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Bernie Sanders Wins New Hampshire Primary; Coronavirus Death Toll Climbs Past 1,100 Worldwide; Coronavirus Outbreak; United Kingdom Making Strides To Slow Virus As New Cases Emerge; Roger Stone Trial; Prosecutors Quit Case Against President Trump Confidant; Mahmoud Abbas Trashes President Trump's Peace Plan; Joseph Shabalala Dies At 78; The Unveiling Of Samsung's Galaxy Z-Flip; Comedian Uses Trump Campaign Hat As People Repellant; Chinese Government Hiding the Truth About Coronavirus Victims; Democrats Now Have New Front Runner; Sudan's Ousted President to Face ICC for Brutal Killings. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 12, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom. Let's get started.

More passengers test positive for coronavirus on board the quarantined cruise ship. We are live in Yokohama, Japan with the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me take this opportunity to thank the people of New Hampshire for a great victory, tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Bernie Sanders wins the first U.S. primary of 2020, while some other big names in the race struggled mightily. We will have all the highlights from New Hampshire.

Plus, more than a decade after charging Omar al-Bashir with war crimes and genocide, the International Criminal Court may finally get to prosecute Sudan's former president.

Good to have you with us.

So, China has again reported a high number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak. Health officials say more than 90 people died on Tuesday, pushing the overall death toll past 1,100. At least 45,000 people around the world are now infected with the virus. Even so, the World Health Organization believes it's possible to contain the outbreak. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We have to use the current window of opportunity to hit hard and stand in unison to fight this virus in every corner. If we don't, we could have far more cases and far higher costs on our hands. And I don't think anybody wants that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime, Chinese officials say there is some positive news. They claim more than 4,000 patients have recovered, and have been discharged from hospitals.

But in Japan, a completely different story for people on board a quarantined cruise ship. Officials have discovered another 40 cases of the virus there, bringing the total number of infections to 175.

Well, CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now from Yokohama, Japan, where the ship is docked. And Steven Jiang is live in Beijing. Good to have you both with us.

So, Steven, let's start with you. The death toll has climbed as we've said to 1,100. Now 45,000 people, or about that number have been infected worldwide, mostly in mainland China. But China insists more than 4,000 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. How reliable are those numbers, and should be take comfort from this information?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, that is a big question mark, isn't it, Rosemary? The government here obviously has been trying to direct people's attention to these positive members, including compared to a week ago.

They say the number of newly confirmed cases has dropped 48 percent and the number of suspected cases has dropped 37 percent, while the percentage of people who have been recovered and discharged from hospital is now about 10 percent, much higher than two weeks ago.

But when you talk to people on the ground, especially those still trapped in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province under lockdown as we have been, the picture is very different. There's still a large number of people sounding very desperate trying to seek medical attention, trying to get tested for this virus, trying to get admit into a hospital without success.

Many of them are feeling so helpless they resort to posting their detailed medical conditions online along with their detailed contact information, trying to get the attention of social media users as well as local authorities.

Now, even officials at the epicenter have acknowledge that they are still facing a severe shortage of medical supplies and medical personnel. So, the actual number of cases or even deaths could still be higher than what the government data suggests. Now, another sign of things are not under control is government

officials and experts have been pushing back their estimate when it comes to when this outbreak will peak. It was mid-February. Now they are saying late February.

Now, Rosemary, all this of course is going to further complicate the picture, because the government is also trying to have people go back to their home bases, ready to resume working.

[03:04:57]

Transportation authorities have already said 160 million people will be on the move in the next six or seven days. Definitely a huge challenge for the government as they try to contain this virus nationwide. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. That could certainly be problematic. Our Steven Jiang joining us with that live report from Beijing. Many thanks to you.

Let's turn to Matt now. And as we said, Matt, you are in Yokohama, where more people are quarantined on board that cruise ship are getting sick. Is it possible, the longer they stay on board, the more likely it is they'll get infected?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, if you ask Japanese health officials, Rosemary, the answer to that question is no. They remain steadfastly committed to this notion that this quarantine is working, and that anybody who has tested positive, be it today, the day before, even tomorrow, contracted the virus before this quarantine was put into place.

But, you know, we have spoken to several passengers on board today, including one woman who said look, she thinks that this quarantine has failed. She said that the science is not completely settled as to how this virus is transmitted, which it's not, even though most scientist, most epidemiologist would suggest that it's being transmitted by very small droplets of moisture transferred between people who are standing within six feet of one another.

Yu know, she says the science is not totally settled. And whether she's right or not, I think it speaks to the mindset of people on board the ship. They see today another 40 cases have been positively identified, including one quarantine officer who came on board the ship during these medical efforts.

And they are saying look, you know, something is going wrong. And there is no way for Japanese health officials to conclusively prove to them that the virus was not contracted after the quarantine period started.

And so, there is a lot of uncertainty. There is a lot of tension, a lot of stress, and I don't really know what solves that. Japanese officials are saying we've got everything under control. The quarantine is working.

But that has not convinced everybody on board that ship that it is. And what you are left is just a tense stalemate that is not going to really get resolved until people are allowed off that ship.

CHURCH: Still a lot of unanswered questions with this virus. talking to us there live from Yokohama in Japan our Matt Rivers. Many thanks.

Well, and what's becoming an increasingly unpredictable race, some surprising names are surging among the U.S. Democrats running for president. And some of the names many thought would be on top are instead struggling.

Senator Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary, the second contest of this election year. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a close second. Carrying the momentum from his win in Iowa, of course.

And Sanders win in New Hampshire is not a surprise. He is from neighboring Vermont and defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary by more than 20 points, but Sanders is a Democratic socialist, a big departure from the current president, and his victory here suggests that voters are looking for change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: What I can tell you, with absolute certainty, and I know I speak for every one of the Democratic candidates, is that no matter who wins, and we certainly hope it's going to be us, we are going to unite together.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: We are going to unite together and defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Buttigieg has shocked many people with his early surge. He's come a long way since jumping into the race last year, when he had to teach people how to pronounce his last name. But now he calls for unity, and clearly striking a chord with voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, to win, and to govern, we need to bring new voices to our capital. We need to get Washington starting to work more like our best run cities and towns rather than the other way around.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTIGIEG: As we take this campaign to the rest of the country, let's welcome that debate. Let's have that debate. Let's debate what the best way forward is. The best way to earn the White House and the best way to unify this country. And the answers they lie in a vision that brings Americans together, not only in the knowledge of what we must stand against, but in the confidence of knowing what we are for.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: And perhaps the biggest surprise so far, Joe Biden, a former two term vice president, long considered a front runner, is trailing way behind, finishing fourth in Iowa, and now fifth in New Hampshire.

[03:09:57]

Then there is Senator Amy Klobuchar, who had a stronger showing than many expected, finishing third in New Hampshire, ahead of both Biden and another presumed contender, Elizabeth Warren.

CNN's Phil Mattingly joins me now from Washington. Good to see you, Phil. So, let's look at all of this. Bernie Sanders is celebrating a win in New Hampshire. Pete Buttigieg also did well in second place. Amy Klobuchar, as we mentioned, surprised everyone. Where's all this going?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, look, let's start with New Hampshire. And say this is definitively a three-person race, at least for the state. Bernie Sanders, as you noted, winning by about 4,000 votes with 97 percent reporting right now.

This is something that he expected, and here is why. Not only is he from neighboring Vermont, but this is what he did in 2016. Rosemary, take a look at all the light blue here. That is a wipeout of Hillary Clinton back in 2016.

So, Bernie Sanders was expected to do very well, expected to win. And he did. But as you noted, it was very tight. And here is why. If you want to isolate Pete Buttigieg here where a lot of that light blue was for Bernie Sanders back in 2016, you are now seeing light green. Opportunities for Pete Buttigieg in populated areas down here in the southern part of the state, also in some of Vermont border areas which I don't think anybody expected doing well there.

And you also hit on another key point, Rosemary, and that was Amy Klobuchar. Amy Klobuchar basically came from out of nowhere over the course of the last week. A great debate performance on Friday, really riding the momentum to a significant number, nearly 20 percent in the state.

Take a look at who you are not even seeing in the top four. Joe Biden. You have to actually scroll down to see where he is. And so, the big question is, how did Joe Biden do, given the fact he came in fifth place? Well, there is two really good answers.

One, he got zero delegates out of the state of New Hampshire, he wasn't even in the state of New Hampshire when the results were coming in, he had already flown to South Carolina.

If you want to get a sense of how rough his night actually was, I'm going to isolate here the townships where Joe Biden came in first, second, or third.

If you pull those up where did Joe Biden come in first? You don't see any dark blue there. Where did Joe Biden come in second? You see one area. That is a very small town, only about 30 people. Where did he come in third? Only a couple more there.

All of those are very small populated communities, none of which were enough to get him a delegate. I think the big question there right now, Rosemary, is both for him and for Elizabeth Warren, given where the top three were in New Hampshire, where are they going next?

And I think the big answer might be, or at least those campaigns will tell you, look at the demographics. If you look at the demographics of the race, Iowa and New Hampshire almost universally white. Not a lot of minority vote there. Not necessarily reflective of the Democratic Party as a whole.

What about the next two states where contests are going to take place, Nevada and New Hampshire? Take a look at Nevada. Nearly 20 percent Hispanic and Latino vote. South Carolina, nearly 27 percent black vote.

Those were things that were missing from these first two states. Those are the types of diverse populations that some of these other candidates think they can take advantage of, Joe Biden being one of them.

The big question now, though, is will the hit that say, Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden took in New Hampshire be problematic for how they raise money, how they organize, whether or not they'll have any momentum going into these states? Momentum that at this point it looks like the top three candidates in this race, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar, clearly have.

CHURCH: yes, indeed. Our Phil Mattingly bringing us up to date on the situation where this might very well go. I appreciate it. Joining us there from Washington.

Let's turn to Jessica Dean now. She is in Manchester, New Hampshire. And of course, we saw there Bernie Sanders winning, Buttigieg doing very well, charging into second place, and then Amy Klobuchar also surprising everybody. Joe Biden has really lost his way here. Hasn't he?

So, what is the sense on the ground there from Democrats, where are they going with this? And do they really think that Bernie Sanders can beat Donald Trump?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it has been certainly interesting to see this first two contests play out. I've been covering the Biden campaign since it lost -- launched back in April.

And look, from the beginning, we are talking in the summer, they were downplaying expectations in Iowa and New Hampshire. They were telling us look, we don't have to win Iowa and New Hampshire to get to the Democratic nomination.

Now, coming in second or third is very different than the showings that they've had in Iowa and now New Hampshire. But Joe Biden and his campaign really see their path forward through these more diverse states. That's where he data wise, has more support. The polls have shown that. Now whether or not it holds up, obviously that's the big question.

But going into this, he's always had overwhelming support in South Carolina from African-American voters, that has withstood over months of attacks, and everything that's been going on in his campaign, that support has really not wavered.

Again, the question is, will it continue to stay at the rate that it has? We have had a new poll come out just a couple of days ago showing that it might begin to erode there.

But again, the Biden campaign is very focused on Nevada, on South Carolina, on Super Tuesday when this Democratic nominating contest really opens up to a wider slice of the electorate where they think that Joe Biden will really perform better.

[03:15:08]

And to that end, I know you guys mentioned this, but he wasn't even here last night when polls closed. He had already left the state, gone to South Carolina. He's planning to be in Nevada starting on Friday. So, they are very much looking ahead and that is what they see as their way forward.

You talk a little bit about somebody like Elizabeth Warren, it's a different situation. Of course, she is from a neighboring state, was expected to do very well here, and like Joe Biden, is going to leave without getting any delegates, which, Rosemary, at the end of the day this is all about delegates.

We are going to a convention this summer and whomever has the most delegates will eventually be the nominee. So, this becomes a matte game pretty quickly.

CHURCH: Yes. It is still a very long journey ahead --

DEAN: Yes.

CHURCH: -- and you can't read too much into these early contests. But certainly, we are starting to see pattern already, aren't we? Jessica Dean, many thanks to you for joining us and bringing us up to date on the situation there. I appreciate it.

DEAN: Yes.

CHURCH: And joining me now from Lancaster in England, Richard Johnson, lecturer in U.S. politics at Lancaster University. Thanks for joining us.

RICHARD JOHNSON, U.S. POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LECTURER, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

CHURCH: So, Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary, Pete Buttigieg charged into a very close second place there, and then of course, we've been talking about Amy Klobuchar surprising everyone with this third place. Beating out bigger names Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Where does this leave the race for the White House do you think? Or is it too early to tell up the state?

JOHNSON: Well, the initial signs, I mean you can't doubt that this was a good result for Bernie Sanders. There has been only one time in history of the modern Democratic primary process where a candidate that the Democrats have nominated candidate who didn't win either Iowa or New Hampshire. That was Bill Clinton in '92 so a significant exception.

But usually if you are winning Iowa and New Hampshire, you are looking pretty strong going into it. I think Sanders also can be comforted by the poor result of Elizabeth Warren.

But I think the collapse of the Biden campaign does open the possibility of a new dynamic coming forward as to who will sort of capture that moderate vote. It could be Klobuchar, it could be Buttigieg.

If those to remain strong Bernie Sanders could benefit from that by coming sort of through the middle and the delegate count, although it's somewhat proportional, it's not totally proportional. I mean, if those two are dividing the moderate delegate count, then Sanders may reap the benefits of that.

CHURCH: But what's confusing here though, is that Democrats insist they want to beat Donald Trump, but Bernie Sanders does not appear to be the candidate to do that as a Democratic socialist with a progressive agenda that will likely scare most Republicans and some Democrats. Can he actually beat Trump in the end?

JOHNSON: I think there are two theories on how you can beat Donald Trump. One is to try and win back a class of moderate white voters in the Midwest who voted for Barack Obama but defected to Trump in 2016. And if that's the theory a victory then you would be looking at Klobuchar or Buttigieg as strong candidates in that regard.

The other theory is that if you win the new dynamic of American politics as a polarized politics of motivating core supporters and high turnout in those constituencies, and I think that's the theory of the Bernie Sanders campaign.

Look, we are not going to persuade people in the middle of the road, but if you turn out high numbers of your supporters, then you can win. I think that theory is still slightly under strain because there hasn't been as much evidence in this -- in the caucus and the primary yet that Bernie Sanders has motivated a huge number of new voters, but perhaps it's too early to say.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And of course, as we have been mentioning, Joe Biden left New Hampshire early Tuesday, flew straight to South Carolina, that primary doesn't happen until after the Nevada caucuses in 10 days. What's his strategy here? And if Biden doesn't win South Carolina, is that the end of the line for him? JOHNSON: I think South Carolina is going to be very important for Joe

Biden. African-American voters have historically been quite a savvy electorate in the Democratic Party. And that they've looked for someone who they think can win the general election.

They're not, you know, speaking in generalities, but South Carolina voters have not been as much as sort of ideological purists. And Biden support in South Carolina has been quite strong because he'd been seen as the one who is likely to beat Trump.

[03:20:04]

But if you are doing badly in these early contests then that's going to damage your electability claim. And so, actually I think now South Carolina could be thrown wide open. Who knows? You know if someone like Mike Bloomberg coming in as well, that creates a complication in the mix.

If Biden wins South Carolina, I think he goes on to fight on Super Tuesday and he could still be a serious candidate, but if he loses South Carolina then I think that his campaign is in serious trouble.

CHURCH: It looks that way. OK, Richard Johnson, many thanks to you for bringing that analysis and perspective. I appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: We will take a short break here. Still to come, already in jail for corruption. Sudan's ousted president may find himself before the International Criminal Court facing charges of crimes against humanity. Our live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Sudan says it will hand over former President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court. He will face genocide and war crimes charges over Sudan's brutal crackdown in Darfur between 2003 and 2008. It's believed 300,000 people were killed.

Bashir who ruled Sudan for three decades was the first sitting president to be wanted by the ICC. Until now the country's military rulers have refused to turn him over. And there is still no timeline for that hand over.

Bashir has been in a Khartoum jail since he was ousted by mass protests last year.

And CNN's David McKenzie joins us now live from Johannesburg with more on all of this. David, what are you learning about what lies ahead for Sudan's ousted president?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very unclear at this change. As you said, Omar al-Bashir is already in prison for corruption charges after his ouster. And if you think of just how significant even mentioning him to be handed over to the ICC from an official we spoke to, it really is quite something.

Because Omar al-Bashir traveled widely despite having two arrest warrants from the Hague Court against him for these very serious crimes against humanity, genocide crimes, for allegedly directing the counter insurgency including the vicious Janjaweed militia in that Darfur war.

He traveled here to South Africa to Kenya and several other countries, wasn't picked up by these countries and handed over to the courts. So that a Sudanese coalition government would say he could be handed over is hugely significant. But we shouldn't expect this to happen anytime soon, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Right. And why did the sovereign council announce this at this time?

[03:25:04]

MCKENZIE: Well, this is part of a negotiation that they've been ongoing with the civilian leadership in that sovereign council. They have been one of the conditions was to make peace with the rebels in Darfur and elsewhere in the country was to hand over, or at least start the process of handing over Omar al-Bashir and the others incriminated in these war crimes.

Now, significantly, they didn't name Omar al-Bashir in that original statement. They haven't said when they will hand over these alleged war criminals and how that process will take place.

This could just be a part of a good faith representation by the former government, members of that ruling coalition. And I think the hard part might be to negotiate how it exactly happens and when it happens.

But still, truly significant that this man who ruled the country, the first and only sitting head of state to be indicted in war crimes by the Hague could be facing justice either there or in some kind of court elsewhere.

But certainly, the victims of these horrendous crimes, mass rape, forced deportations, the families of those killed in the thousands will be feeling that at least possibly justice is closer to actually happening. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, exactly. Our David McKenzie bringing us that live report from Johannesburg. Many thanks.

Let's take a short break here. Still to come, the death -- the death rate from the novel coronavirus keeps rising. So, what more can be done to contain the outbreak? I'll discuss that with a health expert. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check the headlines for you at this hour.

In the U.S. presidential race, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has won the first primary of the year in New Hampshire. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a close second, and Senator Amy Klobuchar surprised with a strong third place showing. Topping both Elizabeth Warren and long- term front runner, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Sanders and Buttigieg are rallying their supporters with calls for change and unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: And let me say tonight that this victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: With victories behind us popular vote in Iowa and the victory here tonight, we are going to Nevada, we are going to South Carolina, we are going to win those states as well.

[03:30:00]

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERS)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-SOUTH BEND-IN) 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And here in the state that goes by the motto live free or die, you made up your own minds. You inserted that famous independent street. And thanks to you, a campaign that some said shouldn't be here at all has shown that we are here to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Another big story we are following the death toll from the novel coronavirus jump pass 1100 on Tuesday, after more than 90 deaths were reported in China. The number of worldwide infections has also increased to at least 45,000. Most of those cases have come from China's Hubei province.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak represents a grave threat, not just for China, but for the rest of the world. Its Director General is again urging the international community to act while it still can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WHO: This outbreak is testing us in many ways, it is a test of political solidarity, whether the world can come together to fight a common enemy that does not respect borders or ideologists. It is a test of a financial solidarity, whether the worlds will invest now in fighting this outbreak or pay more later to deal with its consequences. And it is a test of scientific solidarity, will the world come together to find shared answers to shared problems?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is Lawrence Gostin, he is a professor at Georgetown University, and Director of the O'Neill Institute For National And Global Health Law. Good to have you with us.

LAWRENCE GOSTIN, PROFESSOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Great to be with you, thank you.

CHURCH: Now, we do want to try to get a measure of just how big a threat this Wuhan coronavirus is. Now being called Covid-19, and this first graph that we want to pull up, from the World Health Organization shows its mortality rate at 2.07 percent. Now, that is compared to .14 percent for the flu in the United States, but look at this, the mortality rate for SARS in 2003 was up to 9.6 percent, and that is compared to MERS in 2012 which reached a staggering 34.5 percent mortality rate. Now what do those numbers tell you about the threat posed by Clovid-19 or coronavirus?

GOSTIN: Well, you know, in one way, they are reassuring. But in another way, they are not. They are reassuring because the death rate so far, and we don't really know the exact death rate now, because cases are being vastly under reported. And deaths aren't being found because of the wide scale spread of it within China and beyond.

But it is comforting. I mean, it would be a catastrophe if it were as lethal as SARS or MERS, or in an Ebola. And so, that is reassuring, but you really should not be too reassured by it. So, for example, if you want to know the number of people who had died from any disease, you would have to look at the death rate. And also, the number of cases.

And so, we have already had more deaths with coronavirus than we do with SARS, why?

CHURCH: Right.

GOSTIN: Because we have got more cases. It seems to be more readily transmittable. Flu which has a lower death rate actually takes hundreds of thousands of lives every year across the globe, because we have so many cases. And so, just imagine that Covid, the coronavirus were to become a pandemic. Or if it became seasonal, like a seasonal influenza, it might be looking at, you know, hundreds of thousands of deaths which is entirely unacceptable.

CHURCH: Right.

GOSTIN: The other problem --

CHURCH: Yes, I just want to make the point too. I mean, you talk about the under reported deaths and possible cases with Covid-19 and presumably back in 2003 that was even more the case with SARS, so it is difficult to make any comparison, but it gives of some sort of gauge doesn't it. But I want to take a look now at the daily confirmed new deaths, increasing significantly with more than 100 daily deaths as a February 11th.

[03:35:05]

Taking the total global deaths to more than 1000, again, this is probably under reported. What does that signal to you though? When you are looking at that daily rate going up to 100 dying now each day?

GOSTIN: You know, it does not surprise me at all since there are, you know, most scientists and epidemiologists believe that China has, you know, significantly undercounted the number of cases. We are probably looking at four fold or even more cases that are being reported. So, if you have got that many cases, you are likely to have an increasing number of deaths.

The really key issue that we need to look at, is whether there is a leveling off or a plateauing of cases in China. My friends in China tell me that they do you foresee a plateauing, but I am not at all convinced because you have more than one billion people in China, a lot of people who are infected. And so I think -- I mean, we have to take this extraordinarily seriously.

CHURCH: How bad do you expect this to get, and what needs to be done to first stop the spread, but also ensure that those who do get Covid- 19 don't die?

GOSTIN: Yes, I mean, China is not doing a very good job at the latter, because, I mean, if you just go to the City of Wuhan, or wider Hubei province, a lot of people which the novel coronavirus are actually being turned away from hospitals, there are not enough diagnostic kits. There's are not enough hospital beds, and they are cross infecting each other in their homes, their families and others are becoming infected, so -- and there isn't a lot of care going on.

The other issues that people at most risk of dying of this disease are people who are elderly, whatever. We have weakened immune systems, or people with in a core mobility's, you know, if they've got respiratory disease, or cardiac disease or if they are obese. And remember in China, the air pollution is staggering, and the rates of respiratory impairments are quite high. So you might be seeing higher death rates in China than you might seek for example, in the United States. Where we can get good medical care, we have got clean air and the like.

So, so much we need to understand. What we need to do is to get this under control. I think China needs help. And it is not invited WHO or USCBC in only yesterday after many weeks probably a month too late. They've asked WHO to go. WHO sent an advance team that arrive in Beijing yesterday, but we don't know any of the details. We do not know when of contingent, of WHO personnel are going to come, how large they will be, with the terms of engagement are, whether they will have access to an independent after gaining the logical and other data, where we will be able to freely see the patients move about the country. I have my doubts that China will allow that.

CHURCH: Right, very sobering analyst there. And of course, a of course no comfort from some of those numbers either, Lawrence Gostin, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. GOSTIN: It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Well, scientists around the world are working on vaccines that may stop the coronavirus outbreak one day, containment is key. And of course, the U.K. is racing to trace the spread of the disease in its own backyard. Here is our Scott Mclean with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The coronavirus epicenters is in Wuhan China, bit for the City of Brighton and Hove in England south coast might as well be a sales conference in Singapore. That is where Steve Walsh first contracted the novel coronavirus. The mayor he unknowingly brought it on vacation to the French Alps, before bringing on an easy jet flight back to England two weeks ago.

Back home, he has spent time at this pub in Hove where it's still business as usual. Only after all of that was Walsh told he may have the virus. Today, he says he's fully recovered, but still in hospital quarantine, Walsh says his family, which does not share the virus, has also been isolated. On Monday, the U.K. announced four new cases of the coronavirus, France announced five over the weekend. The World Health Organization says all of them linked to the same ski chalet in the Alps, and Steve Walsh.

[03:40:00]

DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WHO: People are not fault, they are never have thought in the situation. So, let us be extremely careful here, it is really, really important that we don't attach all necessary stigma to this.

MCLEAN: Two of the British cases where health care workers, authorities said they were urgently working to trace their contacts they believed are just a few.

On Monday, patients of this clinic in Brighton showed up to find this sign on the door. Closed for extensive cleaning as a precautionary measure. Though none of the British health authorities will definitively confirmed that the closure is due to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, at London's imperial college, Professor Rob is in his lab leading a team developing a vaccine that may put an end to the outbreak. Several other labs around the world are doing the same.

ROBIN SHATTOCK, PROFESSOR, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: We consider this a vaccine race, and I think it is important that there are many different groups around the world that have started this race.

MCLEAN: On Monday, Shattock's team injected a droplet size dose of their vaccine into mice. He is confident it will work. If it does, it will still need to be proven safe in humans. Compared to previous outbreaks, Shattock's team is moving lightning fast. But the vaccine ready for market is still likely a year away.

ROBIN SHATTOCK, PROFESSOR, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: We are always challenging ourselves to go faster, and each time something like this happens, the global vaccine community is challenged to do -- go faster, and do better. And you know, we are still hopeful that this epidemic may well be contained by the measures that are being put in place. It is still not, you know, implausible that the virus may actually go away during the summer months.

MCLEAN: An ideal scenario the World Health Organizations said Tuesday, now has a realistic chance of becoming a reality.

ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: If we invest, now, in rational and evidence based iterations, we have a realistic chance of stopping this outbreak.

MCLEAN: Scott Mclean, CNN, Brighton England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In a stunning development, all for U.S. prosecutors who took former Trump Adviser Roger Stone to trial, had quit the case after the Justice Department undercut their sentencing recommendation. The department issued a rare, and extraordinary rebuke not long after President Trump railed against the recommended prison time on Twitter. More now from CNN's Andy Rose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY ROSE, CNN JOURNALIST: I have seen thousands of cases in my career as a federal and state prosecutor, I have never seen anything like this.

One by one, all for federal prosecutors quit the case against Roger Stone. Just days before his sentencing, and just hours after their request descend Stone to prison for up to nine years was overruled by the Justice Department and publicly slammed by President Trump, who tweeted, disgraceful, and this is a horrible and very unfair situation. The Justice Department says the decision was made before the president's tweet, Mr. Trump also denies interfering.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe, but I didn't speak to him, but that was a horrible aberration. These are the, I guess, the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell.

ROSE: Now the U.S. Attorney in Washington is asking for far less prison time for Stone, than what had been asked for a day earlier, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted, that he is requesting an investigation by the inspector general immediately. House Impeachment Manager, Jerry Nadler, tweeted a president who intervenes in the criminal justice system to help his allies while punishing people, like Lieutenant Colonel Vindman for telling the truth, represents a real danger and the committee will get to the bottom of this. I am Andy Rose, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And President Trump mocked the prosecutors for quitting the Roger Stone case, tweeting this, who are the four prosecutors? Mueller people? Who cut and ran after being exposed for recommending a ridiculous nine year prison sentence to a man that got caught up an investigation that was illegal, the Mueller scam, and shouldn't ever even have started. Thirteen angry Democrats?

Now, this whole episode is stoking more fears of an emboldened president, further unleashed after his acquittal in the impeachment trial. In New Hampshire, Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), 2020 U.S. DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: On a day where career prosecutors showed more backbone than almost every Republican Senator standing up to this president, Americans of all political strikes are gravely concerned about the corruption of a Trump Justice Department that abandons the rule of law, to give sweetheart deals to criminals who commit their crimes on behalf of Donald Trump. And yes, Roger Stone, I am looking at you.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERS)

[03:45:10]

CHURCH: On Tuesday, President Trump also abruptly revoked a treasury nomination for the former U.S. Attorney who had supervised Roger Stone's prosecution.

And when we come back, Donald Trump's so-called deal of the century gets trashed, as the Palestinian leader takes his complaints about the Middle East peace plan to United Nations. We'll be back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The U.S. is trying to work at a peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan that could pave the way for the withdrawal of thousands of American troops. U.S. Defense officials tell CNN the Trump administration hopes to announce an agreement as soon as this week. One obstacle, though, it's not clear if all Taliban fighters across Afghanistan would adhere to the terms. But the Afghan president says he has been told by U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, that there has been notable progress in the ongoing talks in Qatar.

Well, Palestinian authority president has a message for Donald Trump. In a speech to the U.N. Security Council, Mahmoud Abbas denounced everything about the U.S. President's new Middle East peace plan. CNN's Richard Roth has more now from the U.N.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Palestinian authority leader Mahmoud Abbas came to the U.N. Security Council table looking for international support against President Trump's new Middle East peace plan. The so-called deal of the century. Abbas came, despite the Security Council blocking and dropping a proposed resolution that would have criticized Trump's plan.

Abbas said he does not understand who is advising President Trump when the U.S. closed the Palestinian Liberation office, move the capital to Jerusalem. He said that's not the President Trump I know, and he had this message.

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT (TRANSLATOR): I would like to say to Mr. Donald Trump, the proposed American deal cannot achieve peace and security, because it cancels international legitimacy. Who can cancel international legitimacy? President Trump did.

ROTH: There was a lot of venting by Abbas, but he said the Palestinians would not resort to violence or terrorism. He was trying to throw a lifeline out there that the Palestinians want to negotiate, but they just can't seem to get anywhere with Israel or the United States. The Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon questioned why Abbas came to New York.

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: President Abbas is not serious about negotiations or about peace. Instead, he did what he always does. He came here to distract from his unwillingness to negotiate, to sit down, to speak.

ROTH: The Israeli envoy said the country must move on from President Abbas and appeared to say that it is time for the next generation.

[03:50:02]

Likewise, the Palestinian authority leader said he can't deal with Netanyahu of Israel, and probably indicated that perhaps the new election might bring generals and politicians who are now willing to come back to the negotiating table with Israel.

Later, Abbas met with a former Israeli Prime Minister in a news conference in a nearby hotel, pledging calls for peace and that there is room for negotiations. But then we heard a lot of words about the Middle East at the U.N. before. Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, the music world is mourning a man whose messages of unity and love touched audiences worldwide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joseph Shabalala was the founder of South African acapella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In a statement, the Grammy winning group said, quote, through your music and the millions who you came in contact with, you shall live forever. Joseph Shabalala was 78 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, the world's biggest smartphone maker is taking a second crack at a foldable phone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are changing the shape of the future with the Galaxy Z-flip. When it is closed it is a thing of beauty, it is smooth, and sleek and symmetrical. At half its full size, it fits right in my palm and snugly in my pocket. And the cover display shows me all the information I might need, at a glance. When I am ready to use it, all I have to do is flick it open, and then I get a full sized, 6.7 inch screen with hardly any metal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And that is Samsung's big unveiling Tuesday in San Francisco, the Galaxy Z-flip is Samsung's second folding smartphone, it's first attempt, the Galaxy Fold had problems with cracking screens. Tech analysts Bob O'Donnell, says that the new clam shell design is an improvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB O'DONNELL, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF ANALYST, TECHANALYSIS RESEARCH: The critical thing with the Galaxy Z-flip is it has got to work reliably. It's got to avoid any potential problems like we have the first edition of the Fold. I think Fold is our exciting new category. They are totally different. They drive you to use your phone in very different ways. And I think people are actually going to really like it. They are not going to like the price point, and that is a challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Yes, speaking of price, the new Z-flip ranges from about $1000 dollars to nearly 1400. And that is not cheaper than Samsung's first try with the Galaxy Fold.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is widely known for wearing and giving out hats bearing the slogan Make America Great Again, now they are being used for the opposite of what they're intended to do. Here's our Jeanne Moos with more on that.

[03:55:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Who knew that Make America Great Again hat could be a protective device. Larry David new. In a scene tweeted out, by President Trump, Larry cuts off a biker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (BEEP) you're doing? What the (BEEP) you're doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God. MOOS: (Inaudible), of profanity, Larry reaches for a MAGA hat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You little (BEEP).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. I didn't see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be more careful next time, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will do.

MOOS: Turning the biker into a pussycat, the fact that President Trump tweeted this prompted fans to say, so refreshing to have a leader with a grand sense of humor, while critics lashed out it's a joke on you, idiot. It's not in favor of you. About five minutes after that scene, came one President Trump didn't tweet, one that wasn't a feather in his cap, the hat has come in handy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great people repellent.

MOOS: Larry uses it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Bill. Good to see you.

MOOS: The cut short lunch he did not want to have in the first place. This is L.A., where the rarely cited MAGA hat might be a magnet for dirty looks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no -- will -- something.

MOOS: At a sushi bar, it keeps the empty seat beside him unoccupied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what actually, I think we prefer to sit at the table, please.

MOOS: In a real interview, Larry David was asked if he's worried about alienating MAGA hat wearing fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go and alienate, you have my blessing. No, I don't give a (BEEP).

MOOS: After all, this is a guy who has been playing Bernie Sanders on SNL for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh Hillary, I will miss that lack of charm.

MOOS: No one would expect him to be charming to President Trump when it comes to controversy. It seems like this never gets old hat.

TRUMP: It is the hottest thing out there.

MOOS: Oh, it's hot all right. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Larry David having a bit of fun there, thanks so much for

your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Early Start is up next, have yourself a great day.

END