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Obama to Hold News Conference Soon; Tsarnaev Found Guilty of 30 Counts; Jordan Spieth Breaks Masters Record; Clinton to Announce Presidential Bid Sunday; Obama & Castro Hold One-on-One Meeting; Mourners Pay Respect to Man Shot by Cop; Second Arrest in ISIS- Inspired Bomb Plot. Aired 4-5p
Aired April 11, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... formal hello if you will follows an apology of sorts earlier today from Castro to the president. Making his first appearance at the summit, he used the occasion to really lecture the assembly on what Cuba has been dealing with for more than 50 years. His rhetoric grew heated. Afterwards though he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIDEL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So it is fair that I apologize to President Obama, but I am one of those who thinks, and I have told this to several heads of state and government that I see around this table now, I have told them in private meetings that I have had with them in my country, I have told them that in my opinion President Obama is an honest man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Our Rosa Flores is covering this story for us in Panama City. She joins me now.
Rosa, what a stunning moment when you had him say, look, what you and other countries, the United States have done to Cuba is wrong and I condemn it. But I do not blame your leader. I do not blame President Obama. What did you make of it?
FLORES: Well, let me start with this, Poppy. Breaking right now CNN learning that President Obama and President Castro are sitting in the same room, meeting, speaking. I'm getting some quotes from inside that room. I want to read a few for you because these are from President Obama.
Him saying "this is obviously a historic meeting. The history between the United States and Cuba is complicated," he says "after 50 years of policy that has not worked, it was time for us to try something new." and that is the atmosphere, Poppy. We actually have a few photos. I'm going to try to show them to you. Because again this is happening right now as we speak. These two leaders very much sitting next to each other. It's described to us as a meeting like you would see at the Oval
Office, for example. It gives you an idea of what these two leaders are doing at this point in time. There's a small pool of reporters that's in there. And so we will be getting more quotes. We will be getting more information about what those discussions are like.
But like you mentioned, it was history in the making to listen to these - to both world leaders, President Obama first saying, "you know, we know that the United States' history is not perfect." He said, but he wants to move forward. And that's one of the reasons why he's here, especially and specifically with Cuba.
And it was fascinating to hear the point from President Castro saying, you know, "I've apologized to President Obama." Now, Poppy, the other thing I've got to tell you is President Castro said, "I thought about taking that portion of my speech out. I took it out. And then right now I just ad libbed it in." He added it at that point in time because he felt so passionate about it.
HARLOW: And also President Obama, Rosa, today saying "we, the United States, will not be imprisoned by our pasts." We've seen a dramatic change in terms of U.S. policy towards Cuba. And we may see a dramatic change today when we hear from the president in this live press conference. Do we expect that he will announce that the United States has removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism?
FLORES: That would be huge for the Cubans, Poppy. I know for a fact that the State Department has sent that recommendation to President Obama's team. But of course let's remember the process. So the State Department recommends, makes the recommendation to the president of the United States, they've recommended for Cuba to be removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list.
But then his team needs to evaluate President Obama makes the call. We don't know that he's going to make that announcement. But of course we're going to be keeping our eyes and ears open.
HARLOW: Right.
FLORES: Because if he does it's going to be huge news for the Cubans. It's another thing that President Castro mentioned during his speech saying why are we still on this list?
HARLOW: Right.
FLORES: And pretty much making a plea for the removal.
HARLOW: Rosa, give us a sense of what that would mean for the average person in Cuba. If Cuba were to be removed from that list? What does that mean for everyone on the ground?
FLORES: You know, for people in Cuba - and you know, Poppy, I've been there twice in the past four months since this announcement was first made of this path to new and renewed diplomatic relations. People in Cuba on the ground, I've got to tell you, you walk down the streets and people will just be singing and saying President Obama's name on the ground because they are so happy that there's a path for normalized relations with Cuba.
And I believe we're going to have video here shortly, Poppy. Let me know if you see it on the screen because I don't have return. But people are very excited. They're really happy about these normalized relations going forward. And why? I'll tell you exactly why. <16:05:00>
Because people there have told me, they tell me that, you know, we want the basics. We want food, money so we can put food on the table, so we can educate our kids and so our kids can have opportunities around the globe. And that is exactly what normalized relations are going to do. We're already seeing with, for example, Airbnb offering 1,000 listings in Cuba. And, Poppy, that is money in the pockets of Cubans. We're looking at that video now, Poppy, I believe.
HARLOW: We are.
FLORES: And this of course President Obama and President Raul Castro. Historic event. There you see them.
HARLOW: So, Rosa, as we continue to play this video we're going to try to listen in for a moment.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: - over the course of the last several months there have been contacts between the U.S. and Cuban government. And in December, as a consequence of some of the groundwork that had been laid, both myself and President Castro announced a significant change in policy and the relationship between our two governments.
(INAUDIBLE) (speaking in a foreign language)
OBAMA: I think that after 50 years of a policy that had not changed on the part of the United States it was my belief that it was time to try something new.
HARLOW: The president there saying it is his belief that after 50 years of this strained, incredibly strained relationship between the U.S. and Cuba that it was "time to try something new."
Rosa Flores, I'm so glad we have you on the ground there in Panama, someone who has been to Cuba reporting on the ground twice in the last four months after these relations have changed dramatically between these two nations.
You know, earlier today, Rosa, the president did say there will continue to be significant differences between our two countries. So this is certainly not a mending of everything. There are differences. What are some of those key differences at this point that even though we do have more normalized relations we're working towards with Cuba, what remain the difficult points?
FLORES: You know, there are several, Poppy. Just think about a few things. So Cuba is a one-party state. It's a communist country. The United States of course represents a democracy and fights for democracy around the world. So that in and of itself one of those contentions. There are groups in Cuba who still believe that there are human right violations in that country. And those people are very outspoken.
And so the United States recognizes that there are some people who do feel oppressed in that country. And that's something that the United States speaks out against. And so those are just a few, you know, to mention about what the United States doesn't represent or what the United States speaks out against.
Cuba on the other hand, President Castro mentioning it today, saying that they're hoping to get respect. So there's a lot of give and take in diplomacy, I think. And a lot of, you know, smiling afterwards and symbolic handshakes, but these are two different countries, two different ideologies. They stand for two different things. And they're hoping to mend those fences. And hopefully have embassies here pretty soon.
I know for a fact that one of the things that the United States is pushing for, for example, is for the embassy in Havana for American diplomats to be able to travel freely within Havana which they have not been able to do in the entrance section that's right there. And so, you know, it's little things like that that they're negotiating. I'm really curious as to the meeting that's happening right now and those questions if they're going to ask him about the terrorism list.
HARLOW: Right.
FLORES: Because that's one of the things that for Cuba has been one of their biggest contentions. They want to be removed from that list.
HARLOW: Right. We'll be watching. We're expecting a press conference from the president there at the summit of the Americas in Panama. We'll bring that to you live when it happens.
Rosa Flores, appreciate the reporting. Thank you very much.
Quick break. We're back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:12:59]
HARLOW: All right. That lockdown that we told you about at the U.S. capitol has now ended. It began over what was apparently a suicide on the grounds of the capitol. You're taking a look at live pictures there as they are now allowing people back in and out of the capitol. What the police there are saying is that a man died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound while on the west front lawn of the capitol that faces the Washington monument.
Police are also investigating for a while a suspicious package. Everything has been cleared though. The lockdown has been lifted. Tourists allowed back inside. And those being held inside are allowed back out. To South Carolina now. A very somber good-bye to Walter Scott, the man fatally shot in the back by a police officer just one week ago. His flag draped casket was carried out of a Somerville Church just a short time ago followed by family and friends embracing and crying. Very difficult day for them.
Meanwhile, South Carolina's state law enforcement division met with the unidentified passenger, the person who was sitting next to Scott in the car last week right before he was shot and killed. That's the unidentified passenger. He has been released without any charges.
Our Martin Savidge joins me now in Somerville. I know, Martin, you were inside this service today and you said the church was absolutely packed. Many more people turned up than could actually fit inside of the church. And Scott's daughter spoke. She read a poem.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, she did. It was absolutely overflowing in the sanctuary. It was very difficult for anyone who is not family to get in there. And there's a large family. But on top of that there are many, many more people who wanted to be there.
But one of the most powerful moments came when Scott who has four children one of his daughters, Samantha, got up and read a poem to her father. It was difficult for me to hear only because I was in the way back and she's soft spoken. But you could tell the entire congregation was absolutely silent.
You could see a lot of teary eyes as people were listening and when she was done there was applause. So that was one of the most - I think deep emotional moments of the service.
[16:15:00]
Another moment came when Anthony, that is one of Scott's brothers, said that god had selected his brother as a candidate for change for America. In fact, change was a common theme expressed throughout much of the service. One of the last things that was stated was there is going to be change so that Walter's death will not be in vain. The service then ended and the people filed out and moved on to the grave site where he'll be buried. That's a private ceremony, Poppy.
HARLOW: Well, Marty, you've been there all week reporting on this. Let's talk about the change. I mean, I know there have not been - there's not been any violence. There's been some protests. Obviously some people are appalled by what has happened. What change are people saying they want to see come in the wake of this?
SAVIDGE: Well, there are a lot of people who want to see change in law enforcement especially when it comes to the attitudes and how officers act when working with communities of color. I think that is of big concern right now.
The other concern here is that much has been made about body cameras, technology that could be introduced. But the problem with that is that there are those in the community who say it needs to go a lot deeper than that. We're not just talking about bringing some new technology here.
The last thing I'll mention is that everyone is hopeful of change, but they also realize this is very early in the whole process. And that other officers in the past have been charged with serious crimes, never convicted. Clearly murder is a very serious charge here and that is probably why this community has moved forward peacefully. But they will be watching where it really goes. And if those charges stick, Poppy.
HARLOW: Yes, absolutely.
Martin Savidge, live for us this afternoon. Marty, thank you very much.
Coming up, we're going to talk about news just in to us that there's been a second arrest in a foiled bomb plot to kill U.S. troops all in the name of ISIS. We're going to explain how this deadly plan came undone. That's next.
[16:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: A second suspect has just been arrested in connection to a Kansas man's alleged plot to bomb a U.S. army base. The Justice Department says that Alexander Blair knew about John Booker's plan to try and detonate what would be a suicide car bomb at Ft. Riley.
Booker was arrested as he made his final preparations to attempt to detonate that bomb. The bomb actually turned out to be a fake. It was a decoy planted by the undercover feds who thought - who he thought were his co-conspirators.
Joining me now to talk about it, Bob Baer, CNN intelligence analyst and also a former CIA operative. Bob, when you look at this, this is just another example of that lone wolf threat. The threat that Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson said is of such concern and that is really the toughest thing for law enforcement in this country to go after. How do you tackle something like this? I mean, thank goodness there were undercover agents in this case. But there aren't always.
ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, Poppy, I think we've gotten very lucky. These kids, and they are young, go up on social media and you can see the pattern of their recruitment. They start looking at sites whether it's about Iraq or Syria or Libya or wherever. And then they start getting into chat rooms and the rest of it and talk about the merits of jihad or whatever you'd like.
So you can actually follow this conversion on social media. And then it's a matter of the FBI taking a source, a confidential informant and putting them next to these people and see if they're serious. And once they proceed to the act acquire explosives or a car or whatever, buy guns. Then they can move to the arrest. But they have to have the timing absolutely right. HARLOW: Right.
BAER: I mean, people are just talking about it you can't send them to jail. They actually have to take one act toward making that attack. So for the FBI it's a very tricky, you know, thing to do. But they've been very lucky so far. And they've been very good.
HARLOW: So the FBI has said that there are investigations open in all 50 states in this country into people trying to collaborate and in some way or another with ISIS. This seems to be another example of someone trying to carry out an attack against our men and women in the armed services in this country. Does it surprise you when you hear that investigations are open in all 50 states?
BAER: All 50 states, yes. But a year ago or more than a year ago law enforcement has been telling me the Islamic State is here. It's got followers. It's planning attacks. You know, the specifics of course I don't know, but there's a lot of people that like to do us damage.
What concerns me is these apparently non-Muslims converting to Islam for reasons I can't understand and neither can law enforcement. Other than some weird attachment to these internet cults. And then they're turning to violence what makes this potential crime, you know, so difficult to catch.
HARLOW: I also want to ask you about this. Erin Burnett interviewed Defense Secretary Ash Carter this week. And she asked him who is a greater threat, ISIS or Al Qaeda. And he pointed to Al Qaeda. I know we talk so much about ISIS recruitment and frankly how successful they've been at their recruiting through social media here in the United States. But do you believe at all that that takes the eye off of Al Qaeda at all?
BAER: Well, I think Al Qaeda and when the experienced groups, especially the ones in Yemen put their mind at doing an attack in the United States, they're more likely to get away with it. They've got advanced bombs that can bring airplanes down. They've got operatives that are trained that could move in this country and get under the radar of social media. They understand that better than the Islamic state.
I think frankly the Islamic state if it continues to survive in the Middle East will be a threat to political stability whereas Al Qaeda is more of a terrorism threat.
HARLOW: You say if it survives, if ISIS survives in the Middle East. I mean, do you believe there's a risk of ISIS - do you think ISIS is showing weakness?
BAER: I think they lost Tikrit 10 days ago. But on the other hand they quickly moved into Ramadi in the last couple of days, which is a town just as important. And they continue to move - in Libya there's more adherence than the rest. We just don't know how fast this virus is moving. But it's not going away quickly.
[16:25:14] HARLOW: Bob Baer, thank you very much. Appreciate it. We're going to take a quick break.
When we come back we'll have a live report for you from Panama where this historic meeting between President Obama and President Raul Castro of Cuba just happened. The most significant meeting of leaders from Cuba and the United States since 1959.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: All right. I want to take you back to Panama now where President Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro just met for a very historic one-on-one meeting, the summit of the Americas is where it took place.
Frankly, this summit has been filled with firsts for the U.S. and Cuba. Joining me on the phone senior CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Jim, give me a sense of what it's like being on the ground there and what was said that is most significant in this pretty brief meeting between the two leaders?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, it was brief but important, Poppy. I'm in the room right now where President Obama's going to be coming in potentially within the next half hour to an hour to give a press conference on exactly what he talked about with Raul Castro.
And as the president said
[16:30:00] ACOSTA: -- at the top of this meeting, which was really the first encounter between U.S. and Cuban leaders of this magnitude in some 56 years. The president said that, obviously, this is a historic occasion. And that both sides, while they have their differences, are now going to try to chart a new path forward.
And here's a bit of what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is obviously a historic meeting. The history between the United States and Cuba is obviously complicated. And over the years, a lot of mistrust has developed. But during the course of the last several months, there have been contacts between the U.S. and the Cuban government. And in December, as a consequence of some of the groundwork that had been laid, both myself and President Castro announced a significant change in policy and the relationship between our two governments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, for his part Raul Castro, he also gave remarks, which was interesting, because it was -- these were remarks when the U.S. press were in the room. And he said, we're willing to discuss everything. But he said, quote, "We have to be very, very patient."
That's an indication from the Cuban leader that while he may pursue reforms here in the coming years, they're not going to come overnight. And I suspect that that is a message we're going to hear from the president when he comes to this room where I'm standing now to give a press conference here within the next hour or so.
Some remaining unanswered questions though, Poppy -- the president and his administration essentially not really confirmed whether or not the State Department has recommended Cuba be taken off the U.S. list sponsor state terrorism. So, we're curious whether or not the president talked about that with Raul Castro. The Cuban has leader has cited, and the Cubans have cited this as an obstacle to re- establishing embassies in both Washington and Havana.
But according to the White House pool reporters who were in the room with Castro and Obama, according to that pool report, the Cuban leader did say that these embassies will be reopening. And so, I think what we saw here in Panama, Poppy, was really history in the making. Perhaps the final end to the Cold War that existed for more than 50 years between the U.S. and Cuba. It was fascinating and we're going to get more on that here within the next hour with the president he comes out for this press conference -- Poppy.
HARLOW: And, Jim, I know you've been speaking with a senior administration official from the Obama administration who said even they were surprised to hear some of the words that Castro chose to use when he gave his sort of presentation to the group of leaders apologizing directly to President Obama.
ACOSTA: That's right. And that might have even been the most fascinating moment of the day. You know, President Obama gave his remarks. Right after that, Raul Castro went and he started off by joking that he was going to make up for lost time because he had missed out on all these summits when Cuba wasn't invited over all these years.
And he sort of went through the litany of grievance the Cuban people and government have about the U.S. and meddling in Cuba's affairs as the Castros like to put it. But he said during the course of these remarks, Poppy, that President Obama was unlike the 10 previous presidents before him and that he described President Obama as an honest man, somebody he admires. He says he bases this on the fact that he skimmed through President Obama's autobiography.
So, there you go. There's a whopper of a news alert right there, that Raul Castro is reading President Obama's autobiographies. But it just goes to show you that it really is a new day when it comes to this relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.
HARLOW: But, Jim, what about Republicans response? I know it's early going, but you had Jeb Bush tweeting earlier today, "Obama meets with Castro but refused to meet with Netanyahu. Why legitimize a cruel dictator of a repressive regime?"
I mean, what else are we hearing or do you expect us to hear from Republicans?
ACOSTA: Right. Well, Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, is going to be presumably announcing that he's running for president on Monday, gave an interview to "Breitbart", where he said the Obama administration's expected decision to take Cuba off the list of state sponsor terrorism is, quote, "ridiculous". And he believes that the president is doing this just to pad his personal legacy. That might be a question that might be thrown at the president here when he comes out to hold this news conference here shortly.
But, you know, the president reiterated today that he wants to see the embargo lifted on Cuba. That would require Congress. Congress needs to pass legislation that would lift the embargo. And my sense of it, Poppy, is that Republicans would essentially block that, there may be some Democrats who block that.
As you know, Bob Menendez, who is of Cuban descent, who is still in the Senate right now and is a Democrat, he would also potentially block that.
So, the president knows he's not going to be able to get everything that he wants as part of this normalization of relations with Cuba. But he's going to do from what we can tell everything that he can possibly do with the powers of the presidency to move this ball forward as far as he would like to see it move forward.
[16:35:07] But no question about it, folks like Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, they don't want to see this happen. And they'll be doing everything they can to block the president's path here in the days ahead -- Poppy.
HARLOW: All right. Jim Acosta, senior White House correspondent, for us there in the room where the president will hold what will be a historic press conference there in Panama, talking about this and many other top issues. We're going to bring that press conference to you live as soon as it happens.
Quick break. We're back on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: The penalty phase in the trial of convicted Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is now scheduled to begin on April 21st. That is the day after this year's Boston marathon. And during that phase, the same jury that found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty will decide whether or not he should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Our Alexander Field has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Guilty on all 30 counts, according to a jury who convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of a number of crimes, including use of a weapon of mass destruction and found him responsible for four deaths, Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Officer Sean Collier.
Should he pay with his life for the crimes?
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will argue their cases in front of the same jury as the next phase of this trial begins.
The prosecution seeking the death penalty says Tsarnaev wanted and planned to terrorize, carrying out the act as an equal partner crime with his brother Tamerlan.
[06:40:06] Hoping to save his life, the defense argues he was dragged into a plot by a brother who master-minded the attacks.
Tsarnaev is represented by defense attorney Judy Clarke who has successfully spared her clients' lives in a number of high profile cases. She's known as a staunch opponent of the death penalty.
When the trial resumes, the jury will hear another round of opening statements, along with testimony from new witnesses before they weigh whether or not to sentence Tsarnaev to death.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Alex, thank you very much.
Joining me now to talk about this, Patricia Wen, the reporter for "The Boston Globe". She's covered this case and the whole trial extensively.
Thanks for being with me. I appreciate it.
PATRICIA WEN, BOSTON GLOBE: Oh, thank you for having me.
HARLOW: You know, in all of this, it's so important to focus on the people, right? The victims, those that died and those that managed to live through this horrific attack. And I'm interested in what you're hearing from them. I mean, are any of them saying what they want to see happen to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in terms of punishment?
WEN: Well, I think there have been some who -- Liz Norden, for example, the mother with two sons that each lost a leg, has been spoken that she is in favor of the death penalty. There have been some other victims I think who have said I think they are philosophically opposed.
I do think it's been awkward for some victims at this stage of the trial, during the guilt phase, to sort of say if they are against the penalty, I think they may not want to look like they're undermining the government at this point. But I'm sure that among victims, there's probably the kind of division you see in this whole state on this topic.
HARLOW: Sure, sure. Also, when you look at this, this is really like a new trial, right? You're going to have more people testifying, more evidence that's allowed in the penalty phase.
Do you have any sense of new evidence that may be presented, new victims, witnesses that may testify that we haven't heard from yet?
WEN: I doubt that we are going to see any victims that we have never heard of before. I think the ones that have been most, you know, severely injured are pretty well known now. And I think that they will be the ones that are brought out by the government.
The defense obviously -- this is really going to be the first chance that they have to sort of robustly present their case. And there you're going to hear a lot more about their narrative as to why Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did this.
HARLOW: And Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, when police were hunting for him and he was hiding in that boat scrawled on the side of the boat, right, and talked about how his brother sort of got the ultimate gift and was a martyr for the cause, et cetera. So, some have said, look, does he want -- you know, regardless of what his defense attorney wants, does he want the death penalty so that he can become a martyr? Has that been part of the discussion at all?
WEN: Well, it hasn't been part of the discussion in court. And certainly, I think that anyone who saw what he wrote on the boat has got to wonder -- I mean, if you're jealous of your brother being in paradise now, why don't you just want -- why don't you want to go there?
I don't know -- I mean, I certainly think legally if he wants his lawyers to present no defense whatsoever right now, I do believe legally he has the power to do that. I mean, I don't think these lawyers can sort of push their own agenda against his wishes. So I have to believe that he has decided that for whatever reason, he does want to live. Because otherwise I don't think the lawyers are allowed to put up a defense now if that's not what he wants.
HARLOW: When you have the federal government, Attorney General Eric Holder calling for, you know, death penalty in this case, someone who has been opposed -- Eric Holder has been opposed to the death penalty. At the same time, juxtapose that with the defense attorney Judy Clarke who is renowned for keeping notorious terrorists, murderers like the Unabomber off of death row. Never has she seen one of her clients get the death penalty.
WEN: Uh-huh. Well, I think my sense of it is that Eric Holder and at least this is what the government's case has been as well, is they see this very much as part of the war on terrorism. That this isn't just a couple brothers who did some awful bombing, that this is almost like a military war situation, that they are like these lone wolf terrorists that have been radicalized on the Internet and have begun to just try to create death and destruction to send a political message.
So, I think that the government too here in this case has presented it along those lines. And I think it's probably tactical too because this state tends to be anti-death penalty. But I think that what might get some jurors over that hump is this idea that we can't go lightly on terrorism.
HARLOW: Sure. Thank you very much for coming on. We appreciate it. We know you'll be back in court when that penalty phase begins on the 21st of April.
[16:45:00] WEN: Exactly.
HARLOW: Appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Coming up, what a lot of people are talking about today, Hillary Clinton expected to make it official. She is running for president, the announcement expected tomorrow. How the polls look straight ahead. We're going to talk about that.
But first this --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robust would be one way to describe Dr. Ellsworth Wareham. The 100- year-old retired heart surgeon occasionally does his own yard work. He walks regularly, still drives.
GUPTA (on camera): You drove here today?
DR. ELLSWORTH WAREHAM, CENTURION: Driving is nothing. I worked until I was 95, assisting, mind you.
GUPTA: Yes.
WAREHAM: I could have done heart surgery, but it wouldn't have been fair to the patient because sometimes you need reserve strength. And if you gave me something to memorize, I would memorize it just as quickly now as I would when I was 20.
GUPTA: How is your health?
WAREHAM: Oh, superb. I haven't got an ache or a pain.
GUPTA (voice-over): The great-grandfather believes his plant-based diet plays a big part in all this.
WAREHAM: If your blood cholesterol is under 150, your chances of having a heart attack are pretty small. Now my blood cholesterol is 117. There's no chance of me having a heart attack.
GUPTA (on camera): So, you're heart attack-proof?
WAREHAM: Let us say I'm dealing in an area which I understand.
GUPTA (voice-over): Perhaps another key to Wareham's longevity, not letting problems weigh him down.
GUPTA (on camera): How big a role does stress play in your life and -- WAREHAM: You asked the wrong person. I have a philosophy, you do the
best you can and the things you can't do anything about, don't give any thought to them.
GUPTA: What motivates you nowadays?
WAREHAM: I feel that if I have to make a contribution. When I was doing surgery, I made it by operating. Now I try to make it by speaking about preventive medicine.
GUPTA (voice-over): And showing people just what 100 years old can look like.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:50:06] HARLOW: All right. If you like golf, you're paying very close attention to what' happening right now in Augusta, Georgia. The third round of the Masters is underway. The world's top golfers are all chasing an unlikely name at the top of the leaderboard, a 21-year- old American Jordan Spieth.
CNN sports anchor Don Riddell joins me now from Augusta.
What do you think? Is it too soon to call this guy the next big thing?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS: Maybe a little soon, but everything he's done over the last two days certainly would lead you to believe he's got an incredibly bright future. He's been touted probably for some time as a man with a big future ahead of him in golf. He's already won several times.
He was actually contending here 12 months ago. He ended up finishing second in what was his first attempt at the Masters when he was just 20 years old. His score over the first two holes has already been -- first two rounds has already been historic.
I'd say he's a little more cautious today, but he remains at 14 under for the tournament. He is leading by 4. But there is a rather hungry pack chasing him down of some very big names behind him.
HARLOW: So, let's talk about that pack. I mean, you were telling me Tiger's playing well, Mickelson's playing well. Who do you think his biggest challenger is right now?
RIDDELL: Well, it's hard to say who his biggest challenger is. Of course, Tiger Woods has had his problems recently. He had to take nine weeks off so he could really kind of fall in love with the game again and rehabilitate himself from the mental and physical problems he'd had.
But he is playing phenomenally well. Tiger Woods currently at 7 under and starting to go on a bit of a run. He's got the patrons and the crowd at Augusta really roaring for him. And you can see he's really pumped up and enjoying it too.
Right now as we speak, Phil Mickelson is his closest challenger. Of course, Lefty has won Augusta three times already. He's had a pretty horrible last 15 or 16 months. But just in the last couple of weeks, he started producing some good form. And he usually turns it on at Augusta and he seems to be doing so right now. It's too early to tell how it's going to play out, but it's certainly very interesting. And Spieth's going to have his work cut out for sure.
HARLOW: Very exciting. Before I let you go, Don, tell me a little bit about Spieth. I mean, what do we know about this 21-year-old who has just become a phenom?
RIDDELL: Well, he was a superb amateur and a superb college player. He's from Texas. He's from Dallas. And Texas has produced more green jacket winners than any other state in this country. Ben Crenshaw was his idol.
And he's just incredibly composed. I mean, that's the one thing that people who meet him as I have are instantly struck by, it's just how mature he seems to be, how together he is. He seems to wear the pressure very, very well. And he's certainly well-placed to do well here.
HARLOW: Well, that is an important trait to wear pressure well in the game of golf. Thanks -- especially at the Masters. Thanks so much, Don. Appreciate it. And have fun out there.
We're going to take a quick break. Coming up next, we're going to monitor what we're waiting for, which is that live news conference with President Barack Obama happening in panama very shortly. This follows his historic meeting with Raul Castro of Cuba. The president will be taking reporter questions.
We'll have that as soon as it happens. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:57:18] HARLOW: All right. It has been a foregone conclusion for months now, but tomorrow, Sunday, Hillary Clinton is expected to make it official that she is running for president.
According to sources within her camp, she will announce her candidacy on social media in a video. No big rally, no big fanfare. She'll then hit the campaign trail in two early primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire.
The latest CNN/ORC poll has Clinton as the clear front runner in this race by a wide margin. On the Democratic side, she led her closest challenger Vice President Joe Biden 62 percent to 15 percent. She also came in ahead of the theoretical matchup against Republican challengers, including an 11 percent lead over declared candidate Rand Paul.
CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar takes a closer look now at Clinton's strategy this time around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Don't you some day want to see a woman president of the United States of America?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sweeping aside months, even years of speculation, CNN has learned Hillary Clinton will announce her presidential campaign this Sunday.
Like her 2007 announcement --
HILLARY CLINTON: I announced today that I'm forming a presidential exploratory committee.
KEILAR: -- it will come via video, a message she's already filmed to be released on social media.
But that is where Clinton advisers hope the comparisons to her failed 2008 bid will end.
In a newly released to her book "Hard Choices", Clinton lays out a rationale for her presidency, that the birth of her granddaughter Charlotte pushed her to run, and will fuel a campaign message about equal opportunity for all. "Unfortunately," she writes, "too few of the children born in the United States and around the world today will grow up with the same opportunities as Charlotte."
Clinton says that becoming a grandmother "rather than make me want to slow down, it has spurred me to speed."
She will follow her announcement Sunday with a trip to the early caucus state of Iowa.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm back!
KEILAR: In 2008, her third place finish there signaled the beginning of the end for her campaign.
HILLARY CLINTON: Thank you.
KEILAR: A new Quinnipiac University poll shows her admission she used a personnel e-mail account to conduct government business as secretary of state may have affected her favorability there.
And Clinton will need to navigate other challenges, distinguishing herself from a relatively unpopular President Obama without alienating his vast coalition of loyal voters, handling one of the most controversial part of Obama's record, foreign policy. She served as his secretary of state and was in charge during the Benghazi attack in 2012.
And questions about her age -- if elected, she would be 69 when she took office, making her the second oldest president in history. And there's also the Bill factor, how will the campaign manage the
sometimes unpredictable former president?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This whole thing is the biggest fairytale I've ever seen.
