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Republicans Battle for Votes in South Carolina; Controversy over Filling Supreme Court Vacancy; Beijing Deploys Missiles to Contested Island; Aid Convoys to Reach Desperate Syrians; Obama Slams Russia on Syria; Pope Delivers Message against Drug Violence; Clinton And Sanders Appeal To African-American Voters; Crude Prices Rebound Slightly; Reflections On November 2015 Attacks; Startup Gives Mumbai Taxis A Makeover. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 17, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Obama on the offensive, going after Donald Trump and critics who say he should not nominate a Supreme Court justice.
Beijing, adding to tensions in the South China Sea by deploying missiles to an island in disputed waters.
And three months after terrorists stormed their concert, a rock band returns to perform in Paris.
Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and, of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
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CHURCH: In the fierce battle for votes in the upcoming South Carolina primary, Republican presidential candidates, resorting to name-calling and character attacks. And it's only going to intensify in the run-up to Saturday's vote.
President Barack Obama was unusually candid in his assessment of front-runner Donald Trump's chances. And Trump was quick to respond.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people. And I think they recognize that being president is a serious job. It's not hosting a talk show or a reality show.
It's not promotion. It's not marketing. It's hard. And a lot of people count on us getting it right.
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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has done such a lousy job as president. You look at our budgets. You look at our spending. We can't beat ISIS. ObamaCare is terrible. We're going to terminate it. We're going to absolutely terminate and replace it. And when you look at everything our borders are like Swiss cheese. This man has done such a bad job, he has set us back so far. And for him to say that actually is a great compliment, if you want to know the truth.
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CHURCH: The back-and-forth comes as a new poll shows Trump with a healthy lead in the state hosting the next Republican primary. A CNN/ORC poll shows 38 percent of likely South Carolina voters support Trump, putting him 16 points ahead of Ted Cruz.
Marco Rubio is at 14 percent; Jeb Bush, just barely in double digits; Ben Carson and John Kasich trailing the pack.
Among Democrats, the same survey shows Hillary Clinton with a sharp lead over Bernie Sanders, 56-38, due in part to the strong support she is getting from women and black voters.
Meanwhile, President Obama may have to battle Senate Republicans over the U.S. Supreme Court. He has vowed to nominate a successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. And they have promised to block his pick. Justice correspondent Pamela Brown has more.
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OBAMA: This will be the opportunity for senators to do their job.
Your job doesn't stop until you're voted out. I intend to do my job between now and January 20th of 2017. I expect them to do their job as well.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, President Obama is sending a strong message to Senate Republicans: he will nominate a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia no matter what.
OBAMA: I'm going to present somebody who undisputedly is qualified for the seat and any fair-minded person, even somebody who disagreed with my politics, would say would serve with honor and integrity on the court.
BROWN (voice-over): Senate Republicans are vowing to block any nominee until a new president is in office. Presidential candidate Marco Rubio weighed in from the campaign trail today.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our next president is going to choose not just the replacement for Justice Scalia but at least two other Supreme Court justices, possibly. We know this because at least three of the justices are near 80 years of age. So we know that eventually they will have to retire or something will happen.
BROWN (voice-over): Republican Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley told Radio Iowa he has not made up his mind about whether there will be confirmation hearings for any potential candidate.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIR: I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions. In other words, take it a step at the time.
BROWN (voice-over): Democratic leaders came out in full force to defend the president's position. Minority leader Harry Reid warned in a scathing op-ed, Republicans risk being, quote, "remembered --
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BROWN (voice-over): " -- as the most nakedly partisan, obstructionist and irresponsible majority in history."
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also chimed in, firing off 11 tweets, calling any vow to block President Obama's nominee as "disgraceful."
The White House is expected to announce a nominee within a month.
OBAMA: I intend to nominate somebody, to present them to the American people, to present them to the Senate. I expect them to hold hearings. I expect there to be a vote.
BROWN (voice-over): Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about this is CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza. He is also Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker."
Thank you so much for being with us. So let's start by taking a listen to what the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, had to say about filling the Supreme Court vacancy.
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GRASSLEY: I think that it should wait until the next election. And I believe that that's the right thing to do because it's a very important position. And it would be kind of in line with what Democratic leaders said in the tail end of the Bush administration, said that Bush had not appointment somebody to the Supreme Court because they had to be concerned about balance.
And I'm concerned about balance the same way they are.
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CHURCH: So, Ryan, what is the right thing to do here?
Should President Obama fill this Supreme Court justice vacancy?
Or should it be left for the next president to do?
There seem to a very split decision on this.
RYAN LIZZA, "THE NEW YORKER" MAGAZINE: Well, let's just state at the outset that both parties are generally hypocritical about these things. When one party is in power, they take the opposite view.
But put all that aside for a second. It's -- our Constitution is very clear about this. Article II, Section 2, known as the appointments clause, says that the president shall nominate members of the Supreme Court. That means it is his duty to do so.
Of course, there is nothing legally binding; if he doesn't do it, he can't get in trouble or be arrested or anything. But the Constitution is crystal clear that the president retains all of his powers and responsibilities for the entirety of his term. He has almost one- quarter of his second term left. So of course it is in his rights and it is arguably his constitutional duty to nominate someone to the Supreme Court.
CHURCH: OK, so his constitutional duty, that is not in question here
What about those concerns Chuck Grassley raised, regarding balance?
The Democrats had those same concerns at the end of the Bush administration, as he referred to there. Now the country facing that same problem again.
How valid is that concern?
And how might President Obama deal with that concern, when it comes to coming up with a list of possible people to fill that vacancy?
LIZZA: Well, this has the great fear of Democrats and Republicans since 1991. This is the first time that a president will make an ideological change to the court. What we have had since '91 is we have had Republicans picking conservative replacements, where we -- you know, in other words, conservatives replacing conservatives or Democrats replacing liberals, liberals replacing liberals.
Well, this time, we have arguably the most conservative member of the court being replaced by a liberal Democratic president. And that's why the fight is so raw over this.
If this has been Ruth Bader Ginsburg, if had been just another liberal who left the court and was replaced, it would not have reached the sort of -- that fight that it's going to reach here. So that's why the stakes are so serious because the ideological makeup of the court is at stake for the first time in a very long time.
The Constitution is very clear about what the Senate can do. It can either accept or reject the nominee. And I think, politically, the Republicans who control the Senate, obviously, have made a bit of a mistake here because they came out immediately, literally within hours of Scalia's death, saying that they would not approve of anyone that Obama picked. Well, that's going to make them look a little unreasonable in the eyes of the public.
What they should have done is waited. And if you notice, some of the smart Republicans are doing this now, waiting, saying, well, we'll see who it is even though we're likely not to accept that person.
CHURCH: All right. And we will certainly watch that and see who it is. But I do want to move to the campaign trail now. And President Obama has said that Donald Trump will not win. But Trump's poll numbers for South Carolina show him well ahead of his Republican rivals. And he could very well become the Republican nominee.
So why is Mr. Obama so sure about his prediction that Trump won't win?
The numbers don't appear to stack up.
LIZZA: Well, I think you'd have to say that Donald Trump is the most --
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LIZZA: -- likely Republican to win the Republican presidential nomination. Looking at the numbers in a general election, I think it's very different in Donald Trump's weaknesses in a general election are massive. He has really alienated a huge chunk of the mass public.
But in the Republican primaries, he is in the -- he's best positioned right now to win. He came in second in Iowa. He had a smashing success victory in New Hampshire. And he is poised to win South Carolina. And if he does, it will be very difficult to stop him.
And the main reason it will be difficult to stop him is because his -- all of his opponents are divided. So you have Donald Trump winning a third or more of the electorate. And then the two-thirds of the electorate is divided between seven other candidates. And that's been the problem with this entire race. There's seven other candidates. The anti-Trump coalition, which is a majority, can't rally around a single alternative.
CHURCH: Ryan Lizza, always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks so much.
LIZZA: My pleasure.
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CHURCH: China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on the contested Woody Island in the South China Sea, according to Taiwan. And senior U.S. military officials. Beijing claims it's in self-defense. But the move will likely raise tensions even further, with the countries locked in a territorial feud in the region.
Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson joins us now from Hong Kong with the details.
So, Ivan, talk to us about what's going on here exactly and how the region is responding to China's moves.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's first take a look at the map here. This is the South China Sea here. It's important because it's estimated maybe a third of all shipping globally travels through this body of water. And there is a lot of disputes over archipelagos in this area between the different countries of the region.
These are the Paracel Islands, which are claimed not only by China bit also Vietnam and Taiwan.
And here on Woody Island, that is where China, reportedly, has placed surface-to-air missiles, according to Taiwanese and U.S. Defense officials.
Now some of this shouldn't come as a surprise. The Chinese have had a presence here, despite the territorial dispute, for more than half a century. They were landing fighter planes on this airstrip, I'm told, as recently as last year.
But it is interpreted by some as a provocation because U.S. President Barack Obama has been hosting leaders of Southeast Asian nations in California in recent days. And one of the big messages that the White House has been trying to send is that, in these territorial disputes, all nations, whether large or small, should get a say and should follow international law.
And he is also calling for an end to militarization of the South China Sea. And also insisted that the U.S. will continue what are so-called freedom of navigation operations. Basically the U.S. has been sending in warplanes and ships, Navy ships, into this area, challenging China's claims to some of these waters.
One of the real areas of tension right now are the Spratly Islands, Rosemary. They're, as you can see, very close to the Philippines, quite far from China. And yet China claims this entire area, this entire area as effectively Chinese territory.
And look what it's been doing in some of the reefs and the rocks of the Spratly Islands. We're going to send you a before photo of an area that was called Fiery Cross.
Now look after the Chinese engineers completed their work there. They put in an airstrip. They put in -- they basically made it an island instead of a partially submerged reef, despite the Philippines' claims to this very body of water and this rock.
As you mentioned, China, it defends its moves here, claiming that it's putting in some military installations for self-defense, that it will not impede on freedom of navigation and that some of this is being done to help fishing in the area and in case of medical emergencies -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Well, the international community watching this very closely and many people very uneasy. Our Ivan Watson, reporting there live from Hong Kong. Many thanks to you. The U.S. president is slamming Russia over the role it's playing in Syria's civil war. Ahead, we will show you how he says Moscow is jeopardizing hopes for peace.
Plus Pope Francis visits a Mexican town hit hard by drug violence. The message he has for church leaders there -- still to come. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
United Nations aid workers plan to head into seven besieged areas inside Syria within the next few days. It comes after U.S. special envoy Staffan de Mistura began negotiations with the Syrian's regime's foreign minister in Damascus.
Their talks are set to continue. And de Mistura hopes to get permission for more aid convoys into areas held by all sides in Syria's civil war.
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STAFFAN DE MISTURA, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA: We have been particularly talking about the issue about humanitarian unhindered access to all besieged areas not only by the government but also by the opposition and by ISIL.
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CHURCH: Meantime, troops from the Syrian regime have been quickly gaining ground in the civil war, thanks in large part to Russian airstrikes. U.S. President Barack Obama says Russian involvement is threatening a cease-fire scheduled to go into effect Friday. CNN's Barbara Starr has more.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Syrians running for their lives. Warplanes overhead coming in for another round of airstrikes in Idlib, Syria. An urgent rescue when a hospital, run by Doctors without Borders, is hit.
A U.S. official tells CNN that the Russians and Syrians are now dropping about 100 bombs every day and firing --
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STARR (voice-over): -- ballistic missiles here in Northwest Syria.
The Russians insist they didn't bomb any hospitals. The State Department making a not-so-indirect accusation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're pretty confident in our assessment that this was Russia that carried out these strikes.
STARR (voice-over): This is not the U.S. war against ISIS. It's the Russians and Bashar al-Assad against rebels and civilians.
There's no indication Russian and Syrian regime bombs will let up by the end of the week, when a cease-fire is supposed to go into effect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, we've seen the Russians and the regime not stop but actually even accelerate their offensive.
STARR (voice-over): North of Aleppo, children in despair after another hospital and school are hit. Babies in incubators, the youngest victims. President Obama condemning the airstrikes.
OBAMA: A bunch of rebels are not going to be able to compete with the hardware of the second most powerful military in the world.
STARR (voice-over): Senator John McCain believes the cease-fire is flawed.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZ.: If Russia or the Assad regime violates this agreement, what are the consequences?
I don't see any.
STARR (voice-over): The Defense Department talking about consequences for Moscow, though with few details.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Pentagon will respond to the situation on the ground, depending on how this agreement plays out.
STARR (voice-over): But Defense officials tell CNN, the reality is, no military U.S. actions against Syrian or Russian forces is being contemplated. In fact, if the Russian bombing continues, it could hamper U.S. air operations and efforts to help rebels on the ground.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears confident.
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA: When does the West speak about cease-fire?
I think the answer is clear. It's when the militants are hurt, when their defeats begin.
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CHURCH: CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, reporting there.
And for more on Syria, including a compelling piece by Nick Paton Walsh, you can visit our website at cnn.com. A judge in California has ordered Apple to help federal investigators unlock an iPhone used by one of the attackers in the San Bernardino shootings. Saeed Farouq and his wife killed 14 people in that attack. Police later killed the duo in a shootout. Authorities have not been able to access data from the phone because it's locked with a passcode. Too many failed attempts to unlock it would of course activate Apple's auto-erase function.
After more than 50 years of Cold War tensions, the U.S. has officially restored commercial flights to and from Cuba. The agreement was reached in December. And the final papers were signed on Tuesday. U.S. airlines now have about two weeks to bid for rights to fly to the island nation. Flights between the two countries could resume by October.
Pope Francis traveled to a gang-infested part of Mexico with a message against drug violence. He celebrated mass in Morelia, where he spoke out against Mexico's wealthy elite.
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POPE FRANCIS, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): It would be difficult to feel rich, when we see the loss of friends or of family members to the hand of drug traffickers, to drugs, to criminal organizations which fuel terror.
It is difficult to feel the riches of a nation when there are no opportunities for dignified work.
CHURCH (voice-over): Pope Francis also had a special message for Catholic Church leaders in the city. CNN's Rosa Flores has the details.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (through translator): Pope Francis breaking bread in the streets of Michoacan. Now this is the epicenter of the drug war where, back in 2006, former Mexican president Felipe Calderon sent 6, 500 soldiers to fight the drug war.
Since then, more than 80,000 people have died. Pope Francis today talked to the priests and to the nuns here and said to be careful and not to fall into the temptations of the drug war. Now he also told bishops the same thing.
He said, "Take care of your priests, who are working out in the streets in these violent, violent situations."
Now after this, Pope Francis will be heading to Juarez, where we're expecting the culmination of his visit to Mexico. He will be celebrating mass along the U.S.-Mexico border. And he will be able to see the dividing role that divides both countries. Now he is expected to walk towards that wall and pray in silence for immigrants (INAUDIBLE) -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Morelia. (END VIDEOTAPE)
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CHURCH: The normally cool Pope Francis lost his temper and his balance in the middle of a crowd on Tuesday.
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CHURCH (voice-over): Want you to take a look at this. Someone pulled the pontiff so hard, he actually fell onto a child in a wheelchair. After aides and security stepped in to prevent him from falling, he scolded the people in the crowd for being "selfish."
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CHURCH: And when we come back, the big political battle in South Carolina and why Democratic presidential candidates are fighting to win African American voters.
Plus, amid tight security, a U.S. rock band performs on a Paris stage. Coming up, why this concert was so emotionally charged for both the audience and the band.
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CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.
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CHURCH: On the Democratic side of the U.S. presidential race, the latest poll shows Hillary Clinton well ahead of Bernie Sanders in South Carolina. And Jeff Zeleny reports both candidates spent the day Tuesday trying to appeal to a key voting demographic.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in a fierce competition to win over black voters. Sanders campaigning today in South Carolina.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am speechless. What can I say after that?
ZELENY: Clinton, in Harlem, meeting with Al Sharpton and other leaders casting her bid for the presidency as another chance to break history.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hold me accountable. Hold every candidate accountable. What we say matters, but what we do matters more.
ZELENY: Their eyes are fixed on South Carolina where next week's Democratic primary will test the strength of Clinton's southern firewall and the breadth of Sanders' appeal.
African-American voters are a critical constituency making up 55 percent of the Democratic vote in the 2008 presidential primary. The Clinton/Sanders battle is shining a light on criminal justice reform and racism.
CLINTON: These inequities are wrong, but they're also immoral and it will be the mission of my presidency to bring them to an end.
ZELENY: Sanders says racial injustice is rooted in economic inequality.
SANDERS: And when we talk about inequality, it goes without saying that the African-American community is suffering even more.
ZELENY: It's an uphill climb for sanders. In South Carolina, Clinton leads by 18 points, according to a new CNN poll. Among black voters, the poll gives Clinton a 37 percent advantage. Sanders believes his economic arguments will resonate with black voters.
SANDERS: The African-American community suffered more and has recovered in a much less significant way.
ZELENY: With him on the campaign trail today, Erica Garner. Her father's death helped inspire the Black Lives Matter protest. Eric Garner died in 2014 after a New York City policeman placed him in a choke hold during an arrest.
ERICA GARNER, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: (Inaudible) public servant that is not afraid to stand against the establishment for the people, the next president of the United States, Bernie Sanders.
ZELENY: She is also the subject of a powerful campaign video.
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ZELENY: The Clinton campaign is spreading hard for South Carolina collecting far more endorsements including from Eric Garner's mother. They hope a strong win will solidify her position as the party's frontrunner.
(on camera): The focus of the Democratic race quickly turns to Nevada for the rest of the week. The Democratic caucuses are on Saturday. That will help decide how strong Bernie Sanders is coming into South Carolina next week.
Now one Democrat also weighed in on this race today. That was President Obama. He said he knows Hillary Clinton better, but he probably agrees with Bernie Sanders on some issues. He did not take a stand across the board here, but he said he's not unhappy he's not on the ballot. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Charleston, South Carolina.
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CHURCH: Do join us this week for a two-day event, the CNN Republican town halls, moderated by Anderson Cooper. Hear from the candidates, Wednesday and Thursday, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, live from Greenville, South Carolina, 5:00 Pacific and 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.
Petroleum ministers from most of the world's top oil producers have agreed to freeze production levels. But that does little to ease a massive global supply glut. Oil markets are desperate for a cut in output levels plunged on the news Tuesday.
Right now oil is still below $33, but it is trending upwards. Want to look there at the -- yep. You see it, $32.56. For more on the oil market and its impact on the aviation industry, we are joined by Andrew Stevens, at the Singapore air show and Asia's largest aerospace and defense exhibition.
So Andrew, tough economic times in the region, of course and with tensions in the South China Sea, offering a rather unfortunate and unpredictable backdrop. It has to be said.
[02:35:00]But I want you to talk to us about how the airlines are being affected by these falling oil prices.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Falling oil prices, Rosemary, are generally excellent for an airline. It is the biggest-single cost, the price of jet fuel around 30 percent historically.
With this fall, from $100 a barrel to $20, it's now 20 percent of the costs. A lot of the airlines are very happy to see that. The other side of this is that airlines are not retiring the older models and buying the new ones. The gas guzzlers are much more efficient because of prices are so low.
But that's not impacting the broader sales. I have been speaking to the head of Airbus and he says that the industry is strong, despite all the other economic turmoil, low oil prices, things are looking pretty good.
In fact the Airbus announced today that Philippine Airlines is going to be buying six of these A-350s. This is new aircraft from Airbus. A distinctive wing you can see there, which identifies what this plane is.
But Airbus generally says that conditions are very good. That's been echoed by the big plane makers. No deferrals of orders. No cancellations of orders. There are thousands of orders for Asian airlines over the next few years -- Rosemarie.
CHURCH: Andrew, you have also been chatting with several defense contractors. How big is defense at the air show you're at?
STEVENS: Well, that's interesting. I'll take you for a little walk. I've showed you the commercial side of this. But you're right. This is a big aerospace and defense show, as well. You can see the Singapore Air Force allowing some to come together, a bit of a taste to be on an F-16 aircraft.
Behind that aircraft is a big gray hangar. That's where the business is being done. This is about 70 percent of the airshow is talking about the aerospace. And what are the impact of these rising tensions in the South China Sea between China and various countries in Asia.
Those tensions, what it's meant for defense spending. I'm getting a strong message that the defense spending is on the up, Rosemarie, particularly, things like unmanned drones. We are talking about cheap ways of surveillance. Surveillance to see what the Chinese are doing.
Two countries expressed strong interest in Southeast Asia. I couldn't get names. There have been deals done in South Korea as well. This is all happened in the last 12 months or so.
There is people telling me there is a lot more activity in defense budgets. They are rising across the region. And a lot of the money, or partially, some of the money is being spent -- playing out here in Singapore.
CHURCH: All right. Interesting. Andrew Stevens reporting from the Singapore air show, many thanks.
Next here on CNN NEWSROOM, their last concert in Paris ended in tragedy when terrorists stormed the theater. Now, this American band returns for an emotional and triumphant show. Do stay with us.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: If you're a skier or snowboarder, mid-February probably has your name all over it. We get additional snow over the next 24 and this continues across Spain. Picked up about ten centimeters. And the forecast brings in additional snowfall, but better than zero that we have reported over the past several weeks.
And a lot of snowfall to go around on the eastern side of the Alps. Work their way across northern and eastern Italy. And the powdery conditions across much of Switzerland. Notice conditions also, supporting snow coming down, 36 hours forecast, one to three centimeters.
Not a blockbuster event whatsoever. But the active pattern across Eastern Italy, 50 centimeters, is projected. Portina, 9 percent of the trails open. Powdery conditions, with the expected snowfall in the forecast over the coming few days.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Hundreds of sharks are being observed near the shores of Palm Beach, Florida, this week. The effects of El Nino coupled with climate change may be altering their migration routes.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now to explain. I know you've done a lot of study on this. So what is happening? JAVAHERI: Rosemarie, this is a story that we've seen over the last several years, really increase, as far as the number of shark sightings. We know migration patterns typically take them down across the temperate climates of Central and Southern Florida this time of year.
But these images taken on Tuesday, a large number of sharks, a school of sharks. They're called a shiver of sharks. There's a paddle boarder, unaware of what's happening around him.
You take a look at the number of sharks and how the water patterns and the normal of migration actually takes them well to the north as far north as coastal Carolina.
In recent years, we've seen the water temperatures increasing dramatically because of El Nino, because of climate change, of course. And the observations have actually taken as far north as coastal portions of New York State.
So what are the causes? Why is all this happening? We touched on El Nino and also climate change. In fact, we know increased water salinity. A lot of drought going on globally speaking.
That increases water salinity in parts of the ocean. When that happens that certainly could displace sharks in their patterns of migration and you know, decreased food supply.
They often stay offshore for food over fishing potentially bringing them closer to land putting them in contact with people.
Shark attacks in particular, 2015, an impressive year in particular, in the United States alone, we have reports of 59 unprovoked shark attacks. Didn't provoke that one, but 59 unprovoked shark attacks, 30 of which came out of Florida.
And of course, you look at a global perspective in all of this and the second-largest shark attacks in the world, came in Australia that came with about 18 shark attacks in 2015.
South Africa, they picked up about eight shark attacks in that calendar year. Historic numbers in particular. When you look at the number of shark attacks, and how it plays out in ten years, ten-year average brings the number somewhere around 35 or so.
We had an anomalous year right there in 2007 with 50, but the last four years, shark attack numbers have been significantly on the increase. You look at how the water patterns and the warmth of the water is being displaced, how that's moving the sharks to large populations.
That's what is concerning when you see numbers like this becoming more of a routine now in the past couple of years -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes, a real wake-up call. All right, thanks so much, Pedram. We'll talk with you again very soon. Appreciate it. Security was tight, as a U.S. rock band performed a triumphant comeback on a Paris stage. The Eagles of Death Metal performed Tuesday, just three months after their concert ended in tragedy, when terrorists killed 89 people inside the Bataclan Theater.
Hundreds of survivors and relatives of those killed last year attended that show. A team of 30 psychologists were also on-hand for anyone overwhelmed by the emotion of the evening.
Want to turn to "Financial Times" columnist, Simon Kuper, in Paris. He was attending a soccer match at the time of the attacks. Thank you for joining us.
So Simon, this is very much a healing process for so many people there in Paris. Of course, the band, helping in that process.
[02:45:08]Talk to us. You were there at that soccer match during the course of those dreadful attacks. What are your memories? And now how are things three months on?
SIMON KUPER, COLUMNIST, "FINANCIAL TIMES": I remember 20 minutes into the soccer match, there was a loud blast from outside the stadium. People cheered and clapped, thinking it was fireworks. Two minutes later, the ground shook.
Later, we realized these had been attempts by multiple suicide bombers to get into the stadium. And I went on the internet, began looking for news of what was going on. And realized that Paris was at war.
It was a night we won't forget. The Bataclan Concert will live for decades and last night's concert was a tiny step of the healing process, which is not easy. And there is still a lot of fear.
CHURCH: Yes. It was just as all of that tragedy, was unfolding, it was horrifying and still is for so many people. And you know, as we reported there, psychologists on-hand, if the whole situation got too overwhelming for people.
When you walk down the streets in Paris, how do people digest all of this? It's only three months. That's no time at all. Is that the constant fear of this happening again?
KUPER: There is a constant fear. But now, it's more subliminal. Nobody went out at the beginning. That lasted a couple of weeks. Gradually, people started to go out. And you sit in a cafe and you look for the exits. And gradually that wears off.
This fear is not entirely irrational because as the prime minister says, there will be more attacks and they won't be able at all. We live in the realization that this is a target. That raises everyday issues.
For example, are the schools safe? Are your children safe at school? And these are things that just over a year ago, until the Charlie attacks last January, we had no thoughts about it.
We thought we lived in a safe and prosperous western city where the violence of history was behind us. We were wrong.
CHURCH: Simon Kuper, thank you for sharing your personal experience here and what is happening there in Paris, as people try to move forward. Just horrifying memories for so many people, but so resilient at the same time. Many thanks to you. We'll take a very short break here. Back in a moment.
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JAVAHERI: Thanks for watching CNN. Watching a pattern change across the western U.S. that have been actually 10 degrees to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal across this region. Big front begins to dive in on here and the temps begin to drop.
The rain showers come back. Los Angeles, has not seen rainfall so far in the month of February. That will be the first this month for them. And Seattle, they've seen plenty of it. Fourth-wettest winter, with about a month left in the winter season.
Could get enough rainfall over the next 24 to 36 hours to bump them into the single wettest winter all-time. A lot of rainfall across the Pacific northwestern U.S. and plenty of snowfall across the northeastern corner of the U.S., as well, upwards of 20, 30 centimeters, 45 in Rochester to be precise.
Notice for the west, we do have wet weather continuing to come down over this region and improve conditions around Southern California. El nine season, they will take anything they can get from there on towards San Francisco up the I-5 corridor.
Enter Vancouver, British Columbia, rainfall is the theme across the region of North America. And Belize City, looking at the upper 20s. San Juan could get a few showers out of this with about 31 and partly- cloudy skies across that region.
And thunderstorms abound across parts of South America. It's time as we see (inaudible) in the afternoon about 32.
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CHURCH: A new top dog has been crowned at the Westminster Kennel Club's annual show.
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ANNOUNCER: Best in show dog tonight for 2016, is the German short- haired pointer.
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CHURCH: C.J. is a 3-year-old male and the first sporting group winner to take best in show since 2009. The runner-up this year was a Russian wolfhound.
An Indian start-up company is giving a stunning makeover to Mumbai's black and yellow taxis. It's called Taxi Fabric. Richard Quest took a ride with its founders who said he wants to make cabs all over India stand out.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" (voice-over): This is Mumbai. Noisy, dusty, brilliantly lively. Home to more than 21 million people. Tens of thousands of whom use these iconic black and yellow taxis for their daily commute. Outside, these taxis all look pretty much the same. Go inside and you'll discover some have had a drastic makeover.
(on camera): I'm starting to see that the fabric is everywhere.
SANKET AVLANI, FOUNDER, TAXI FABRIC: Yes. It puts you into this cocoon you're in.
QUEST (voice-over): Taxi Fabric created this transformation, a startup that's festooned colorful canvases in dozens of cabs. The themes tell the story of Mumbai and takes the rider on a journey.
(on camera): This fabric shows truck art. It's deliciously simple.
(voice-over): From the heavy rains of the monsoon, to yoga, meditation and of course, Bollywood.
(on camera): The good, the bad and the beautiful.
AVLANI: That's this taxi. The Bollywood celebrities and all of the characters here. These are movies right from 1980s until now.
QUEST (voice-over): What began as an experiment has grown. Even cold play shot the music video inside a cab. Still, the entrepreneurs face the age-old problem.
(on camera): Are you a businessman or a designer?
AVLANI: I'm a designer.
QUEST: So you're a designer who thinks he has a project to make money?
AVLANI: Yes. Absolutely.
QUEST: But you haven't worked out how to make money out of it?
AVLANI: We are working it out right now, as we speak.
QUEST (voice-over): More taxis. That's the answer.
(on camera): Taxi Fabric has grand ideas for expansion, to get into as many of the rickshaws as they possible can and there's thousands of rickshaws across the country. Just think of what they could do. Richard Quest, CNN, Mumbai.
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[02:55:00]CHURCH: A mining company in Angola claims to have discovered one of the world's largest diamonds. Take a look.
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CHURCH: Wouldn't mind a little piece of that. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to keep in touch on Twitter anytime @rosemarycnn.
Coming up next hour, all the top stories from all around the world. Stay with us.
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