Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Coronavirus Outbreak: Hundreds of Americans to Evacuate Cruise Ship; Trump Looks to Reward Loyalists after Impeachment Trial; U.S. and Taliban Agree to Violence Reduction Proposal; Pelosi Leads U.S. Congressional Delegation in Germany; America's Choice 2020; NBA All- Star Tribute. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired February 16, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Heading for home: some Americans on that quarantined cruise ship are expected to go ashore in the coming hours but they will also face a new quarantine. We'll have that on a live report.
Also, Ukraine's future: the country's president talks with Christiane Amanpour about his relationship with the United States and Donald Trump.
Plus, honoring Kobe Bryant's memory: how the NBA and fans are paying tribute this weekend to the basketball great and his daughter. It's all ahead here this hour.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to our viewers around the world. We're live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Thank you again for joining us.
Our top story here: hundreds of Americans quarantined for the past 12 days aboard a cruise ship in Japan are about to fly home. Buses will soon take them to the airport to get on at least one chartered jet back to the U.S. and not a moment too soon.
The Diamond Princess confirmed another 70 cases of the novel coronavirus on board. This is live video of the cruise ship in Japan, where it's 6:00 pm there. Americans on the ship who are not infected or showing symptoms will be allowed to fly to the U.S.
Canada is also making plans to get its citizens off the ship as well. Our Will Ripley is standing by there in Yokohama, Japan, to bring us the latest.
This must be something quite welcomed by these passengers who have been stuck there, Will.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Natalie. It certainly is welcome to some of them who have been lobbying to get off this boat ever since this quarantine began nearly two weeks ago.
We counted seven buses within the last hour, rolling in there, parked alongside the Diamond Princess. They are expected to take passengers who choose to get off the ship. It is a choice, even though the U.S. government is strongly encouraging people to get off.
If you look at the numbers, they have been going up every single day: 70 cases confirmed today, 65 plus yesterday. Out of Japan's 407 cases they are treating, 356 are tied to that cruise ship.
Yet there are also some Americans who wanted to get on the flight but found out, Natalie, they can't.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (voice-over): For Americans under quarantine on the Diamond Princess, a knock on the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
(CROSSTALK)
RIPLEY (voice-over): A glimmer of hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So our purpose is to come if and check on a couple of the passengers. We'll be looking at all the Americans over the next couple of days.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Infectious disease doctors from the U.S. checking every American on the ship.
Ken Frasure from Oregon has someone else on his mind.
KEN FRASURE, OREGON RESIDENT: Are you also checking those Americans in the hospitals?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
K. FRASURE: Yes, my wife is in one of the hospitals.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Frasure's wife, Rebecca, tested positive for novel coronavirus last week. Each day apart feels like a week.
RIPLEY: We are back at the quarantine hospital in Tokyo, where Rebecca Frasure is.
REBECCA FRASURE, QUARANTINED PATIENT: Hello.
RIPLEY (voice-over): She still has no symptoms of the virus. In fact, she's feeling great. They just learned of a plan to evacuate Americans on U.S. government charter flights.
R. FRASURE: So I'm hopeful that myself and my husband can hopefully get on that plane.
RIPLEY (voice-over): She's not bothered by the prospect of yet another 14-day quarantine in the U.S. At least she'll be with her husband. At least that's what she thought.
RIPLEY: So what happened right after we left the hospital?
R. FRASURE: The doctor came in, not even 10 minutes later. I also got my test results back and they were positive still.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A positive result means she cannot get on that flight.
RIPLEY: I'm so sorry.
R. FRASURE: It's devastating.
RIPLEY: I'm so sorry.
R. FRASURE: It was like a punch in the gut. I was so sure that this was going to come out negative. I was so sure.
RIPLEY: So you get this news you will still be separated for the foreseeable --
R. FRASURE: It was devastating. It really was. We had a pretty clear picture on our minds what was going to happen and it got shot to hell.
[04:05:00]
RIPLEY (voice-over): The Frasures' holiday from hell now has no end in sight.
K. FRASURE: It makes things really tough. Today was looking really good. We were getting excited. We might be going home. Hours after that, it's back down, worse than what we were before. It is basically an unknown until she can test negative.
RIPLEY (voice-over): When the other Americans board the charter flights home, the Frasures have no choice but to stay behind, waiting for the day their good news will finally come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: Americans who wanted to get off the ship were spending the day packing their belongings. But when the infectious disease doctors knocked on Kent Frasure's door, he had to tell them thanks but no thanks. I'm going to stay behind here in Tokyo to be with my wife.
You can imagine how difficult that must have been in one sense although for him, there was never any question. He wasn't going to go without her.
When he asked what's the plan for the rest of us, because remember there are 40 Americans who tested positive. All their family members as well, many of them remaining here. The answer they got, they just don't know. They don't have a plan yet.
ALLEN: I cannot imagine what they are going through. We appreciate that report so much, Will Ripley in Yokohama. See you again, Will. An elderly Chinese man has died of the coronavirus while visiting France. This is the first death from the virus in Europe. He arrived from Hubei province in mid-January. He was hospitalized in Paris and had been kept in isolation. CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was an 80 year old Chinese tourist who had been hospitalized in north of Paris since the 25th of January. French health authorities are saying his health deteriorated very quickly.
Today he became the first person outside of Asia, the first person in Europe, to die from the coronavirus.
Here in Europe, there have been dozens of cases, nothing like the emergency we're seeing over in Asia, nothing like the number of cases or the speed of the spread here in France. For instance, 11 cases with six people still hospitalized.
Many concerns about how Europe is going to prevent the spread. One of the problems Europeans face is that public health is simply not coordinated at the European level. So although the internal borders of Europe are open, these questions so far have been decided by national governments.
So European health ministers met on Thursday to try and figure out how they would deal with this particular issue. One of the things they're looking at is reinforcing the external borders of the European Union, looking to put public health policy at a European level for the first time.
Also problems or questions rather about potential supplies. First of all, pharmaceutical products, the active ingredients in Europe, are 80 percent brought from China. Then there's a question of protective gloves and masks, more than 50 percent of that comes from China as well.
Concerns about how Europe will face the epidemic should it continue to get worse. We heard today also from the head of the World Health Organization speaking in Munich about what the future is likely to hold.
Although he made it clear that it was very difficult to see what the actual trajectory of the epidemic was likely to be, he did reflect on the fact that, so far, we've seen countries like China, Japan, Western European countries, the United States dealing with the epidemic, with cases there.
Countries that have infrastructure, are well organized, who have good public health structures have been able to deal with it and contain it.
What if the virus was made to make its way to parts of the world that did not have that? His message was to see how difficult it is, how bad the epidemic could
be, the world should really be preparing for the worst -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: We are following this story so closely. You can always get the latest on our website at cnn.com.
A deal to reduce violence in Afghanistan is getting a thumbs up from the U.S. and the Taliban. We now have a clearer picture of what it will look like. We'll have more about it in a live report next.
Plus, Ukraine's president weighs in after the Trump impeachment trial. Why he says the controversy may actually help his country. That's coming up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:10:00]
(WORLD SPORTS)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States. I'm Natalie Allen and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Our top story right now: hundreds of Americans quarantined for the past 12 days aboard a cruise ship in Japan are about to fly home. Buses have arrived and they will soon take them to the airport to get on at least one charter jet back to the U.S. and not a moment too soon.
The Diamond Princess has confirmed another 70 cases of the novel coronavirus on board that ship. Americans on the ship who are not infected or showing symptoms will be allowed to fly to the United States.
Canada is also making plans to get its citizens off the ship. We'll go live to Yokohama with more on this developing story in just a moment.
First, we turn to U.S. politics. President Trump is rewarding loyalists and cleaning house after his acquittal. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more about it from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On the week of his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, President Trump has grown only more emboldened. The president has been unapologetic of the behavior that even some Republican senators have said was problematic and even improper.
The president has continued to insist that his conduct was perfect. He has also been striking out at his enemies, both real and perceived.
[04:15:00]
DIAMOND: The president has exacted revenge even against some of the administration officials who testified about his behavior in those impeachment proceedings.
The lieutenant colonel, Alex Vindman, who was serving on the National Security Council, he was sent back to his previous job with the Army. The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who also testified, was dismissed from his ambassador post.
Now the president has also grown increasingly suspicious of those around him. The president seems to be retrenching himself, looking for loyalists who have his back and suspicious of those who might be leaking information about him. The president bringing back Hope Hicks, his longtime White House communications director, into the fold.
He's also put his longtime body man, Johnny McEntee, in charge of a key office, the presidential personnel office, putting him in charge of selecting personnel who will work in the White House and across the president's administration.
Of course, the key focus for the president right now will be on loyalty.
But even as impeachment is now in the rearview mirror, we are still seeing reverberations over in Ukraine, which, of course, was at the heart of the impeachment matter.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, telling our Christiane Amanpour a number of things about the president, talking in particular about the fact that Ukraine is no longer corrupt country and that he regrets the fact that the president continues to point to Ukraine as such.
He also says that he'd like to see a fresh start in U.S.-Ukraine relations. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF UKRAINE: I truly said, when I was producer, script writer and actor, I wanted to get Oscar. I wanted to be very popular in USA. Now I'm very popular in USA.
(LAUGHTER)
ZELENSKY: But I didn't want to find such way. But you know but if this wave will help Ukraine, I'm ready for next call with Mr. Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: So you can hear there Zelensky saying he is looking forward to either visiting President Trump in Washington or having the president come to visit him in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. But Zelensky also said he looks forward to having a phone call with
President Trump, that's at least his hope. Of course, Zelensky is also probably hoping that that phone call doesn't go quite like the one in July that sparked this impeachment inquiry -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Let's talk with Amy Pope, associate fellow at the international affairs think tank Chatham House and a former Homeland Security deputy adviser to President Obama.
Good morning, Amy.
AMY POPE, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning.
ALLEN: We just heard President Zelensky telling Christiane Amanpour he really wanted an Oscar from the United States and to be popular. He was an actor before becoming president.
What was your takeaway from his candid interview there?
POPE: Ukraine has been put in this impossible position where they have been at the heart of a very, very public and very, very decisive fight within the United States. That's not good for them. Ultimately Ukraine needs to be aligned with the United States, no matter who the president is.
And they're not in the business of choosing who the next president will be. They don't want to be in that business. They just want to make sure they have good relationships across the board with all branches of government. Ultimately, they need the support of the United States as they are confronted with what is a very real threat from Russia.
ALLEN: He even said he believes the controversy that Ukraine has been swept up in will help his country.
POPE: At least it draws attention to why his country is important. I don't think most Americans understand or appreciate what Ukraine means, what it has gone through over the last several years, how it is directly in the path of Russia.
It has been the subject of Russian aggression for some time. Because of its proximity and relationships with the rest of Europe, that is quite threatening to other countries in the region.
For the fact of educating the American public, for putting it in the spotlight, for making, for example, aid to the country a key issue, all of that is ultimately good for Ukraine.
ALLEN: Well, let's talk more now about President Trump's recent actions and words regarding his executive power. This week he said he had a right to interfere in legal proceedings, which he did with his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Roger Stone.
We know he fired three of the witnesses in the impeachment trial. He had a Navy SEAL accused of murder in the battlefield, reinstated.
Are there no meaningful checks on his executive power?
[04:20:00]
POPE: Well, that's really the question for the U.S. Congress at this moment. The U.S. Congress is meant to be the meaningful check on the president.
But as you saw in the last impeachment trial, we had Senate Republicans lining up behind the president, almost without regard to the evidence. They weren't even interested in hearing the evidence.
The reason that matters is every public servant in the United States takes an oath of office to the Constitution. Their oath is to the Constitution, it's not to the president himself.
So this notion of punishing people for lacking loyalty to the president is completely inconsistent with the views of the founders. And that's what the Congress should be worried about. That's what the American public should be worrying about. Hopefully that is something people will take into consideration as we approach the elections.
ALLEN: Also, we learned one of his closest advisers is returning, Hope Hicks coming back to work for Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is heading up the re-election bid.
Did anyone see that coming?
POPE: With this president, I'm not sure you could say credibly that you see anything coming. What we do see is he very much wants to have people who he trusts, who he believes supports him.
That's, of course, fair for any president. They want to have someone they can trust in the office. What's more troubling is that he is intolerant of people who question him, of people who put the country before the president. And that's what need to change and I'm not sure that it will.
ALLEN: Amy Pope, we appreciate your insights. Thanks for joining us.
POPE: Thank you.
ALLEN: Well, diplomats and world leaders are tackling the issue of international security right now at the Munich Security Conference, where we saw Mr. Zelensky there talking with Christiane Amanpour.
One topic garnering major attention is the war in Afghanistan; in particular, a reduction of violence agreement reached between the U.S. and the Taliban, which could take effect, we're told, very soon. CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Munich, covering this part of the story for us.
What is the latest on this, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We are still waiting to see when that reduction in violence will go into effect and when some of the key details about how to implement it are also hammered out.
That's the concern, if you will, of the Afghan government. The way the talks are structured in Qatar between the U.S. and the Taliban is that it's just those two parties at the table. It doesn't involve the Afghan government.
So here in Munich, Afghan government officials, the president of Afghanistan, has met with Mark Esper, with President Trump's point person on negotiating with the Taliban.
And the view from the Afghan government is quite simply this: absolutely they support the United States. The U.S. said they will support Afghanistan. This is not about the United States walking away from Afghanistan once he gets the deal with the Taliban.
But the Afghan government wants more details on how to implement this reduction in violence. If you have a car bomb go off somewhere and that's the Taliban car bomb, who gets to decide and how will they decide if that was a rogue element of the Taliban or the Taliban acting under central command?
Or what if they set up a checkpoint near an Afghan army checkpoint?
How does that get deconflicted?
All of these granular details have to be worked out. So when the plan goes into effect, the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says this is an opportunity to give a political space for further dialogue and a long- term movement or hope aspiration to get to a more solid, lasting peace deal.
The aspiration is there. But when is the starting, in terms of a reduction in violence begins, that precisely isn't clear yet.
ALLEN: At what point in this process, Nic, will we see American troops pull back?
What's got to happen for that threshold?
Because that's something that President Trump wants to see.
ROBERTSON: I think the timelines and how it will work are a concept, there's a plan. but you know, we have yet to see that come into effect.
What I will describe now may change. But what is expected is there will be this pre-reduction in violence, then a reduction in violence, then a signing ceremony of some sort. That window we're talking about would be perhaps five weeks. Then you would get to sort of a longer phase of sort of post-signing but still in this reduction of violence phase.
[04:25:00] ROBERTSON: If that phase were successful, then you would get to a full-blown cease-fire. After that, potentially you could see a reduction in U.S. forces. It was told to me that could be about 14 months away. At that point you would see a significant reduction in U.S. forces, military forces.
But you would see an increase in CIA capacity, specifically focused on counterterrorism. And the Afghans would be expecting support from the United States on building their air transport capacity, on building greater numbers of Afghan commando forces and counterterrorism units with police.
Because that would be, if there were a cease-fire that lasted with the Taliban, that would be the main focus because, under that environment, the Taliban would have had to have agreed and would be providing actual intelligence about where Al Qaeda is inside Afghanistan.
Remember that the U.S. forces initially went into Afghanistan almost 20 years ago now. That will be part of the deal with the Taliban. Again, there's a plan. It's yet to actually begin. It's a big aspiration at the moment.
ALLEN: Absolutely. Your answer certainly illustrates that for sure. Thank you so much. Nic Robertson in Munich for us.
Twelve days cooped up on a cruise ship. About to come to an end for some American passengers. We'll go live to Yokohama, Japan, and talk about what's next and what's happening now.
And how Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna are being remembered at this weekend's All-Star game.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen with our top stories.
(HEADLINES)
ALLEN: At least 46 Americans who have tested positive for the virus will not be allowed on the plane back to the U.S. and some of those who will be on the flight may not be thrilled about what awaits them when they land. Let's bring in Will Ripley in Yokohama.
Something about the word quarantine they will be really tired of, Will.
RIPLEY: Absolutely, Natalie. Imagine if you're these passengers and all this time you have been told, once you get through the 14-day quarantine, you can get off the ship, get on a flight and go back home.
And then the U.S. will come to the rescue and you will disembark early, which is welcome news for the Americans, until they learn they will have to fly to California and quarantine for 14 days there. Some will move on to South Texas and quarantine for 14 days there.
So the ordeal, one ordeal ends here in Japan; another begins in the United States. Some are trying to put a positive spin on it, saying they will be in their home country with doctors they can more easily communicate with. They can eat some more familiar food.
Others are furious. They have jobs to go back to. They miss their pets. All the things in their lives that have been essentially on hold will have to be on hold another two weeks.
This is a step the United States government is strongly encouraging passengers to take. They think people who remain on the ship are at higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus.
We know infectious disease doctors have been testing all Americans on board, around 400 of them. Those who elect to go on the flight have been told to pack their bags. They have probably done that by now. They have been knocking on people's cabin doors, telling them to dress in layers, bring water, snacks, belongings and they will load them onto buses outside the Diamond Princess. We counted seven.
They are expected to drive 17 kilometers to Haneda Airport. Those converted cargo planes are waiting there. It will not be a cushy first class flight home. They don't have windows. This is bare bones. But it is to get them out of what they believe is an unsafe environment to a more controlled environment and one step closer to going home.
For some of the Americans who cannot get on the flight, 46 who tested positive for coronavirus, they will still be staying on the ship and remaining here at hospitals in Japan, waiting to learn what will happen to them.
We know when Ken Frasure, an American from Oregon, his wife, Rebecca, is in the hospital. We have been following their story for a week now. When he asked the doctors what are the plans for the Americans who remain, he was told they simply don't know.
They will deal with getting the larger group of Americans off the ship and onto the planes now and then come up with a plan for the remaining Americans later.
ALLEN: Such a complex story and so many thousands of people affected there.
It's just surreal, isn't it?
Will Ripley in Yokohama. Will, thanks so much.
We want to take you now to the Security Conference ongoing in Munich, Germany. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is there, holding a news conference with other members of a congressional delegation. Here's what she's been telling the delegates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: They'll hear from my colleagues as their impressions of this meeting and the usefulness of those bilateral meetings.
But it is, again, an honor to always honor Senator John McCain, again, a hero to our country. And that was part of our -- that's how we started this visit, in honoring him.
[04:35:00]
PELOSI: With that, I'm pleased to yield to Adam Schiff, the chair of the Intelligence Committee, a leader in this delegation -- Mr. Schiff.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning. I'm Adam Schiff from California. It's a pleasure to be with you and part of such a large bipartisan delegation from Congress.
This is now the fourth year I have had an opportunity to participate and to see once again the strong bipartisan support in Congress for the transatlantic relationship. Our presence is a demonstration of that bedrock commitment.
This was a great opportunity at this preeminent national security conference to meet with our friends and allies and partners around the world and discuss multilateral solutions to the challenges we face. And there are a great many.
There is the existential threat of climate change we had an opportunity to talk to our partners about. But there are also profound ideological challenges. We see around the globe a real rise of autocracy, challenging the very nature of democratic ideals, rule and human rights.
It was an important opportunity to once again get together with our most important partners here in Europe to discuss a strategy to meet this rise of autocracy around the world. So very proud to be here with my colleagues, to underscore just how important this transatlantic relationship is, to underscore our unwavering commitment to NATO and to working with our partners here in Europe. Thank you.
REP. SUSAN DAVIS (D): Good morning. I'm Susan Davis. I'm a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. My focus in talking to you is just to focus on Afghanistan, which, as you know, is of great concern to our country and their future.
I have had an opportunity to travel on many occasions to meet with our troops, our allies, our friends there also working hard for a better future for Afghanistan. And to see the progress for Afghanistan, for women and girls, particularly in education and in every aspect of civil life.
I'm hopeful that, as we move forward right now, we will see the opportunity, a full opportunity for women to show their agency, their influence in the decision-making for Afghanistan. We know that that's possible. And we have had a big push to be able to do that. Thank you very much for your attention.
REP. STEVE LYNCH: Hi. Steve Lynch. I'm the chair of the National Security Subcommittee on Oversight in the House of Representatives. It is an honor for me to be, again, with Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues.
We have almost 50 members of House and Senate who have come to join in the proceedings here at the Munich Security Conference. And I'm hopeful in addition to recognizing and honoring the memory and the legacy of Senator John McCain, that our presence here during this conference was really a signal and a clarion call to our colleagues and democracies across Europe, to declare that democracy is under attack.
And that we need to work harder on our alliances. We need to be better partners. We need to be firm in our commitments to one another on security and on democracy. The very elections that provide the structure of our democracies at home are under assault.
And the only way we will survive is if we survive together in a collective fashion against the enemies that would like to see us diminished in democratic rights and the rights of our citizens as well. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: All right. A live news conference there, that members of the bipartisan delegation that's there, representing the United States, some 50 members of the U.S. Congress at the Munich Security Conference, we'll continue to monitor the goings-on there.
We turn to election 2020. Early voting under way in the state of Nevada.
Who has the momentum, what are the candidates saying and who are they attacking?
Plus, we find out how fans and players are honoring Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Welcome back.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is calling out fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, wanting him to do more in condemning what Biden calls malicious online supporters. Biden made the remarks after an onslaught of online attacks on the
Nevada Culinary Workers Union after they criticized Bernie Sanders' health care plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The stuff that was said online, the way they threatened these two women, who are leaders in that culinary union, it is outrageous.
Just go online. I invite anybody to go and take a look at the things they said, the vicious, malicious, misogynistic things they said, the threats they put out.
And to say I disassociate is one thing. Find out who the hell they are. Many of them work for me. Fire them, find out, see what's going on.
CHUCK TODD, NBC HOST (voice-over): You don't think he's been curious enough?
BIDEN: I'm hoping he's looking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Sanders passed out his own criticism, going after billionaire former mayor of New York City and candidate Mike Bloomberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Regardless of how much money a multibillionaire candidate is willing to spend on his election, we will not create the energy and excitement we need to defeat Donald Trump if that candidate pursued, advocated for and enacted racist policies, like stop and frisk, which caused communities of color in his city to live in fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Elizabeth Warren took the stage Saturday night in an event in Los Angeles and touted her experience as a teacher and fighter for the middle class and said she's determined not to let a cold stop her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is, after more than 100,000 selfies, I picked up somebody's cold. The good news is, nevertheless, she persists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: She is. Senator Amy Klobuchar is also campaigning hard in the state.
[04:45:00] ALLEN: She's looking to continue from her strong showing in the New Hampshire primary. CNN's Kyung Lah was at a packed Klobuchar rally in Las Vegas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: One week to the Nevada caucuses and if this room is any indication, interest is at least somewhat high. This is the room awaiting for the rally for Amy Klobuchar. She is considered somebody who hasn't had a lot of presence in Nevada, hasn't had the infrastructure.
But this is the room that will greet her for her second rally of the day, one week before the caucuses. And the other candidates are also up and about. All the Democratic candidates will be in Nevada at some point today.
Joe Biden had a morning event. He was in Las Vegas after that fifth place finish in New Hampshire. He is looking to turn his chances around. Bernie Sanders was campaigning in Carson City. He is widely considered the front-runner in the state. A lot of people saying they will indeed caucus for him. He is trying to maintain that status.
Elizabeth Warren has also been out at a community event in Las Vegas. She put a call out to her grassroots donors, asking for money and announced she raised $1 million.
As far as Amy Klobuchar, senator from Minnesota, she is someone who says she is still an underdog. She did beat expectations in New Hampshire with that third place finish. Here's what she said at her rally this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just on this step by step by step. When you think of where I came from, there were a lot of people who didn't think I was going to make it through that speech in the middle of a blizzard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: One week to the caucuses. But today is the first day of early voting. There will be four days of early voting -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: A footnote, the lines were very long in the early voting, some for hours. We will get into that aspect of the story in our next hour.
Well, for the second weekend in a row, a major storm is battering the United Kingdom.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ALLEN: NBA stars are honoring one of their own this weekend. How players and fans are playing contributory duty to the late great basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(WORLD SPORTS)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: The National Basketball Association is honoring the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, at its All-Star weekend in Chicago.
On Saturday night, crowds were asked to cheer for 24.2 seconds, symbolizing the numbers on their basketball jerseys. And the NBA bestowed another honor on Bryant. They are permanently renaming the award for the All-Star games' Most Valuable Player for Bryant. CNN's Andy Scholes has more on these tributes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What this entire weekend is really about paying tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, and late NBA commissioner David Stern.
When the festivities got going on Friday night, they paid a video driven for all of them before the Rising Stars game. And then Kobe's former teammate, good friend, Spanish legend, Pau Gasol, along with WMBA star Sue Byrd, they came out to center court and spoke about what Kobe meant to the game of basketball.
Fans in attendance all started chanting Kobe's name. And All-Stars players met with the media on Saturday. And I asked Giannis Antetokounmpo about what Kobe meant to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: He was there.
[04:55:00]
ANTETOKOUNMPO: But he was one of those guys that, you know, gave back to the game so much, gave back to the players. A lot of people, when they're so great, they don't do that. You know, and there was a quote that said that talent is worthless without (INAUDIBLE). But I -- and he was one of those guys that was steady (INAUDIBLE) with us. And he's going to be definitely missed.
LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: For to be able to honor Kobe Bryant and his legacy and, you know, it's just a beautiful time. You know, it's a beautiful time. Even in loss, it's a beautiful time. So just happy to be a part of this weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: LeBron making his 16th appearance in the All-Star game. The tributes for Kobe will continue throughout the weekend on Sunday. Jennifer Hudson will be doing a musical tribute to Kobe, Gigi and the seven others who lost their lives in the helicopter crash.
And when the game tips off, Team LeBron will all be wearing Gigi's number 2 on their jerseys while Team Giannis will be wearing Kobe's number 24.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Andy Scholes for us there.
Thank you for watching this hour. I'm Natalie Allen. I'll have another hour of CNN NEWSROOM beginning with our top stories after this.
