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Iranians Go To Polls To Elect New Parliament; Long Road Home For Quarantined Americans; Lesotho P.M. Charged With Murder Of First Wife; Coronavirus is Spreading Around the World with Confirmed Cases; German Government Criticized After Suspected Far-Right Attack; A Man Has Been Arrested on Suspicion of Attempted Murder After Stabbing Inside a Central London Mosque; Warren, Biden Step Up Criticism of Democratic Rivals; Trump Ally Roger Stone Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison; Intel Officials Warn of Russian Interference in 2020 Election. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 21, 2020 - 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)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm John Vause. It is great to have you with us. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."
Ahead this hour, 20 times more deadly than the flu spreading around the world with a number of confirmed coronavirus patients in South Korea alone tripling in just days.
Intelligence officials warn again Russia meddling in U.S. elections to help Trump win a second term. Now, we know why the acting director of intelligence was ousted.
U.S. superstar is 50 now as she turns 50. Supermodel Naomi Campbell shares her thoughts on age equality on the tabloids.
China news agency is reporting the coronavirus is now spreading within the prison system. More than 500 confirmed cases in prisons in three provinces, including Hubei. The overall death toll is well past 2,200. The vast majority are in Hubei province. Just 11 fatalities were not on the mainland.
Of the 76,000 confirmed cases, more than 1,200 are outside of China. The number of cases in South Korea has tripled, most of them linked to a single church. Beyond mainland China, the virus is now being confirmed in at least 29 countries and territories.
In Ukraine, an evacuation flight from Wuhan, China with more than 90 people on board was met by angry protesters who clashed security forces who try to block roads.
CNN's Blake Essig is in Yokohama, Japan. The quarantine for the Princess Diamond cruise ship has now officially ended. That was on Wednesday, but it will be at least a few more days before they get everyone off that ship. They must be eager to leave.
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, I actually talked to a Canadian couple who said that they have been on the ship for 29 days before the 14-day quarantine even started. They actually both tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, they are having -- they are currently in a hospital about 300 kilometers away from Tokyo where they are trying to recover and then hopefully get home at some point.
That has been the story from a lot of passengers on the ship. They have been on it for a very long time. They are very eager to get off. They thought that they everybody would be off today, but according to a Princess spokesperson, that is not going to happen today. Hopefully, all the passengers will have disembarked tomorrow.
And according to the Princess spokesperson, the problem has been that there have been several issues. Even today, the Japanese health ministry has come out and said that anybody who has come into contact with somebody who has tested positive for the coronavirus, their clock actually restarts.
So even if the people on board have tested negative, their clock has restarted to the last point where they came into contact with somebody who tested positive, so they either have to stay on board the ship, potentially, or go onshore here, and then go to a government health- run facility to finish out their quarantine.
So, there were a lot of potential issues regarding the idea of how effective this quarantine truly was. We talked to infectious disease specialists, one of them was on the ship, said that this was not a true in a sense a quarantine. In fact, a failed quarantine as what he called it. He said he was very scared.
We actually also talked to people on the streets who are also concerned about the way that Japan has dealt with these passengers aboard the Diamond Princess. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Japanese health ministry failed to deal with this problem. They didn't have a clear measure to tackle the outbreak of infectious diseases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think the measure the government took made things worse and the lack of information was an issue, as well. It was totally misjudged of the government that thousands of people were trapped in a small space, quarantined for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ESSIG: John, when we talk about just how effective this so-called "quarantine," only time will tell as passengers continue to disembark. We were there earlier today watching passengers come off the ship from Hong Kong, as they boarded buses on the way to the airport, head back home, where they will then undergo 14-day quarantine. That has been the case with a bunch of countries around the world, including the United States and Canada. John?
VAUSE: Blake, thank you. Blake Essig is there live for us in Yokohama, Japan. I appreciate it.
In South Korea, a church congregation has been linked to a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases.
[02:05:00]
VAUSE: CNN's Paula Hancocks has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The number of novel coronavirus cases has more than tripled in South Korea since Tuesday. The country also is suffering its first fatality. A cluster of cases has emerged in the city of Daegu, a few hours south of the capital Seoul. In particular, among those who attended services are the religious congregation. One infected person attended the services. It has been described by Korea CDC as a "super spreading event."
KIM GANG-LIP, VICE MINISTER, SOUTH KOREA'S MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND WELFARE (through translator): With the cooperation of the religious group, we will determine its devotees and those who attended the service. We are promptly investigating all people who came in contact with the patient.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): U.S. forces in Korea say any military personnel who attended the services are now on mandatory quarantine. Nonessential travel today has been prohibited and off-base travel minimized. The mayor of Daegu took it one step further.
KWON YOUNG-JIN, MAYOR OF DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA: Citizens, please refrain from going outside as much as possible today. Please wear your masks, even in your homes if possible.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Singapore, a city state of some five and a half million people, also has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases outside mainland China. Many of the recent patients have no travel history to China, showing an increase in local transmission.
Government workers in Hong Kong have been told to work from home until March 1st to help social distancing. Private companies are encouraged to do the same. Schools are closed until at least mid-March. Another fatality in Hong Kong this week is a 70-year-old man who was already suffering from chronic diseases.
HANCOCKS (on camera): Outside of mainland China, there are now well over 1,100 confirmed cases in 29 countries and territories, stretching far beyond Asia. Deaths have also been recorded in Europe and the Middle East.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Germany is once again being confronted by the rise of far- right extremism. The horrific end result of that hate, nine people were gunned down in a mass shooting near Frankfort. The victims all had migrant backgrounds, but some were born in Germany. That apparently had nothing to the government. The prosecutors say they had deep-rooted racist views. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED).
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mohammed first heard rounds of gunfire. Then, he saw a man entering the bar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He shot straight to the head of everyone he saw. He lied down and then he fired at all of us. I hit behind the wall. As I was moving to hide, he shot me in the arm. I lied on somebody, somebody lied on me, and somebody else lied on him. We became a pile.
BELL (voice-over): This is the man now identified as 43-year-old Tobias R, who police say shot nine people and wounded six others in two shisha bars in Hanau on Wednesday night. The diverse community in harsh of Hanau is shock by the attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a massacre, a killing spree. There was blood everywhere. People were lying on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One of the young guys took a bullet in the shoulder, but he was taken to the hospital and he made it out. He managed to escape.
BELL (voice-over): The police tracked the suspected gunman's vehicle to his apartment shortly afterwards. He along with his mother was found dead, a gun by his side. Investigators are treating the massacre as an act of terror. Prosecutors say the attacker's homepage posted videos to spread deeply racist ideas and conspiracy theories.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): There are many indications at the moment that the perpetrator acted on right- wing extremist, racist motives out of hatred towards people of other origins, religion or appearance.
BELL (voice-over): The bloodshed cost Germany into mourning with condemnations coming from around the world.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through translator): I believe that the German authorities will make every necessary effort to throw light on all aspects of the attack.
BELL (voice-over): French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that he supported Merkel in the fight for our values and the protection of our democracies.
Germany's far-right extremism is on the rise. Only last week, a dozen people were arrested, suspected of having been plotting large-scale attacks on mosques.
MERKEL (through translator): Racism is a poison. Hatred is a poison. This poison exists in our society and it is to blame for already far too many crimes.
BELL (on camera): It isn't just the German political class that have come out and condemned what happened in Hanua on Wednesday night but also ordinary residents, ordinary Germans who have come up and a with great deal of emotion this evening, attended this vigil that has turned into something of a demonstration, a demonstration against racism and the sorts of attacks.
This is the third far-right attack in the country in less than a year that we have been seen happening over and over again.
[02:10:00]
BELL (on camera): This, they are saying with their placards and their candles and their words here tonight, is not the Germany that we know, it is not the Germany that we love.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Hanau.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Authorities in Britain say stabbing at 11 mosques was not an act of terrorism. The alleged attacker was arrested by police after being pinned down by worshippers at a mosque in Regent's Park on Thursday afternoon. CNN's Phil Black has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emergency services got a call just after 3:00 p.m., reporting a stabbing here at London Central Mosque. Police and paramedics arrived soon after. They found a man in his seventies with a stab wound to his shoulder and a 29-year-old man pinned to the ground by other worshippers.
Witnesses say afternoon prayers were already underway when the younger man suddenly pulled a knife and attacked the older man from behind. He was wrestled to the ground by other people nearby. Witnesses say he did not say a word, resist or fight back.
The victim is well-known here. He leads the call to prayer at this mosque. He was taken to hospital. His jury isn't life-threatening. Witnesses say the younger man, the suspect, has been attending this mosque for several months. Police are working to understand the motive. They do not believe it was terror-related at this stage.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, jail time for the political adviser and longtime Trump friend Roger Stone. But still ahead, will we ever see the inside of a prison cell? Also to come, why Donald Trump lashed out after an intelligence briefing to lawmakers on Russian efforts to interfere in the next U.S. election?
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VAUSE: After a knife fight at the debate on Wednesday which left the newcomer, Michael Bloomberg, bloodied and bruised, Democratic candidates for president have now stepped up their attacks on the frontrunner, Bernie Sanders. At a CNN town hall on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden went up to Bernie's record on gun control.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not so much what you say you believe now, it is what you did do and when did you do it. The fact is Bernie has had a very different record than me for a long time. Bernie, when he was running for the Senate in Vermont, he said it was a tough state to run in. He voted against it five times in the House of Representatives. Guess what, we kept over five million people from being able to get weapons that they should not have been able to get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:14:59]
VAUSE: Senator Elizabeth Warren kept the flame flow focused on Bloomberg at his refusal to release employees from nondisclosure agreements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, I used to teach contract law, and I thought I would make this easy.
(APPLAUSE)
WARREN: I wrote up a release and covenant not to sue. And all that Mayor Bloomberg has to do is download it. I will text it.
(APPLAUSE)
WARREN: Sign it. And then women or men will be free to speak and tell their own stories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Nevada caucus will be held this coming Saturday. Just hours after Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison, President Donald Trump said he hopes to see his old friend exonerated. The U.S. president has the power to do that, but says he is not ready to pardon Stone just yet. Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and tampering with witnesses, all in connection to the Russian probe.
Once again, U.S. intelligence officials are sounding the alarm about Russian meddling in the U.S. elections. Three sources tell CNN intelligence officials warned lawmakers last week that Russia is already taking steps to ensure President Donald Trump wins a second term. CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports now from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We have now learned that there was an intelligence briefing last week with lawmakers on Capitol Hill behind closed doors and in a classified setting, where a top election security official warned lawmakers that Russia is expected to try to intervene in the 2020 election and that they're looking to favor President Trump to get re-elected.
Now, we are told by sources that House Republicans grew angry during this briefing and that when the president later learned about, he did as well, fearing essentially that the Democrats in the room will try to weaponize this information against him, namely pointing to House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, who was in the room and, of course, the president has feuded with ever since his committee was leading that impeachment inquiry against the president.
We are told that this led to a meeting last week, the day after the briefing with lawmakers, where the president blew up on his acting director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire, someone who up until that time had widely been seen by many other officials as someone who is expected to be nominated to the top job.
But, of course, now we saw yesterday and the day since then, the president instead has picked a loyalist, Rick Grenell, who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Germany, instead to take that position.
Now, we are being told by two administration officials that they believe the timing of this report on potential Russian interference and the president picking Rick Grenell to take this job is purely coincidental, but there are some people in the West Wing raising their eyebrows at this. And, of course, there are going to be questions going forward if the president went to this kind of a measure, this great of a length to put a loyalist in the job because he was upset about what the intelligence was showing.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Live now to CNN Moscow bureau chief Nathan Hodge. Sir, OK, four years during this Russian interference story, there has been one reliable consistent fact. The Kremlin has always denied any involvement, rarely even made a comment beyond yet, no comment. What about this time?
NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: John, you are exactly right. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been consistent all along since 2016, saying Russia has not, does not, and will not interfere in U.S. elections or any other foreign elections, although he has conceded that patriotic hackers may have targeted the U.S. election, but that is the extent of it.
But interestingly enough, President Trump seems to have taken Vladimir Putin at his word. At the Helsinki summit, standing alongside Putin at a press conference, President Trump said that he believed what Putin had said. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HODGE: Right. So, I mean, one of the things that the U.S. Intelligence Community has always said all along, including in the Mueller reports, is that part of the idea or the goal of the Russian campaign of interference was to generally undermine confidence in the U.S. elections and U.S. democratic system, as well as to sow disinformation and discord in U.S. politics and the U.S. society, and exploiting these devices through everything from hacking misinformation.
This is the fear again, that we will see a repeat of 2016 coming up in the 2020 election cycle. So, lots to watch here, John.
[02:20:00]
VAUSE: Lots to watch, but I think we have seen it before. Nathan, thank you. Good to see you.
In Washington now, joining us this hour is CNN political analyst and national politics reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Sabrina Saddiqui. Thank you, Sabrina. Good to have you with us.
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Senior aide to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire briefs members of the House Intelligence Committee about Russian efforts to influence the 2020 election again on behalf of Donald Trump. There is practically unanimous agreement among most (INAUDIBLE) beings out there that the Russians do the exact same thing four years ago, even though this president disagrees. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russian didn't help me at all.
I called it Russian hoax. It's a hoax. And they use that as an excuse for losing the Electoral College.
Russia did not help me. That I can tell you, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now we know about that intelligence briefing and the heated reaction from that by the president, is it any surprise that Maguire was forced out and replaced by a Trump "yes man" with zero experience in intelligence?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think it certainly cast a new spotlight on the ways in which the president has ignored the warnings of the Intelligence Community and is trying very much, as you pointed out, to surround himself with "yes man" so he can avoid what everyone has acknowledged, which is that the Russians are continuing to try to meddle in U.S. elections.
Probably one of the most sobering parts of former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony on Capitol Hill last year was when he was asked about the prospects of the Russians interfering in elections once more. And he said they are doing it as we sit right.
And yet as you run the tape, the president continues to try and cast it as a hoax, in part because one thing the Mueller report said quite unequivocally is that even if they could not establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow in 2016, the Trump campaign did understand at the time that they stood to benefit electorally from helping the Russians and they probably understand that they stand to benefit once again this time around in 2020.
VAUSE: Republican lawmakers at that briefing pushed back, arguing that Trump had been tough on Russia, supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, for example, and asked what does Putin has to gain from a second term of Donald Trump. The answer is a lot, isn't it? It is from the ongoing weakening of international alliances like NATO to the very simple fact that when the U.S. is consumed by political turmoil, except back from the world stage, it gives countries like Russia a freehand.
SIDDIQUI: Certainly, and it is the case that the president's record on Russia is a mixed bag in so far as he has been tough on Russia through the implementation of sanctions. That is because that has been passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress. In fact, when Congress did pass sanctions against Russia to punish it for its meddling in the 2016 election, it was like pulling teeth to get President Trump to actually implement those sanctions. He did so after much delay.
His own former intelligence chief had testified before on Capitol Hill that he was not giving them the appropriate authority they needed to disrupt Russian cyberattacks at the source. There has been a great deal of concern raised by the president's own intelligence officials, that he has not taken seriously or taken significant action to thwart future attempts or ongoing attempts by the Russians to meddle in the elections.
And so Vladimir Putin, I think, knows exactly what he is doing. He knows that he has a friendly audience with the president. And if you look at the outcome of the impeachment investigation, I also think the president himself knows that he pretty much has a license to do what he wants. He is not going to face certainly much resistance from the Republicans in Congress.
VAUSE: The turmoil in the regime may be stepping up a notch after Trump's longtime political adviser Roger Stone was sentenced to about three years in jail for, among other things, lying to protect the president. Trump already interviewed once in his case. He criticized the recommended sentences as being too harsh, and now he added this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Roger has a very good chance of exoneration, in my opinion. I'd love to see Roger exonerated. And I'd love to see it happen, because I personally think he was treated very unfairly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At this point, the only practical way Stone is exonerated is by presidential pardon. Is that right? Is that where this is all heading?
SIDDIQUI: It's possible. It says something that the president would not unequivocally rule out pardoning or granting clemency to Roger Stone. We have seen him really try and utilize the great powers that presidents of the U.S. have to issue pardons for political purposes or to try and pardon a more polarizing figures who helped him shore up support within his base and have less focus on the way previous presidents use pardons which was to try and grant clemency to low level offenders who perhaps received unfair or harsh sentences.
[02:25:03]
SIDDIQUI: So I think, look, we don't know ultimately what the president is going to do, but we sort of become accustomed to him weighing in on ongoing investigations, which he should have no part in. So I think it is part of a broader pattern that really speaks to what has become the norm and so far as the president's relationship with the judiciary is concerned.
VAUSE: On Tuesday, we had the 11 pardons and there was a pattern there. They were all linked to the president in some way or it was on Fox News or given (ph) to his campaign. Don Jr. and others have defended Donald Trump's use or abuse of the pardon power. He tweets the numbers of pardons and commutations of past administrations.
Look at the numbers. Obama has almost 2,000 compared to 26 for Donald Trump. But Obama issued pardons under a 2014 program known as the clemency initiative, where inmates who met Justice Department guidelines were encouraged to apply for this and is to be commuted. About five percent was successful.
Meantime, over Trump land, The Washington Post is reporting that husband of Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, is taking a leading role in new clemency initiative there and has supported the idea of putting the White House more directly in control of the process.
Kushner, we should note, is also taking a lead in Ivanka's dad's reelection campaign. So, in his tweet, Don Jr. asked, educate me on the abuse of power, would you be so kind as to explain to Don Jr. why this appears to be an abuse of power?
SIDDIQUI: I may not be able to educate Don Jr. but what I will say, it is not just about the numbers and also, of course, we are three years into the presidency, some of those under president served out two full terms, but it's about how you utilize that power.
And to your point, the Obama administration first and foremost waited until his second term and really focused on what they saw as part of criminal justice reform.
They wanted to commute sentences of low level drug offenders who were primarily people of color who they felt had been disproportionately targeted by a system that puts into jail people for decades who disproportionately black and Hispanic.
This president, President Trump, has also tried to issue some commutations that related to criminal justice, but by and large as we are seeing, he uses it more as a political tool. And it is not just that he is pardoning some of these more controversial figures, it is also that he tries to dangle these pardons. He did it before to his former National Security adviser, Michael Flynn. He has tried it again with Roger Stone. He did it with his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
Kind of dangling the prospect of these pardons to try and ensure that people in his inner circle do not flip when they are under investigation by federal prosecutors. I think that is what has been the most blatant abuse of that power in the eyes of the public and in the eyes of many legal experts.
VAUSE: Sabrina, we are out of time. Thank you so much. Good to see you. I hope you come back soon.
SIDDIQUI: Thank you. Happy to do it.
VAUSE: Polls are open in Iran as voters elect new parliament. Strange relation with the U.S. is helping hardliners, as well as (INAUDIBLE) on almost every moderate candidate. The very latest from Tehran in a moment.
Also, a quarantine nightmare that just won't end for one couple. First, stuck on the Diamond Princess. Now, off the ship but a thousand miles apart. Details in a moment.
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[02:30:31]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause, and up right now on the top news this hour.
The German government facing calls to do more to end this threat of far-right extremism. This comes after a gunman open fire on two bars killing nine people.
Federal prosecutors say the victims had migrant backgrounds adding the gunman had deep-rooted racist views. Authorities in Britain have ruled out terrorism as a motive in a stabbing at a London Mosque. Police arrested the alleged attacker after a call to the mosque at Regent's Park on Thursday afternoon.
Worshipers pinned down the suspect after he allegedly stabbed an elderly man who was leading the call to prayer.
China now reports, the coronavirus has spread to its prison population in three provinces. More than 500 cases have been confirmed among both inmates and staff. The overall death toll has risen to more than 2,200, most of them in China's Hubei province.
Well, for months, angry protesters in Iran have been demanding reforms from their government. And now they get to vote in parliamentary elections. But chances are the results will see a sweep by conservatives and hardliners because thousands of moderate candidates were banned from running.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joins us now live from Tehran. So, Fred, in four decades, has there ever been an election like this one which is so unrepresentative of the country?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is quite a unique election. And it comes obviously, John, very difficult times for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
You mentioned some of the things they've been going on. There been these protests going on. But then, of course, you've also had them maximum pressure campaign by the Trump administration.
I was actually here to cover the last parliamentary election that took place. And you can do feel that the vibe is very different here. It's a lot more muted right this time around that it was the last time around.
If you look around me here, we're actually one of the main polling station here in the northern part of Tehran, where people there sign up to get their ballots that and then, look at which candidate they want to vote for and put their ballot here into these boxes.
It'll be very, very interesting to see what the actual turnout is going to be on this election. I think that the leadership of this country, John, is very well aware of the fact that, that is something that internationally is going to be looked at, and domestically is going to be looked at as well.
He's had the supreme leader who came out earlier today, and he urged people to vote when he was casting his ballot, saying it was their religious duty. You had President Hassan Rouhani, who also criticized the fact of what you mentioned that a lot of the moderate candidates were not allowed to run by the Guardian Council of this country. But then, also urge people to come out and vote as well.
I actually got asked the Guardian Council what the vetting process was for these candidates who had not been allowed to run the election. They denied and had anything to do with whether these people are moderate, or conservative candidates. But of course, it is a large amount of moderate candidates we're not allowed to run in this election.
We're going to wait and see how that's going to reflect not just on the results of the election, it does seem as though the conservative right now seem to have more momentum than the moderate forces here in this country, but especially on the turnout here in this election, how many people are actually going to come out today and cast the ballots, John.
VAUSE: Its interesting, Fred, because we also have a situation where, you know, some unforeseen factors tend to come into play, and that could well be the coronavirus, which has now been detected in Iran, and a number of cases there, and a number of deaths as well. So, how is that expected to play into the results here?
PLEITGEN: You know, I think -- I think that could be quite a significant factor, actually. It's something with which this country has been hit very suddenly and very hard by the coronavirus.
You had those two people who are just confirmed two days ago to have had the coronavirus, who then died several -- only a couple of hours later.
So, Iran now has two confirmed deaths of coronavirus. There have been three cases of confirmed coronavirus, and other cases who could have coronavirus. And what's happened is that health officials here in this country have asked people not to go to public gatherings.
That of course, is something that's very difficult if you're having an election in the country. At the same time, they're urging people to come out and cast their ballots. You see it, John, here on the ground where people are coming to vote. A lot of people are wearing face masks when they come out to vote. A lot of the staff who are here at this polling station are wearing face masks as well.
And one of the things that they've actually done and now several districts here in Iran and also here in Tehran as well, is that what is normally a mandatory fingerprint I.D. for people who come here to pick up their ballots is something that has now become optional, because obviously, the concerns about the contraction of coronavirus are something that I wouldn't say is, is necessarily weighing very heavily on people, but does concern a lot of people who are going out, and certainly concerns a lot of people who are going to be at these polling stations throughout the entire day running the selection. John.
[02:35:09]
VAUSE: Fred, thank you. Fred Pleitgen there with the very latest from Tehran. Appreciate it.
Well, more than 300 Americans quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship for almost two weeks in Japan are facing a new challenge. Even though they finally had it back to the U.S. days ago, their coronavirus ordeal is far from over. They're facing additional quarantine on military bases in both California and Texas. But one couple finds themselves separated by thousands of miles, wishing both had been sent home a whole lot sooner. Here's Matt Rivers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people leaving today are the healthy ones. Japanese authorities say tested at least once for the coronavirus, sometimes twice with negative results. So, off they go back home.
JOHN HAERING, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: The most beautiful thing in the world.
RIVERS: Though others have found a different way off the ship.
HAERING: Is this window here where I get some light.
RIVERS: By testing positive for the virus.
HAERING: Of course, the first thing in your head, am I going to die? Is this hard going to go?
RIVERS: John Haering and his wife Melanie, were on a six-month world trip. He just retired. But shortly after the Diamond Princess quarantined began, John's temperatures spiked.
Get your stuff together, officials told them. John's being taken off the ship in 20 minutes.
What was it like saying goodbye to your wife in the -- in the room?
HAERING: I gave her a hug. And she had tears in her eyes and as I walked out the door, I couldn't look back.
RIVERS: He's in isolation now in a local hospital where he tested positive for the virus.
HAERING: That's my isolation door.
RIVERS: His wife, Melanie, spoke to us from thousands of miles away.
MELANIE HAERING, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: It's your own little palace, OK? You know, I'm just praying that he's going to be OK.
RIVERS: She is not sick, but she's in quarantine too on a California military base. She was one of several hundred Americans evacuated Monday on charter flights.
John, says it was an easy decision for her to leave, she couldn't visit him in the hospital anyway. But not being on that plane was tough.
J. HAERING: There's a strange feeling of loneliness that, that you're by yourself, that there's nobody else here to take care of you. RIVERS: Japan, says their decision to quarantine on that ship was their best option. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, says people on board the ship during quarantine were of higher risk to catch the virus.
Though the U.S. didn't evacuate its people for nearly two weeks after it began. Both John and Melanie are very grateful the flights happened. John, only wishes they've done it sooner.
J. HAERING: If that were the case, I would be sitting in a U.S. facility with U.S. doctors. My wife would be there, and I would get the best care that I possibly get on my home soil.
RIVERS: He needs to negative tests in a row before he can leave the hospital. In the meantime, his wife waits.
When he gets out and he comes back to the U.S. when you see him for the first time, what are you going to do?
M. HAERING: What do you think? It's going to be a joyous reunion, all to say that after.
RIVERS: John's not alone though. Dozens of Americans remain in hospitals around Yokohama. The U.S. government says, they'll have to have, at least, 14 days without symptoms, or a positive coronavirus test before they'll be allowed to get on a plane and go home.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Yokohama, Japan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Throughout this crisis, the most powerful man in China, President Xi Jinping has been almost totally absent. There was a brief walk and talk through the streets of the capital Beijing, which, by the way, is more than 1,000 kilometers by road from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan. And he met with the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
According to the South China Morning Post, she is not on China's coronavirus task force, which is odd, considering no leader since Chairman Mao Zedong has amassed more power than Xi Jinping.
He controls the party, the government, the military, and with that authority though, come vulnerability that he will be the one figure who is blamed for this crisis.
Our next guest, believe she is already facing a threat to his leadership on the same scale as the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. Joining us now, Dali Yang, professor of political science at the University of Chicago. So, it's good to see you again. Thank you for being with us.
DALI YANG, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (via Skype): You're welcome.
VAUSE: In terms of political fallout, you say that coronavirus outbreak could be similar to the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown and the impact that, that had on the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev and others. And others -- analysts have also sort of made similar statements why the China expert, Bill Bishop, who says, "this is as close to an existential crisis for Xi and the Party that I think we have seen since the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989."
So, we'll get to those reasons why, in a moment. But first, when we're talking about a threat to the leadership of China, where exactly does that threat come from? Because China is not a democracy. It does not have popular elections, but xi and the others, they do have a constituency.
[02:40:02]
YANG: Oh, absolutely. Certainly, the sense of legitimacy, the ability to perform is important. I think when we talk about the scale of this viral attack, we're talking about the numbers that they had, the numbers who were affected, the lockdown of a province with about 16 million people. The country declaring a level one public emergency.
So, of course, failure to perform to contain the virus would be a very significant setback, certainly for the leadership. So, I think actually, in this particular case, President Xi, in particular, has truly banned down our job really using a lot of forces from the military to the government, and of course, to mobilizing the people, especially the party members, to try to really contain the virus, knocking down door to door, and of course, trying to run up people who actually are infected. So that they can be quarantined, and of course, through such social distancing to control the virus.
VAUSE: But when you are the most powerful leader in the party and in the country, and you alone have more power than anybody else, you alone, I guess, are the one who gets the blame.
YANG: Not entirely. Of course, so far already, the leadership in the province of Hubei, the party secretary, and also the party secretary of Wuhan have been replaced. And President Xi has brought in his own people practically so that they can perform actually society to his requirements and demands.
And of course, the Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is overseeing the house portfolio has been on the front lines for many, many days now. So essentially, we do have some accountability. And of course, blaming the local leadership actually is a time-honored tradition in many ways. And certainly, there's a lot of bungling at the local levels in the onset of this particular crisis. So, there will be a lot of questions that are going to be asked.
VAUSE: Yes, pretty government dealing with a health crisis like this, like this one will be, you know, the coronavirus. Trust is the key here all this. Foreign Policy magazine put it this way. "The bottom line is trust, which appears to be waning inside China and is increasingly unraveling across the public health world. An epidemic cannot be fought won unless the bonds of trust between government and people can survive the grief, confusions, emotions, and medical challenges of the battle." China's leaders, you know, they broken that trust before in the past, rebuilding it takes a long time. Do you see any sign that there is a realization in Beijing that this dilemma that is facing? And is it doing anything right now substantially to try and fix it?
YANG: Oh, absolutely. They manage, they certainly saw the public anger and grief in the case of the deaths of Dr. Li Wenliang. And they actually try to, in fact, massage it in some ways, allowing a lot of -- pouring of grief and of anger, even discussion of press freedom for, at least, for a few hours.
But then, gradually, the propaganda apparatus has been mobilized, have tried to guide public opinion. For many people, of course, also accidentally nationally likely governments lie that this government is rapidly building new hospitals, mobilizing the troops to come in, really pouring a lot of resources into Hubei from around the country, including more than 30,000 doctors in particular.
So, a lot of efforts are also being made, and the government is telling that story as well and are winning some believers in the meantime. But of course, there are a lot of people who are also disappointed, especially in the case of Hubei. Those people who are having difficulty weather getting the produce all certainly taking care of loved ones.
VAUSE: OK, professor, we leave it there. Thank you so much for being with us, Professor Dali Yang from the University of Chicago. Thank you, sir.
YANG: You're welcome.
VAUSE: Well, the tiny Kingdom of Lesotho has been rocked by allegations the prime minister murder his estranged wife. He says he will step down now as leader but not until later this year. More on that and a live report in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:46:45]
VAUSE: The prime minister of Lesotho is due to in court right now, charged with the murder of his wife. She was shot dead in 2017, two days before he took office. The couple were in the middle of a contentious divorce at the time.
The prime minister has since remarried. And earlier this week, his current wife appeared in court accused of ordering the killing. The 80-year-old leader denies any involvement and it's not knowing if he will actually appear in court.
David McKenzie joins us on the line from Lesotho with more on this. So, David, according to some reports, Thabane has given in to demands to stand down as prime minister, but not until July. And he'll do it because of old age, nothing related to the case. DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, he didn't mention anything on that case in a public address on Thursday. And I'm standing here at the magistrate courts in Maseru.
I don't think they've seen quite a dramatic proceeding like this year before. Just earlier, they were common prisoners pulled out of a paddy wagon to have the hearing in court.
Now, the question is that you asked John, will the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane actually show up? I spoke to the deputy police commissioner a short time ago. He said, well, he did expect him to show up. But they also said that earlier today, he was told the prime minister may be sick.
So, there might be attempt for him to avoid being charged with murder and attempted murder of his former wife, the former first lady. And this is what he has to say on state media on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS THABANE, PRIME MINISTER OF LESOTHO: In this connection, I wish to with all humility announced that I effectively retire as prime minister with effect from the end of July this year, or at an earlier date if all the requisite preparations for retirement are completed before that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Well, the irony there as he touched on, John, he didn't mention anything about the current scandal and the case which he denies involvement in. One of those came out with the disputes with the members of the police, who then released an affidavit that showed that the prime minister cell phone was linked to call made to the scene of a crime right before his last inauguration, where his wife who he was having a domestic dispute was, was shot by multiple people.
There is a real shock in this tiny mountain kingdom about this case. And whether they actually are able to prosecute either the count first lady or the prime minister will be a huge test of us to this whole system. John?
VAUSE: it seems a huge test already, given the fact that this is the first time is sitting prime minister in Lesotho has actually been charged with a crime, and there has to be a milestone.
MCKENZIE: With a crime and to be charged with the crime of murder and attempted murder. These are, of course, the most serious of allegations. And the prime minister said very little about this case, if at all in the last few weeks. It seemed that for a while, he might not really be linked to the case.
But the police are pressing ahead. I'm at this court, no sign of him whatsoever. In fact, the commissioner said or deputy commissioner said, he doesn't even know where he is. Maybe he is not that keen on coming to face charges with other common criminal as the most powerful man in the land, as of yesterday. John? [02:50:07]
VAUSE: David, it is quite the story there in Lesotho, that tiny kingdom that landlocked Kingdom in South -- in Africa. So, we appreciate the updates. And so --and we'll keep following for most of the day. Will he -- will he not show?
David McKenzie there on the line. Appreciate it.
The Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is stepping down after failing to win a leadership vote in Parliament. Ireland has been a political deadlock since this month's general election ended with not one party having enough seats to form a government.
Mr. Varadkar was Ireland's first openly gay prime minister, the first to come from an ethnic minority background. He says he will stay on for now as a caretaker leader until a new government is formed.
Well, her career in the world of fashion has been the stuff of legends. Just ahead, we sit down with supermodel Naomi Campbell, who has a storied career, the importance of education, and how to deal with the tabloid press.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Naomi Campbell is one of the most recognizable faces in the world of fashion. CNN's Hala Gorani sat down with the supermodel and talked about the challenges a woman faces in that industry, as well as the tabloid press. But first, she spoke about her charity and the importance of education.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NAOMI CAMPBELL, FOUNDER, FASHION FOR RELIEF: We will have a three-day summit of Africa and Qatar business summit. And then we will, on the third day, have Fashion for Relief, which is a live show, gala dinner, and performance.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And benefiting what?
CAMPBELL: Education.
GORANI: Why is it important to you to -- you know, do what you can to raise money for education in parts of Africa and other parts of the world that might need it?
CAMPBELL: Well, I think education is something that we all deserve to have and should have.
GORANI: So, you're obviously an icon of all icons in the fashion industry, in your supermodel career, still very much at the top of your game. You and I have something in common, by the way. Can you guess what it is?
CAMPBELL: Birthdays?
GORANI: Yes, well, birth years.
CAMPBELL: 70.
GORANI: Yes.
CAMPBELL: Oh, good.
GORANI: So, we are -- so, there's a big milestone coming up for you. We might get to that in a moment. But first, I want to ask you a little bit of how the fashion industry is changing in terms of, of how it approaches women of color, minorities, in this industry? Used to be that being for a black woman to be on the cover of Vogue or any big fashion magazine was a huge deal. Now, there's still work to be done, right?
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: It's still -- it's still a big deal.
GORANI: Yes.
CAMPBELL: And there's always work to be done. You never should sit on your laurels and just think everything is fine. You always have to maintain and challenge yourself. That's how I always felt. And, you know, know what you want to try and not be afraid to try it.
GORANI: And where does the work need to be done, in your opinion? And how do you fight that battle?
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: Now, now, I mean, now, I'm looking at the same payment, you know, for doing the same work.
GORANI: Is there still a disparity?
CAMPBELL: There is, but I do feel that that's -- you know, so obvious that that's where -- that's when they come up next. And that should be equal.
GORANI: I don't want to harp on this. But because we have a big milestone coming up this year, you and I, how did things change when you're an incredibly beautiful and this is my first time really seeing you? Of course, I've only seen you in pictures and once briefly in passing.
So obviously, the issue isn't there, but there's still ageism. In your industry and my industry as well, once a woman hits 50, whatever, they start being viewed --
(CROSSTALK)
[02:55:05]
CAMPBELL: I thought I've never --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: You feel it?
CAMPBELL: No.
GORANI: Right.
CAMPBELL: I don't feel it. I don't think about it, I don't feel that I do what I have to do.
GORANI: Yes,
CAMPBELL: I do, what? Opportunities I get to choose. But I -- the opportunities that I get, I mean, after being in this business for 34 years is still always so surprising to me. And I'm always thrilled. I love the challenge. And I still have the drive. So, I don't think about age.
GORANI: You have been very vocal about some of the -- I don't want to call it bullying, but I mean, some of the, the tabloid presses coverage of you. You, when did Mail on Sunday, published a picture of you and Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein. Hold back -- (CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: No, no, no. It didn't.
GORANI: Character.
CAMPBELL: They didn't publish a picture of me and Jeffrey Epstein because they don't have one of me and Jeffrey --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Oh. So, what did they, they put -- they imply that you have been --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: They publish a picture of me with many people throughout my "34-year" career in public events that may have fallen from grace when some which way. And so that's supposed to reflect on me.
You can't -- one of the pictures was 30 years old.
GORANI: How that character --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: What does that have -- so, what does that have to do with me?
GORANI: It's the tabloid press.
CAMPBELL: What is that? That, that doesn't define who I am as a person. It doesn't define your next-door neighbor goes and does an act. You've known them for years, but you had no -- and noticed they were that way.
That, that just doesn't -- that doesn't define who you are.
GORANI: Not at all. But it's the method that is used to --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: But I was not going to accept that method and that's why I came out on my YouTube channel BeingNaomi and said what I had to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: They were one-hit wonders when MTV shoulder pads and floppy hair were all the rage. But now, it's a monster smash in the age of YouTube.
A-HA, NORWEGIAN BAND: Take on me, take on me. Take me on, take on me.
VAUSE: For anyone younger than 30, this is the Norwegian band, A-Ha, and their 1985 hit Take on Me. It now has a new life in the digital age, becoming the second music video from the 80s to get more than a billion views on YouTube. They did it in 10 years.
The other 80s hit song to hit a billion, Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses. That takes us back because they're older than 30.
You're all watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Christina Macfarlane -- I don't think he's quite ready, takes over for me right after this. You're watching CNN.
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END
