap that took place.

[02:15:00] So those wanted people are gone and missing. The defense attorneys for the Vietnamese suspect, they told me last month, that the real criminals here are those North Korean agents. Will they ever face justice? Probably unlikely, the way things are going right now. And the Vietnamese ambassador was quoted as being quite pleased with the end result of Doan Thi Huong now facing a much smaller sentence.

The judge -- the prosecutor have said there had to be some kind of charge and crime and sentence for the sheer brazenness and seriousness of the crime on the grounds of deterrence, to perhaps try to deter other organizations or groups from trying to carry out murders in the main international airport and gateway in and out of Malaysia in the future. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Indeed. We'll see, of course. Thank you so much, Ivan Watson, bringing us the latest on this story from his vantage point in Hong Kong. Appreciate it. Well, after nearly three years of political turmoil, Britain's are asking is this the week Parliament finally decides what to do about Brexit? We'll take a look at that.

Plus, Ukrainian voters may have just elected a TV comedian to be their next president. Why the two runners-up in Sunday's election are not laughing, back in a moment with that and more.

[02:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: It's becoming a familiar refrain out of the U.K. The British Parliament is scrambling to save Brexit. On Monday, lawmakers are set to vote on a short list of alternative options for how the U.K. could leave the E.U. A customs union with the E.U. is thought to be the most likely preference. The deadline clock is ticking down to April 12th, the new divorce date, less than two weeks away.

British media report that Theresa May is expected to hold a fourth vote on her withdrawal bill. And if it fails again, there is speculation she might call a snap election. One of her party members was asked if they were planning on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CLEVERLY, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: We're not planning for a general election. The conservative party...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you preparing for one?

CLEVERLY: Well, I'll be completely straight with you. We have got a -- we have got a minority government in a turbulent time. So we -- you know, just in terms of sensible, pragmatic planning. But we are not seeking, preparing in that kind of sense that I think you mean for a general election. What the government, what the party, what MPs are focused on, for the most part, and should be focused on is delivering Brexit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Steven Erlanger is The New York Times' Chief Diplomatic Correspondent. He joins me now from Brussels, Belgium. Good to see you, Steven.

STEVEN ERLANGER, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: You, too, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So the U.K. Parliament will be considering its Brexit options on April Fools Day. And a customs union with the E.U. appears to be the most popular option at this point. But hard line Brexiteers won't support this, will they? So how the numbers look right now?

ERLANGER: Well, when they have the beginning of these (Inaudible) indicative votes, the customs union did very well. But the question is whether you can get a majority of members of Parliament. That's not at all clear, because what happened last week was that everyone voted on all kinds of options. But none of them got a majority, including customs union.

The customs union seemed to be more popular than other things. So let's say they do vote a majority for customs union. I am not sure they always understand what a customs union is or what it actually means. But then, Prime Minister May will have a very difficult choice, because that's very much against what she has promised her voters.

And so she will, I think, try to bring her deal, which was negotiated with the E.U. over 18 months, back to the commons as a run-off against the idea of customs union and try to finally get it passed. If not, then we're going to have a problem. Because then I think she's going to have to decide, you know, whether to go ask for a long extension from the E.U. for Brexit, which she says she doesn't want to do and won't do.

Or whether she wants to throw her cards up in the air and call for an election, an election she's very unlikely to lead the Tory Party into. So it's a very dicey time. I mean it won't get resolved today. But we'll have a much better idea of where Britain is heading, I think.

CHURCH: Yeah. And it's fascinating that she will put her Brexit deal to a fourth vote. And as you say, it's hard to know what the outcome might be. But if she does call this snap election, a lot of the conservatives don't want to see that happen. So they could rally behind her deal or behind this customs deal.

ERLANGER: Well, yes. I mean her strategy forever has just been to just force Tory's to look at themselves and their future, and to say we're better off giving in, getting out, backing her Brexit deal. We will have delivered Brexit as we promised, and then we can negotiate what's next. Because actually what we're talking about with the customs union is really the future.

It's not the divorce deal. And frankly, any new government or even Theresa May's government can negotiate any future deal they really want. They're not actually beholden to the political declaration, which is nonbinding. What's binding is leaving the European Union. So it's either leaving it with her deal, which is very unpopular.

[02:25:04] I am not sure the speaker of the house will let her get a fourth vote or changing the givens. And the givens are those she deeply, deeply rejects. Now, if they go back to the people, the difficult question is, either in a general election or a referendum, how do you ask the question, because both parties, Labour and Tory's, are so divided internally about Brexit and how to do it. So that's the other problem. It's not clear an election will be clarifying.

CHURCH: Yeah. We won't even dare speculate what will happen the next few hours, but we'll be watching very closely. Steven Erlanger, thank you very much for your analysis. We appreciate it.

ERLANGER: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, in Turkey, preliminary results show that President Erdogan's ruling party is leading in the majority of the local municipal elections. That is according to state media. And even though ballots are still being counted, Mr. Erdogan is already celebrating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT: This, they need to know. I will remain for four to five years further as the president of Turkey, right? And the AKP will be ruling, right? So we'll be in the Parliament as the public's alliance, right? We will continue the same way, just as we came here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Turkey's main opposition party leader says his party won the local elections in Istanbul and Ankara. And we will bring you more on the election results as the details become available. Well, in Europe, remarkable developments in another major election, this one in Ukraine. Exit polls in the country's presidential race show comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, won the first round followed by incumbent, Petro Poroshenko.

If the polls are correct, candidates now face a run-off in April. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky is certainly no laughing matter in the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election. Now, according to exit polls, it looks like he's on top after that first round. It seems as though his political inexperience. He's never had any sort of public office might have also have been one of the positives, at least for many voters, because no experience also means no political baggage as well.

One of the things that Zelensky was running on is, of course, a platform of anti-corruption, which is a giant issue in Ukraine. Now, Zelensky came out and he thanked all the people who voted for him. He's now in prime position to possibly win a run-off that's going to take place on April 21st. Now, behind him, things could be a little bit murky as far as the field of candidates is concerned.

At least according to most exit polls, the current incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, is in second place, which would qualify him for a run-off, but Poroshenko making no disguise of his disappointment in the results. He said that he had heard the message of voters. And he said that especially young voters are people that he wants to appeal to.

He said he understands that reforms in the country have not gone fast enough. Now, a bit of a wild card is Yulia Tymoshenko. She used to be the prime minister. According to most exit polls, she seems to be in the third place. However, so far, she's not buying it. She said according to her own exit polls, she believes that she's actually in second place and would therefore qualify for a run-off.

So certainly, things still very interesting as the votes are being counted, as all these candidates are looking forward to a run-off that's going to take place on April 21st. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And still to come on CNN, former U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, is defending himself against allegations he made this former politician feel uneasy. And violence has claimed the life of yet another young rap star. Details of Nipsey Hussle's murder coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:20] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and of course all around the world, you are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check the headlines for you this hour.

The White House is defending President Trump's threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border and cut off aid on Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. This as officials say, they are struggling to process Central American Migrants. President Trump blame Democrats on Twitter, he also gave what could be another threat saying, "Homeland Security has been nice, but may not be for long."

One of the women accused of killing Kim Jong-un's half-brother has accepted a plea deal and could be freed as soon as next month. Back in 2017, Doan Thi Huong and another woman would charge with killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing poison on his face. Charges against the accomplish, withdrawn.

Turkey's President Erdrogan's Ruling Party, is leading in most local communities of the local election according to Turkey's State Media. Voting ended Sunday across the country and ballots are still being counted. Turkey's main opposition party leaders says he's party won in the key cities of Istanbul and Ankara.

On Monday the British Parliament is set to vote on alternative options for how to leave the E.U. It comes after Prime Theresa May's withdrawal bill was defeated for a third time. One of the options is for a so-called soft Brexit, which would leave Britain in a customs union with the E.U.

Well, Former U.S. Vice President and prospective presidential candidate Joe Biden, says not once, never, in all his years on the campaign trail, did he ever believe he acted inappropriately. Biden was responding to allegations from a Former Nevada state lawmaker named Lucy Flores. She says he made her feel "uneasy, grouse, and confuse" before a campaign event 2014. His her description to CNN of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY FLORES, FORMER MEMBER, NEVADA STATE ASSEMBLY: Very unexpectedly, and out of nowhere, I feel Joe Biden put its hand on my shoulders, get up very close to me from behind, lean in, smell my hair, and then plant a slow kiss on the top of my head. And that in of itself might not sound like it's a very serious thing. That in of itself might sound like it was innocent and well intentioned.

But in the context of it, as a person that had absolutely no relationship with him afterwards, as a candidate who was preparing to make my case for why I should be elected the second In command of that state. To have the Vice President of the United States do that to me so unexpectedly and just of kind of out of nowhere, it was just shocking.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [02:35:17] CHURCH: CNN'S Rebecca Buck has more reaction to the

allegations against Biden from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REBECCA BUCK, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Multiple 2020 Candidates are reacting to these allegations against the former vice president, saying Lucy Flores should be believed. But those same Democrats are also stopping short saying this disqualifies Joe Biden from running for President, leaving that judgment to the voters.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE: Well, I think that's the decision for the vice president to make. I'm not sure that one incident alone disqualifies anybody, but her point is absolutely right. This is an issue not just the Democrats and Republicans. The entire country has got to take seriously. It is not acceptable that when a woman goes to work or there's any kind of environment that she feels anything less uncomfortable and safe. And this is an issue of the entire country has got to work on.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I have no reason not to believe her, Jonathan. And I think we know from campaigns and from politics that people raise issues and they have to address them, and that's what he will have to do with the voters if he gets into the race.

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF COLORADO: Well, again, I don't know, aside from this one issue, I haven't, you know, only even this issue I don't know all the details, but I think that's what we have an elections. That's that process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

HICKENLOOPER: But certainly, it's very disconcerting and I think that, again, women have to be heard and we should really, we should start by believing them.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I believe Lucy Flores. And Joe Biden needs to give an answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should he not run as a result?

WARREN: Look, that's for Joe Biden to decide.

JULIAN CASTRO (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, 2020 ELECTION: I believe, Lucy Flores. We need to live in a nation where people can hear her truth.

BUCK: Vice President Biden responded to the allegations with the statements Sunday, saying in part. "In my many years on the campaign trail end and public life, I've offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affections, support and comfort. And not once, never, did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."

According to our reporting, Biden is expected to announce his decision on 2020 in the coming weeks. It's not clear how this will impact that role out or his candidacy more abruptly. But certainly, this cannot be the focus Biden wants as he prepares to jump into the race. Rebecca Buck, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We turn now to the entertainment world, were Grammy nominated rapper, Nipsey Hussle died Sunday, after a shooting in Los Angeles. Two other people were injured during that shooting near a store associated with the rapper. They are in stable condition. Police are still looking for the shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. CHRIS RAMIREZ, OFFICER-IN-CHARGE MEDIA RELATIONS SECTION, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: The suspect is not in custody. And currently, were going to start canvassing the area, talk to any witnesses. And also were going to canvas all the local areas for any videos that maybe surfaced. And we're also asking that if anybody saw something or jotted some information down, please notify our South Bureau Homicide Division and let them know please.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Following the shooting, L.A. Police Commissioner, Steve Soboroff has tweeted that he'd been due to meet with Nipsey Hussle on Monday to discuss ways he could help stop gang violence.

The Entertainment World and his fans are mourning his death. People showed up outside the rappers store in support. And Rihanna tweeted, "This doesn't make any sense. My spirit is shaken by this." And G.Q. Magazine tweeted, "Rest in peace to Nipsey Hussle."

Well the devastated mother of a murdered college students, savage her daughter's alleged killer in court Sunday. 21-year-old Samantha Josephson was found dead in the field Friday. Police believe the University of South Carolina senior got into a car hours before thinking it was the Uber vehicle she had ordered, but it wasn't.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCI JOSEPHSON, MOTHER OF SAMANTHA JOSEPHSON: Unlike him, Samantha died. Human life it could never harm another soul. Unlike him, Samantha has loved within her heart and purpose in her life. The light he brutally ended. He took away our beloved daughter, a sister, and a friend to others, a niece, a cousin and a friend to so many. It's selfish, unspeakable and violent actions have created a hole in the universe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:39:46] CHURCH: And here is Samantha the last time she was seen as she waited for her ride. And the car that police say took her away. They also say they were able to use the photo to identify the car and track down its driver. He is identified as Nathaniel Rowland. Police say Samantha cellphone and blood were found in his vehicle. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Well Venezuela's embattled President Nicholas Maduro is responding to the countries ongoing blackouts by calling for shorter workdays and announcing a 30-day plan to ration electricity. The blackouts have created even more devastation the long troubled nation. Frustrated Venezuelans have taken to the streets, protesting for lack of resources. Our David McKenzie is there and spoke with people pleading for change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're banging anything they can find. Pots and pans they're out on the streets here in Caracas. Now I have to say, they're blocking of roads here with fire barricades and all the way down this long avenue, there is a long section that has been blocked off. Way down at the bottom, there are the police. Now people here have had blackouts for days, they haven't had water for many hours, sometimes days as well. And they are extremely frustrated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have water, we don't have electricity, we don't have a security, we don't have a, so many things in the hospital. We are broken down. The Venezuela right now is broken down.

MCKENZIE: Are you angry right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very angry. Very angry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Look at how we are doing. Is it necessary that in this country which is so rich that we have to live like this? It's miserable, it's not fair.

MCKENZIE: Do you think this will have any impact coming here on the street?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everyone is hoping that.

MCKENZIE: What do you want to happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A change, that's it. I'm a student, I have two jobs, and I can't afford anything. I live with my parents. So, we are asking for a change, that's it.

[02:45:00] MCKENZIE: The police are staying away for now, but there are governments sponsored gangs in this area that people are very worry of. Despite the electricity, despite the water issue, one older woman told me, they don't care about those issues, what they want is for Maduro to go. David Mckenzie, CNN, Caracas, Venezuela.

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CHURCH: Meanwhile, Venezuela's public hospitals are struggling to treat patients as they endure harrowing conditions. CNN's Paula Newton spoke with some of the workers who risk dismissal if they voice their concerns. And just this warning, viewers may find some images in this story disturbing.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Take a close look. This is an emergency pediatric ward in Venezuela. Overcrowded, unbearably hot, rundown, rudimentary treatment everywhere you look. And from nearly every bed and every child, a heroine story. Like this one.

Natalia Roxas has not named her baby girl born in early March during the first countrywide blackout. She's restless, feverish, doctors suspect meningitis, there's no way to find out.

She needs several tests, Natalia, tells me in a scan of her little head as she puts it. But it can't be done here. Scans, x-rays the, blood lab haven't been operational for month.

We have been given exclusive access to two pediatric ward by outraged medical staff, who say they can take no more. There are shortages of every medicine and medical supply, not even a special formula that malnourished, any bear is so desperately in need of.

As we walk through abandoned wards with decrepit equipment, there is no sanitation, no water, little power.

These conditions, you have to understand are normal in Venezuela. We have seen them again and again in hospital after hospital.

And now this, brush fires just outside the hospital. No water they are left to exhaust themselves, smoke and ash coming into the windows. CNN contacted hospital administrators and the Venezuelan Health Ministry about the conditions and did not receive a reply.

"When we have an emergency," she tells me, "we have no way of resolving the situation in most cases. We have to improvise. It's like we're combat doctors." And doctors here tell us they're at war in more ways than one. As pediatrician says she does not want to be identified for fear of reprisals. She says doctors and other medical staff are threatened with dismissal and sometimes even physically abused if they speak out.

It's been three years since Dr. (INAUDIBLE) risked his career to give you a rare look inside a crumbling Venezuelan hospital. Since he is not only been fired for speaking out but just a few weeks ago, he tweeted that authorities had come to arrest him after he met with a visiting U.N. mission to raise the alarm about the hospital conditions. He is still in hiding.

ALEJANDRO CRESPO FREYTES, SPECIALIST IN PEDIATRICS, MARACAY, VENEZUELA: It's definitely become worst.

NEWTON: Dr. Alejandro Crespo is a friend of Dr. Ronnies, and he says there can be no debate, Venezuela's health system has collapsed. FREYTES: You can ask the mothers, and they're not going to lie to you. They have their kids dying in a hospital bed because they lack of medicine, and they can do nothing.

NEWTON: Medical staff tell us they feel as if they're sent into battle every day, knowing they will lose. Leaving weary patients to plead for their children's care. As Venezuela's political conflict rages, this remains its frontline. Paula Newton, CNN, in Aragua State, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll take a very short break. Still to come, devastation in Nepal after a deadly storm rips through the southern part of the country. We will have an update after this break.

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[02:52:41] CHURCH: Authorities in southern Nepal are working to carry out rescue operations after a deadly storm killed at least 25 people and left hundreds injured. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking the aftermath of that storm. She joins us now. So, Karen, what did you seeing?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this has been a combination of events that took place in Nepal. Now, it is not unusual that during the month of April that we start to see these storms. But to see the intensity that we've seen when the afternoon storms fired up, just about 120 kilometers to the south of Kathmandu.

Here's Kathmandu, the area is in a farming region, well to the south. I think when we start seeing more and more images from this area, we're going to see quite a bit of devastation.

Now, several dozen fatalities, hundreds of people reportedly injured. And they're saying because of the flying debris, there were houses that collapsed, there were all kinds of infrastructure that collapsed, and those are responsible for the fatalities across that region.

All right, what are we expecting as we look into the forecast? It does appear that as we move into the next 24 hours or so, we're going to watch still that heat builds across India, and that does play a role in this. The heat bills, temperatures are running about five degrees above where they should be for this time of the year only gets worse pre-monsoonal heat.

But across the region and Nepal, we've got mountains here. The heat coming up from the south, you've got kind of the clash of these air masses across this region. That's what's triggering those storms. But this one particularly, ferocious.

All right, here you can see next 48 hours right along that mountainous chain and extending further towards the east. That's where we'll pick up those showers and those storms.

What is the forecast as we look across the Indian subcontinent? Well, just 24 or 48 hours ago, we were looking at temperatures in this area between 40 and 45 degrees. This is a hot for India. But typically, we don't see this kind of temperatures so early in the season. So that ridge of high pressure builds, we start to see the monsoon pick up more so going in towards July.

So, we've got many more months ahead, Rosemary, where we're looking at those temperatures that are going to be just kind of staggering. But that area that lies just to the south of Kathmandu, that's what we saw those storms and they are saying that with just so intense that it lasted about an hour and probably most of the fatalities were from flying debris and straight-line winds associated with that storm. Back to you.

[02:55:22] CHURCH: Yes, terrible situation there. Thank you so much, Karen, for bringing us the latest on that.

Let's turn to happier news now. In a dashboard camera, in a driver's car caught this incredible sight Saturday. A meteor streaking across the sky over Gainesville, Florida just before midnight. The National Weather Service confirmed on Twitter that a meteor was recorded on its lightning mapper around the same time.

The meteor likely broke up as it moved through the Earth's atmosphere. What an incredible sight there.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. We'll be back with another hour of news right after this short break. You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.

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