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Passengers Still Disembarking from Cruise Ship in Japan; Nine Killed in Germany in 'Deeply Racist' Attack; Intel Officials Warn of Russian Interference in 2020 Election; Democratic Candidates Trade Shots at Debate; Scotland Yard: Mosque Attack Not Treated as Terrorism. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 21, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Studio Seven at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.

[00:00:25]

Ahead this hour, 20 times more deadly than the flu and continuing to spread. The number of confirmed coronavirus patients in South Korea triples in just days.

Germany warns of the poison of far-right extremism after a killing spree nearing Frankfort leaves nine dead for no other reason, it seems, then deeply-held racist beliefs of the gunman.

And they're at it again, Russians at election interference. And while U.S. intelligence officials brief Congress, best not to tell President Trump. It upsets him so.

Chinese officials continue to insist that their strategy to contain the novel coronavirus is working, but still the death toll and the number of new cases continues to climb, especially in Hubei province.

In the six weeks since the first death was reported, more than 2200 people have now died. Eleven of those deaths are outside of mainland China.

China says 118 people died of the disease just on Thursday. The vast majority of them, 115, were in Hubei province.

And the virus continues to spread. There are now more than 76,000 cases worldwide. Again, most of them, 75,000, are in mainland China; and 80 percent in Hubei province.

But there are confirmed cases as far away as Canada, Australia, the U.S., and Britain. And there's been a notable spike in new cases in South Korea. The number of infections there has tripled in just a few days to more than 150.

Japan has more than 700 cases of the virus. That's mostly because of the big number of infections on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is in Yokohama. As a precaution, U.S. health officials have now issued a level one warning about travel to Japan, urging the usual safeguards like avoiding sick people and often washing hands.

CNN's Blake Essig is in Yokohama right now. So Blake, this disembarkment process from that cruise ship seems to be taking an incredibly long time. The first load of patients, the Americans, were out of there on Monday. What, we're now on day five. Why is this taking so long? And when do they think it will be over?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, John, on Wednesday, we were told that there was going to be, essentially, it was going to take three days for them to disembark all of the passengers on board this ship. That has proven to be more challenging than originally thought.

And part of the reason for that has been because of what the Japan health ministry has actually come out and said today, is that anybody who has come into contact with somebody who's tested positive, whether or not those passengers currently on the ship have tested negative for the virus, those people will have to have their clock reset. And essentially, those people will either have to remain on the ship or move to a government facility until their 14-day quarantine is up.

We were actually down at the dock today, a couple hundred meters from the cruise ship, watching passengers disembarking. Passengers from Hong Kong, they were getting onto buses and then heading to the airport in order to go back to Hong Kong, where they will then have to undergo a 14-day quarantine of their own.

And again, John, that is the whole problem with what's been going on. People calling into question the effectiveness of this quarantine. We've seen passengers for days and days continue to develop symptoms and cases confirmed, which has led to a lot of uncertainty. And again, the fact that this could go on for a very long time.

VAUSE: There has been so much criticism, though, of that quarantine, whether it was from passengers on board the ship or whether it was from just independent scientists or doctors within Japan. Have we actually heard any response now from the Japanese government? How are they justifying what took place?

ESSIG: You know, John, when it comes to infectious disease specialists or residents living here in Japan, there's been a lot -- a lot of concern and frustration. Take a listen to some of the people that we actually recently talked to, talking about how they feel about how this quarantine has played out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Japanese health ministry failed to deal with this problem. They didn't have a clear measure to tackle the outbreak of infectious diseases.

[00:05:05]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think the measure the government took made things worse, and the lack of information was an issue, as well. It was totally misjudged of the government; and thousands of people were trapped in a small space, quarantined for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: And John, the -- you know, Japan has come out and defended -- defended the way that they've handled this whole situation. And in fact, in order to kind of back up their -- the quarantine that they've put in place, a Japanese research institute actually recently released a report that said that, once the quarantine was put in place on February 5, only two days later, when it comes to the passengers, that is when the spike of confirmed cases hit.

And from that point, it went all the way down to zero. When it comes to the crew members, that same report says that the crew member cases continued to spike until February 13. So again, when you talk about the effectiveness of this -- of this quarantine, really, there's a lot of uncertainty as to -- as to how it's all played out and what the future holds.

VAUSE: Yes, Blake, thank you for the update. We appreciate that. Blake Essig there in Yokohama Japan.

Germany is once again being confronted by the rise of far-right extremism and the horrific end result of that hate: nine people gunned down in a mass shooting near Frankfort. The victims all had migrant backgrounds, but some were born in Germany. They were citizens. But that apparently meant nothing to the gunman who prosecutors say had deep-rooted racist views.

CNN's Melissa Bell reports now from where the rampage took place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mohammed first heard rounds of gunfire. Then he saw a man entering the bar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He shot straight to the head of everyone he saw. He laid down, and then he fired at all of us. I hid behind the wall. As I was moving to hide, he shot me in the arm. I laid on somebody. Somebody laid on me. Then somebody else laid on him. We became a pile.

BELL: This is the man now identified as 43-year-old Tobias R., who police say shot nine people and wounded six others in two shisha bars in Hanau on Wednesday night. The diverse community in the heart of Hanau is shocked by the attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a massacre, a killing spree. There was blood everywhere and people laying on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the young guys took a bullet in the shoulder, but he was taken to the hospital, and he made it out. He managed to escape.

BELL: The police tracked the suspected gunman's vehicle to his apartment shortly afterwards. He, along with his mother, were found dead, a gun by his side. Investigators are treating the massacre as an act of terror.

Prosecutors say the attacker's home page hosted videos to spread deeply racist ideas and conspiracy theories.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): There are many indications at the moment that the perpetrator acted on right-wing, extremist, racist motives, out of hatred towards people of other origins, religion, or appearance.

BELL: The bloodshed cast Germany into mourning, with condemnations coming from around the world.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe that the German authorities will make every necessary effort to throw light on all aspects of the attack.

BELL: French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that he supported Merkel "in the fight for our values and the protection of our democracies."

Germany's far-right extremism is on the rise. Only last week, a dozen people were arrested, suspected of having been plotting large-scale attacks on mosques.

MERKEL (through translator): Racism is a poison. Hatred is a poison. And this poison exists in our society. And it is to blame for already far too many crimes.

BELL (on camera): This isn't just the German political class that have come out and condemned what happened in Hanau on Wednesday night, but also ordinary residents, ordinary Germans who have come out and with a great deal of emotion this evening, attended this video that has turned into something of a demonstration, a demonstration against racism and these sorts of attacks.

This is the third far-right attack in the country in less than a year that we've been seeing happen over and over again. This, they're saying, with their placards and their candles and their words here tonight, is not the Germany that we know. It is not the Germany that we love.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Hanau.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Randy Blazak joins us now. He is the chairman of the Oregon Coalition Against Hate.

So thank you for being with us, sir. One element to this story which seems notable is where the shootings took place. It's a region which is proud of its diversity. It's home not necessarily to new arrivals from Syria or other asylum seekers, but German citizens born in Germany to migrant parents, if you like.

This guy was after these people because they are migrants. He has a very narrow definition of who a true German is and who is not. [00:10:05]

RANDY BLAZAK, CHAIRMAN, OREGON COALITION AGAINST HATE: Yes, but there is a common pattern of these attacks that we've seen globally, including in Christchurch and in the United States and in places like El Paso. There is a movement against globalization, a movement that sees nation identities eroding through immigration.

And so there is this sort of conspiracy theory that there's this evil plot to undermine the national identity of nations through immigration. And so these folks are engaged in what they see as a national struggle against the erosion of their whiteness within their own countries. And so that's the common thread that really pulls these attacks together.

VAUSE: So just explain: how far back do you have to go before you're -- you know, you're allowed to be a citizen of a country? You know, part of the group?

BLAZAK: Sure, sure. I mean, we create these mythologies about our national identities that are often tied to race and tied to ethnicity.

There's also an element here that has to be spoken about, which is the intersection with the mental health issues that are clear in this case. And, you know, we have to say that most people with mental illness are less violent than the general population.

But there is sort of this overlap, like a Venn diagram, where people who are experiencing sociopathy and especially schizophrenic episodes, where they feel the world is sort of too chaotic; and they're looking for a very close-knit world view that everything makes sense, everything is black and white.

And when white males find themselves in this world, it's a world that sort of speaks to them, and it gives them an action plan on how to save their world. And so violence becomes a part of this.

So there's this dangerous overlap between these two kind of processes of nationalization and people with really serious mental health needs that (AUDIO GAP)

VAUSE: We're having a few issues here with the audio, but stay with us, Randy, because there have been vigils held in more than 50 cities across Germany. And the country's president has spoken of the need for unity. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, GERMAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are not being separated. We mourn in unity against hatred, racism, and violence. I am on the side of people who are threatened by hate and violence. And together, we stand side by side against violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, over and over again, the politicians, for the most part, say the right thing, but the reality is since 2015, the number of hate crimes in Germany has increased, more than doubling from 336 in 2016 to 2017, if you look at those numbers. Is there an easy explanation here? Why was there such a huge jump from 2016 to 2017?

BLAZAK: We've seen a similar pattern here in the United States, where we've seen an increase over the last three years, an increase in hate crimes. And there is, again, the sense that the world that these folks know is changing radically. It's becoming more diverse. It's becoming more inclusive. It's more gender non-binary.

And so there is this idea of romanticizing the past. They want to go back to the past, this romantic notion of the way things used to be.

And I've interviewed neo-Nazis in Germany in the early 1990s when I was first doing this work. And those people had a real clear vision of what they wanted their country to be like. And they saw a sort of momentary interruption from the reign of Hitler to the modern era of the neo-Nazi. And this is a continuation of that goal to make Germany great again, in their mind.

VAUSE: Well, having said all of that, mass shootings in Germany are still relatively rare. Germany has very tough gun laws. So while there is intolerance and racism and bigotry which is spiking, you know, the last time there was a mass shooting, I think, it was in 2016. Is that, essentially, much of that because of the country's gun laws?

BLAZAK: Well, the gun laws, you know, give them an added piece of their conspiracy theories that there is an attempt to take away their right to defend themselves and the right to protect themselves from, quote unquote, "invading armies of immigrants."

So the gun laws feed into the conspiratorial narrative.

VAUSE: And Randy, I think we'll leave you there. I think our time is up as far as the connection goes. Having a bit of trouble technically. But thank you so much for being with us.

Randy Blazak there in Portland, Oregon. We appreciate it. Thank you.

BLAZAK: Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break. And the latest U.S. intelligence is warning Russia already meddling in the coming election to help President Trump. And after a briefing from lawmakers, Trump lashes out, not at Russia, but at his own intelligence chief, who's forced out.

Plus, political adviser and friend of Trump, Roger Stone, heading to jail. Maybe, but will he get a presidential pardon?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:17:20]

VAUSE: Voters headed to the polls about an hour ago in Iran to elect a new parliament. Increased tensions, though, between Iran and the United States could play a role in the final outcome.

Hardliners and anti-U.S. candidates are expected to take the majority of seats against reformers supporting the policies of President Hassan Rouhani. The moderates seem set for major losses, not just because Rouhani is under fire but because many of their candidates have been prevented from running.

Once again, U.S. intelligence officials are sounding the alarm about Russia meddled in a U.S. election. Three sources tell CNN intelligence officials warned lawmakers last week that Russia is already taking steps to ensure President Donald Trump wins a second term. It's almost like a replay of 2016.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've now learned that there was an intelligence briefing last week with lawmakers on Capitol Hill behind closed doors and in a classified setting where a top election security official warned lawmakers that Russia is expected to try to intervene in the 2020 elections and that they are looking to favor President Trump to get reelected.

Now, we are told by sources that House Republicans grew angry during this briefing and that when the president later learned about it, he did, as well, fearing essentially, that the Democrats in the room would try to weaponize this information against him. Namely pointing out to the House intelligence chairman, Adam Schiff, who was in the room. And of course, the president has feuded with ever since his committee was leading that impeachment inquiry against the president.

We're told that this led to a meeting last week the day after that briefing with lawmakers where the president blew up on his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, someone who up until that time had widely been seen by many other officials are someone who was expected to be nominated to the top job.

But of course, now we saw yesterday and in the day since then, the president has since then picked a loyalist, Rick Grenell, who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Germany, instead to take that position.

Now, we are being told by two administration officials that they believe the timing of this report on potential Russian interference and the president picking Rick Grenell to do the job is purely coincidental, though there are some people in the West Wing raising their eyebrows at this.

And of course, there are going to be questions going forward, if the president went to this kind of a measure, this great of a length to put a loyalist in the job because he was upset about what the intelligence was showing.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney Areva Martin joins me now from Los Angeles.

So Areva, it is good to see you. And we should start off by saying the president, this president, like every president, has every right to decide who does what in his administration. But here's how the former director of national intelligence summed up the fallout from Maguire's demise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:20:07]

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: It illustrates the tremendous challenge that the intelligence community has where they're teeing up facts that our president doesn't want to hear. And it -- with the result that the messenger got shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In other words, Maguire, the price he paid for doing his job is to be forced out and replaced with a yes-man who many wonder if he will actually give the right intelligence to the president.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, John, we're not totally surprised by what we're seeing by this president ever since he was acquitted in the Senate, after the impeachment trial. He has been on a tear. He's been purging those individuals who he believed had anything to do with the impeachment and, in this case, his acting security director who made the comments to Adam Schiff, who was in that meeting, he believes to be a threat to him and his reelection campaign in 2020.

So Donald Trump has shown that there are no limits. He believes that he has unlimited power. The Republican senators have pretty much given him free will to do whatever it is he pleases. And from the firing of Maguire to the conversation and repeated comments about pardoning Roger Stone. I just don't think there are any limits that this president believes applies to him at this point.

VAUSE: Well, you mentioned Roger Stone and, once again, the president commenting on the sentencing of his longtime political adviser and very good friend, Roger Stone. Trump made it clear he believes, firstly, Stone should never have been charged, and he did not get a fair trial. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The woman who was in charge of the jury is totally tainted. When you take a look, how can you have a person like this? She was a anti-Trump activist. Can you imagine this?

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: You know, Stone's lawyer made the same argument. It was thrown out because there's, I guess, no evidence. Regardless, is there a sense here the president is sort of plowing the field ahead of a presidential pardon for Stone, which again gets to the question, is there a justification for Stone receiving a presidential pardon?

MARTIN: None whatsoever when you look at what Roger Stone was convicted of, you look at what this president is doing, John. He not only attacked the juror, he attacked the judge, he attacked the entire judicial process.

And we have to remember what Roger Stone was convicted of. He was convicted of lying to Congress to cover up Donald Trump's involvement with WikiLeaks doing the Russian investigation that took place by Robert Mueller.

This all goes back to the 2016 election and the Russian meddling into that election. So not only did Roger Stone lie, he lied to protect the president; and then he intimidated a witness.

So to think that the president is going to pardon him because he is covering up a lie, or he covered up a lie for the president, really just strikes at the heart of what this -- our justice system in the U.S. is all about. Basically, if you are a friend of the president and you're willing to lie for the president, you will get a pass. That's the very dangerous message that Donald Trump is sending.

VAUSE: There's always been a two-tier justice system in the United States. Is there now a third one?

MARTIN: Absolutely. And the third one is -- here is the twist, John. We had the Justice Department, what I'll call justice one, filing a sentencing motion before the court, asking for that the judge follow the sentencing guidelines. Seven to nine years for Roger Stone.

And then you have Attorney General Barr intervene. There's a second motion or memo filed, asking for substantially less time for Roger Stone.

And then you have the lawyers from the Justice Department actually going into court saying, Your honor, well, we're kind of agreeing with the first, you know, sentencing memo that was filed.

So the entire Justice Department appears to be working at the behest of Donald Trump on behalf of his powers.

VAUSE: Well, we did hear from Judge Amy Berman, who was overseeing the case. And she delivered a lot more than a verdict when she sentenced Stone.

At one point, she said, "He wasn't prosecuted for standing up for the president. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president."

This was a 40-minute long defense of the rule of law. It was a rebuke of the president of the United States. She went on to say, "The dismay and the disgust at the attempt by others to defend Stone's actions as just business as usual in our polarized climate should transcend party. The dismay and the disgust with any attempts to interfere with the efforts of prosecutors and members of the judiciary to fulfill their duty should transcend party."

You almost never hear those kind of statements coming from the bench. So what does this say about where the judiciary is right now with Trump as president and Barr as attorney general?

MARTIN: They're under attack, John. We've never seen a president so blatantly attack our judicial system. Again, not just the jurors but the federal judge in this case.

[00:25:06]

He's tweeting about the judge. He's tweeting about the jurors in the case. And he's basically undermining the entire judicial process. So Barr said that he's not able to do his job because of Donald Trump's tweets. And what does Donald Trump do? He tweets even more.

So think about the judge in this case. She has all of this pressure from Trump and Trump loyalists. But she's got to do her job. The good thing about federal judges are, is that they have their jobs for life. They can't be fired. They can't be removed from office, but you have to imagine as humans, you know, she's not totally oblivious to what Donald Trump is doing, what Roger Stone did throughout the entire trial process.

VAUSE: They're appointed for life at the moment. We'll see. You never know what could happen with this administration.

But you talk about the tweets from the president. Initially, Donald Trump tweeted about Stone's sentence recommendation, up to nine years. He said it was unfair. Stone will now serve about three years.

What are the chances, though, that any jail time for Stone will be enough to see him flip for prosecutors? Like Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Stone talks a good game, but he's not exactly the strongest of character.

And once that -- once those bars close behind him, he may be thinking, he's something to deal with, something to give up.

MARTIN: You know, John, I don't think Roger Stone is ever going to step foot in a federal prison. I think Donald Trump is making it very clear and he wants to send a strong message to others that, if you stand by the president, if you lie for the president, if you refuse to answer questions under oath before Congress, that he will give you a pass.

And I think he is signaling with the tweets and with the comments that he's been making over the last couple of days that Roger Stone is unlikely to serve one day in jail.

Some people, you know, are speculating that he wouldn't do this during an election year, but this president doesn't seem to be bound by any of the standards, any of the customs, the traditions that other presidents have followed. And I think that there is nothing that would prevent him from giving Roger Stone a pass so as to say to everyone else out there, if you stand up like Roger Stone, protect me, lied to Congress, you too, will be given a path.

VAUSE: I think the presidential term is, if you don't rat me out. Was put a while ago.

MARTIN: I like that phrase. Don't rat me out. Absolutely.

VAUSE: Don't rat me out. Good to see you, Areva. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thanks John.

VAUSE: So about last night, bruised and bloody Democrats running for president may have a few regrets about that debate rumble in Vegas. More on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:04]

VAUSE: Thank you for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.

China reporting nearly 900 new cases of the coronavirus. At least 118 additional deaths have been confirmed, almost all of them in Hubei province. The death toll has now risen to well over 2,200. All but 11 of those fatalities are on the mainland China.

The German government is facing calls to do more to combat the threat of far-right extremism. This after a gunman opened fire at two bars, killing nine people. A federal prosecutor says the victims had migrant backgrounds, adding the gunman had deep-rooted racist views.

U.S. intelligence officials are warning lawmakers Russia is already interfering with the 2020 election. Three sources tell CNN that includes taking steps to ensure President Trump wins a second term. That's all similar to what intelligence officials said the Kremlin did back in 2016.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg continues to be the punching bag of choice for U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls. During a CNN town hall, Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden both said the former New York mayor should release employees from nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is wrong. It's just wrong. Just like you have all those women with non -- you know, NDAs. I can't say what because you paid me. I settled with you, and I promise you, I'll never tell anybody what you said or did to me. How can you run against Donald Trump when you have -- what is it -- ten, 12, 14 NDAs?

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do believe he should be disqualified. And I'm out here making that pitch to the voters every single day. They will make the decision whether he's disqualified or not in the same way that the Republicans made the decision whether or not Donald Trump was disqualified. I like to think the Democratic Party is better than having an arrogant billionaire who harasses women and engages in sexual discrimination for its leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Those nondisclosures were a major line of attack during a bruising debate on Wednesday in Las Vegas. CNN's M.J. Lee takes a look now at the fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Bloomberg, back on the campaign trail, trying to bounce back from his 2020 debate debut.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So how was your night last night? Look, the real winner in the debate last night was Donald Trump.

LEE: Days out from the Nevada caucuses, Bloomberg's rivals coming out swinging on the debate stage.

WARREN: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump. I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Bloomberg policies in New York City of Stop and Frisk, which went after African-American and Latino people in an outrageous way. That is not a way you're going to grow voter turnout.

LEE: The former New York City mayor under fire for his controversial record on criminal justice.

BIDEN: He had Stop and Frisk, throwing close to 5 million young black men up against a wall.

LEE: And confronted by Elizabeth Warren over allegations of sexist and misogynistic behavior dating back decades.

WARREN: He has gotten some number of women -- Dozens? Who knows? To sign nondisclosure agreements both for sexual harassment and for gender discrimination in the workplace. So, Mr. Mayor, are you willing to release all of those women from those nondisclosure agreements so we can hear their side of the story?

BLOOMBERG: We have a very few nondisclosure agreements. None of them accused me of doing anything other than maybe they didn't like the joke I told.

LEE: In a rare move, Warren also taking direct aim at her other rivals on stage.

WARREN: It's not a plan. It's a PowerPoint. And Amy's plan is even less. It's like a Post-it note. Insert plan here. Bernie has started very much, has a good start, but instead of expanding and bringing in more people to help, instead, his campaign relentlessly attacks everyone.

LEE: Tensions also running high between Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not able to speak to literally the first thing about the politics of the country to ourself.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you trying to say that I'm dumb? Or are you mocking me here, Pete?

BUTTIGIEG: I'm saying that you shouldn't trivialize that knowledge.

KLOBUCHAR: I made an error. People sometimes forget names. I wish everyone was as perfect as you, Pete.

LEE: Warren staying on the attack the day after the debate.

WARREN: I'll bet he's reaching in his pocket and spending $100 million more on advertising to try to erase everyone's memory of what happened last night.

LEE (on camera): And an aide to Bloomberg telling CNN that his overall message is going to stay the same, that he believes he is the best candidate to take on President Trump. They also tell CNN that he will definitely participate in next week's presidential debate.

M.J. Lee, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, is stepping down after failing to win a leadership vote in Parliament. Ireland has been in a political deadlock since the general election earlier this month which saw no party win enough seats to form a government.

Mr. Varadkar was Ireland's first openly gay prime minister and the first to come from an ethnic background, minority background. He'll stay on as caretaker leader until a new government is formed.

And authorities in Britain have ruled out terrorism as a motive in a stabbing in a London mosque. Police allege the attacker, arrested the alleged attacker, I should say, after they were called to the mosque in Regent's Park on Thursday afternoon. Worshippers managed to pin down the suspect after he allegedly stabbed an elderly man who was leading the call to prayer.

Details now from CNN's Phil Black.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Emergency services got the call just after 3 p.m., reporting a stabbing here at London's central mosque. Police and paramedics arrived soon after.

They found a man in his seventies with a stab wound to his shoulder and a 29-year-old man pinned to the ground by other worshippers.

Witnesses say afternoon prayers were already underway when the younger man suddenly pulled a knife and attacked the older man from behind. He was wrestled to the ground by other people nearby, witnesses say he did not say a word, resist, or fight back.

The victim is well-known here. He leads the call to prayer at this mosque. He was taken to hospital. His injury isn't life-threatening.

Witnesses say the younger man, the suspect, has been attending this mosque for several months. Police are working to understand the motive. They do not believe it was terror-related at this stage.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: After the break, come with us to the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak and see how just one family is managing to cope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The airline industry is counting their financial losses from the coronavirus, mostly because dozens of carriers canceled or reduced flights to Asia.

The International Air Transport Association projects airlines will lose about $29.3 billion in revenues in 2020. Almost $13 billion will likely be lost in the domestic Chinese market alone.

The trade group says the carriers based outside the region are likely to suffer a smaller sales hit: about one and a half billion dollars.

In Wuhan, China, the lockdown epicenter of the crisis, the outbreak's human toll is being acutely felt. CNN's David Culver caught up with a family there who have been torn in two by this crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Guizhen Qian gave us a video chat tour of her Wuhan apartment. It only took a couple seconds to show us the small space where she has spent the past 20 plus days, unable to leave her home as part of the latest Wuhan lockdown measures.

[00:40:04]

GUIZHEN QIAN, WUHAN, CHINA RESIDENT (through translator): Since the lockdown, I've been really rationing my food so it will last longer.

CULVER: The local government has allowed for grocery delivery, but Guizhen fears opening her windows and doors could mean exposure to the novel coronavirus. She's not only protecting her own health, but also that of her two-year-old granddaughter, Felicity.

QIAN (through translator): I'm looking after this baby, and the floors above and below may have confirmed coronavirus cases.

CULVER: Felicity is a U.S. citizen. Guizhen has been raising her granddaughter as the little girl's parents are living and working in New York City. But amid the outbreak and extreme lockdown, Felicity's mother is desperately trying to get the pair out of Wuhan.

QIAN: I'm afraid I cannot see my daughter again. I think if they are infected, I think they will be die -- dead.

CULVER: Fearing the worst, Amanda Jong (ph) is pleading with the U.S. embassy to grant her mother-in-law, a Chinese citizen, a visa, so she can accompany the toddler daughter back to the U.S.

In the meantime, she has started stockpiling supplies in her New York city apartment, hoping to ship them to Wuhan.

AMANDA JIANG, FELICITY'S MOTHER: We want to send this, all these masks to out -- to my family, to my relatives, and donate some to the hospitals.

CULVER: But she has struggled to find a carrier to deliver within the lockdown zone. There are similar fears and frustrations shared by other Hubei province residents.

WENDY YANG, EDUCATION WORKER: We are totally blocked out. There is no person allowed to go out.

CULVER: By phone, Wendy Yang us that she was on day 27 or 28 inside her apartment. She's started to lose count. She sent us photos from her window looking out. She says she feels trapped and depressed.

YANG: So many people passed away in these long days. We are all suffering.

CULVER: Back inside Guizhen's apartment, the 61-year-old admits she's relied on cartoons to help keep Felicity entertained.

QIAN: If it wasn't for "Peppa Pig," there'd be no way I could look after her.

CULVER: But there's an added fear for Guizhen. She says she's also battling thyroid cancer and worries she might be more susceptible to contracting the coronavirus.

QIAN: If I get sick with this pneumonia, I have no idea what I will do with this child.

CULVER (on camera): CNN has been in touch with the U.S. embassy here in China about that particular case. They tell us they're aware of the situation.

The reality is, things are far more complicated than just simply getting the grandmother and her grandchild on a flight out of here. I mean, there's a lot of logistics working, not only within the city of Wuhan but also in coordination with the Chinese government.

Meantime, the U.S. has gotten some 800 plus of its citizens on five separate flights back to the United States. All in all, though, there seems to be a fear that is really shared amongst many of the folks we have talked to who feel trapped in the city of Wuhan.

David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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VAUSE: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Studio Seven at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, crisis of credibility. He's the most powerful leader China has seen since Chairman Mao, but Xi Jinping has been mostly MIA paying is mostly MIA as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

END