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Putin to Serve Another Six Years in Office After the Controversial Elections; Republicans Defend Trump's Rhetorics on the Campaign Trail; Israeli PM Fires Back U.S. Democratic Senator's Comments on Holding the Elections; Andre Gordon Wanted in Two States for Various Charges; United States Aware of Niger's Severed Military Agreement; Manchester Boots out Liverpool in a Heated F.A. Cup Rivalry Match for a Semis Spot. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 18, 2024 - 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)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and from all around the world. I'm Max Foster. Just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If you would like to know if our elections are democratic or not. I think they are democratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well Vladimir Putin claims the superiority of Russia's political system over that of the United States as the results of Russia's election surprised pretty much no one.

And Israel's Prime Minister slams comments by the top U.S. senator calling for a new election in his country, even as the White House pushes for a ceasefire amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

And Republicans defend former President Trump's latest controversial remarks on the campaign trail. Analysis on the likely Trump-Biden rematch for the White House.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster.

FOSTER: Well, we begin this hour in Russia, where Vladimir Putin is calling for national unity as the country wraps up a presidential election that's certain to deliver him a massive win and a fifth term.

With no credible challenge to his rule, Putin is expected to further tighten his grip on power.

Preliminary results earlier showed him with a commanding lead of almost 90 percent. A win means he'll stay in office until at least 2030, continuing as Russia's longest serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In a post-election address, he took a swipe at the U.S. political system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): If you would like to know if our elections are democratic or not, I think they are democratic. In some countries, for example, in yours, can you consider it democratic to use the administrative resources in order to attack one of the presidential candidates in the U.S., using at the same time the judicial system? We don't have a preference for any of the US presidential candidates. We will work with whomever the voters put their trust in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Russia's election came a month after the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. His supporters urged voters to head to polling stations at noon local time on the third and final day of voting to protest against the election. And many did just that.

CNN's Matthew Chance has the details from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another flash of defiance in Russia's presidential vote. The opposition called this midday against Putin. Supporters gathering at polling stations across the country in a show of solidarity.

It's what Alexei Navalny, Russia's late opposition leader, had urged before he suddenly died.

CHANCE: Well, the Russian authorities say that anyone who attends an unauthorized protest will be dealt with severely. But you can see it's just after 12 o'clock here in Moscow. And a lot of people have turned out at this one polling station to cast their ballots. It's not a protest, but it is an indication of just how many people here are heeding Alexei Navalny's call.

Why have you come now to cast your vote?

UNKNOWN: Because they come too.

CHANCE: And you wanted to see all these people?

UNKNOWN: Yes, we wanted to come together and see each other in person.

CHANCE: Why did you decide to come now at 12 o'clock?

UNKNOWN: You know why. I think everyone who stays in this queue knows why.

CHANCE (voice-over): For three days, Russians have been voting in an election which President Putin was always certain to win.

But scattered acts of disruption have exposed division.

In several polling stations, dye was poured into ballot boxes to ruin paper votes already cast.

Across Russia, a number of voting centers were hit with arson attacks. But officials insist these deeply-flawed presidential elections, in which the opposition wasn't even allowed to stand, were free and fair.

Compared to the last presidential vote in 2018, we received only half as many complaints, Russia's chief human rights commissioner tells state television. I don't remember such active, deeply monitored elections here, she adds.

[03:05:04]

But the defiance of some Russians has also been exceptional. The simmering discontent in the Kremlin's tightly-controlled Russia briefly boiling up to the surface.

Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments and joins me here in London with the very latest. So we expected this result, Putin arguing it's a mandate for his next term. How can we measure that when there weren't any credible opposition candidates running against him?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Max, I think, look, obviously, the dye was cast before people even went to the ballots in many ways.

But I think this election in some ways has revealed two things, one that, you know, even without potential ballot stuffing or other forms of vote rigging, the Kremlin has effectively over the past 24 years built a political system entirely around one man, that these policies of repression, the propaganda, that they are, in a sense, working. You know, people in Russia may not like the war.

It's incredibly costly. They may not like 7 percent inflation or 16 percent interest rates. But they have been taught by the propaganda not to associate this with Putin, not to blame him for any of this. So I think on the one hand, we see that functioning well in this election.

But on the other hand, as Matthew's piece so clearly showed, this election has revealed -- has exposed this undercurrent of dissatisfaction in a sort of strange twist of irony that may have actually contributed to those turnout numbers. You saw those lines outside polling booths. I was out in London talking to Russian voters here, and one group of 28-year-olds told me that this was the first time they'd actually participated in elections.

Admittedly, they'd have had one other opportunity. But they said, look, this is a moment in our history. I spoke to a key ally of Alexei Navalny, who said, look, we don't think we can change anything now, but we want to make sure that we're a unified political force and we're ready to take part in the next stage of Russia's development.

So I think in some ways it has ignited this sort of opposition sentiment, and that is going to be a key part of how this election sort of goes down in Russian history. But overall, look, this means more Putin. This means more repression. It means more confrontation with the West, more war in Ukraine. But I think we need to closely monitor what follows from those acts of defiance that Matthew laid out.

FOSTER: Does it show public support for the war in Ukraine?

SEBASTIAN: Well, certainly that is how President Putin is presenting it. I think it's much more nuanced than that. As I say, people may not like the war, but not link that with Vladimir Putin.

That is what certainly the Russians that I speak to say, those outside the country mainly, that they are just not linking the policies that they might find distasteful with Putin himself, partly because what we see in the propaganda so often, and you saw it with him railing against the U.S. in his post-election speech, is that the West is so heavily scapegoated and blamed for what happens in Russia that people have learned to disassociate that from Putin himself.

So he is presenting this as a new mandate to continue the war. You can see that part of that involves a militarization of society. One of the first things he did in his post-election speech was thank the troops on the front line for creating the conditions for Russia's future development.

But I think it's not guaranteed, certainly, that the population overall supports this. And I think that exposes -- that this decision to go to war and to continue it now in its third year is inherently risky for Putin.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.

The widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was amongst thousands of people lining up to vote at the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday.

Yulia Navalnaya was greeted with cheers when she arrived and she stood in line for several hours to cast her vote. She had joined calls to deface or invalidate ballots or write in Navalny's name and afterwards told supporters she voted for her late husband. Navalnaya also offered some strong words about Russia's president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY: Please stop asking for a message from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no any negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin because he is a killer. He is a gangster. He is the person who brought my country to the war and to everything. Just stop asking about messages to Mr. Putin. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, turning now to the U.S., where Republicans are in damage control mode following inflammatory comments made by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

He made a series of controversial statements at a rally on Saturday in Ohio. He said people convicted of crimes on January 6th were patriots and hostages. Take a listen to some of the other comments he made.

[03:10:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I had prisons that were teeming with MS-13 and all sorts of people that they've got to take care of for the next 50 years. Right? Young people, they're in jail for years. And if you call them people, I don't know if you call them people. In some cases, they're not people, in my opinion. But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical left says that's a terrible thing to say.

They say you have to vote against him because did you hear what he said about humanity? I've seen the humanity and these humanity. These are bad. These are animals, OK?

We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line and you're not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected. Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well Biden's campaign joined Democrats and a few Republicans in condemning remarks. Former V.P. Mike Pence called his remarks about January 6th prisoners unacceptable. But insisted that the bloodbath comment was really about economics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I woke up this morning seeing online all the discussion about bloodbath. And as you've just reflected, the president was clearly talking about the impact of imports devastating the American automotive industry.

MARGARET BRENNAN, HOST, FACE THE NATION: Was that clear to you? Because it was a little muddled.

PENCE: I think, it was--

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, other Republicans are also weighing in on the former president's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): They say first he was speaking about the possibility of criminals being among the immigrants and that those are the people he was saying may not be people, if you will. On the other hand, clearly, the president's rhetoric is reflected poorly in terms of regarding folks who are coming here illegally, illegally. And they shouldn't be. But in a dehumanizing fashion. And that's why, again, many people continue to have reservations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, President Joe Biden won't have to worry about funds as his reelection campaign looks towards the general election. The president now has more cash than any U.S. Democratic presidential candidate has ever had at this stage. Thanks to some record fundraising.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Biden campaign over the weekend announced another major fundraising haul, saying that in the month of February, they raised $53 million. Now of $155 million cash on hand, marking a major advantage over Republican rival former President Donald Trump.

Now, fundraising has been a bright spot for the campaign, but this haul in particular was notable as the rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Biden has been crystallized in recent weeks, a moment that the Biden campaign has been waiting for up until this point.

Now, President Biden spent the month of February on a fundraising swing on the West Coast that contributed to this fundraising haul, as well as the GOP primary in South Carolina.

Now, they also had another record breaking month in grassroots fundraising, with 97 percent of the funds raised under $200. Now, senior campaign officials calling this a barometer of enthusiasm, even among those low approval ratings.

And the president is expected to continue his campaign blitz this week with stops in Nevada and Arizona as he continues to shore up his coalition and try to secure that victory in November.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Thomas Gift is the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London, joins me now live from London. Thanks so much for joining us, Thomas. What do we read into these record fundraising figures for President Biden? Does that show sort of wide support or just the fact that there are lots of powerful people hoping he needs some support against Trump, basically?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, thanks so much for having me, Max. It's always great to talk to you. It's certainly good news for Joe Biden. I mean, there's no other way to spin it. I think you can probably attribute it to a number of different factors. But generally, I just think that there is a groundswell of support across both the political left as well as some elements of the political right that just don't want Donald Trump in office. And so they're willing to take their checkbook out and write checks to the Biden administration.

I mean, we actually saw something very similar with Nikki Haley, even despite the fact that she had no legitimate shot of winning the Republican nomination. There were a few select donors, even on the right, who were really willing to support her regardless of that fact.

So, you know, this is good news for Biden. Also, at the same time with Trump, he's struggling to bring in the cash. And a lot of it's being diverted to some of these court cases. So good news for Biden, sure.

FOSTER: It does make a difference, doesn't it? Just explain how important money is to the U.S. election.

[03:14:52]

GIFT: Well, money is, of course, always important. And sometimes it's difficult to exactly unpack whether it's just money following winners or, you know, winners actually being more likely to get the nomination or the White House because of the fact that they are obtaining a lot of money. But yeah, I mean, certainly it can buy advertisements, it can buy increased mobilization of the ground game. It's always good news whenever candidates get more funds.

FOSTER: OK, and I just want to talk about Trump's comments over the weekend, because, you know, there are particularly some pretty strong language there. Let's just hear his comments on immigration briefly.

We don't have it, but he was basically saying, well, he's been accused of dehumanizing immigrants by using the word animals. But, you know, if you take the whole soundbite, he was being quite specific about the type of people he was talking about. He wasn't talking about all immigrants, was he?

GIFT: Right, exactly. And he's used similar language like this before, where he's talked about immigrants poisoning the blood of Americans.

You know, Trumpism is really about the politics of fear. It's about the politics of grievance. It's about the politics of retribution. It's dark. I mean, this is what has given Trump success up until this point. And I think anyone expecting Trump to change course now heading into the general election is really missing the mark. It doesn't track with his rhetoric or his record.

In 2016 and 2020, Trump really dialed up the language heading into the general election. That includes specifically his comments surrounding immigration. So it's unsurprising. I mean, on some level, it's shocking, but it's unsurprising that Trump's just going to continue to do this more and more. FOSTER: But the bloodbath comment, he was referring to the auto industry, wasn't he? So was that a specific reference to the auto industry or was that, you know, a wider, more provocative word that he was hoping to get headlines with?

GIFT: Well, I think taken in context, Max, I'll grant that Trump's bloodbath comments were mostly in reference to the American auto industry. I think that's giving him the benefit of the doubt, because he's always a bit disjointed and marshes these phrases together. But even so, I think that doesn't mean that his words were a problem, because Trump just consistently traffics in this kind of catastrophizing language. It's violent rhetoric. It's apocalyptic rhetoric. It's designed to trigger a visceral reaction.

There are ways to speak about problems that aren't so incendiary, but Trump doesn't want to do that. I mean, he knows what he's doing. He wants to whip up anger. That's part of the demagoguery.

Plus, I think if we're putting Trump's remarks in context, which we should, it's important to point out, as you noted at the outset, that in the same speech, he praised January 6 rioters as patriots. He said America might not have any more meaningful elections if he doesn't win in 2024. So I think that this is very much a harbinger of what we can expect going into the general election.

FOSTER: Yeah, well, we've got a few months of it. Thomas Gift, thank you so much for joining us.

Now, still to come, a more sober St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House this year as the war in Gaza rages on. Details of what U.S. President Joe Biden said, next.

Plus, negotiators are set to meet for the latest round of hostage and ceasefire talks. But can there be a breakthrough as differences remain between Israel and Hamas? A live report, just ahead.

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[03:20:00]

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FOSTER: The war in Gaza remained top of mind at the White House on Sunday, where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Irish Prime Minister for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Both leaders emphasized their shared view for a two-state solution, with Mr. Biden recognizing the urgent need for aid in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And the Tichok and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and get the ceasefire deal. Get a ceasefire deal that brings the hostages home and move toward a two-state solution, which is the only path, the only path for lasting peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hitting back at those comments by a top U.S. senator as well, calling for new elections in Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sharply criticized Netanyahu's government last week, calling him, quote, "one of the major obstacles to peace in the region". Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Netanyahu said Schumer's remarks were, quote, "totally inappropriate".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's inappropriate for -- to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That's something that Israel, the Israeli public does on its own, and we're not a banana republic. I think the only government that we should be working on to bring down now is the terrorist tyranny in Gaza, the Hamas tyranny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Netanyahu also said that demands by Hamas, the ones they're making around the hostage ceasefire deal, make it very difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: Time will tell, but Hamas' outlandish demands, and I'm not itemizing every one of them now, makes that deal a lot more difficult. But we're going to keep on trying because we want those hostages back. We understand also that the one thing that gets Hamas to give them, to give these hostages to us, is the continued military pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the latest round of those hostage and ceasefire talks are expected to resume in Doha, Qatar, in the coming hours. Joining me now for more is CNN's Nada Bashir. I mean, they're going on a lot longer than certainly the Americans thought.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. And there is still mounting pressure on all sides, but particularly on the Israeli leadership to come to some sort of at least temporary truce agreement, given the humanitarian situation that we are seeing unfolding in Gaza, given the mounting civilian death toll.

And those talks are expected to take place in Doha. We are anticipating that the Mossad director, David Barnea, will be in attendance alongside a delegation from both Qatar and Egypt, both key mediators between Hamas and Israel over the course of the last few months, as these negotiations have been ongoing.

[03:25:01]

Now, we have heard some positive indications from the U.S. side. We heard from National Security Advisor John Kirby, a spokesperson, speaking earlier in the week, saying that the terms put forward by Hamas in this latest counterproposal are broadly within the framework of what the U.S. and other allies have been working towards and working on for the last few weeks. So some positive indications there. But as you heard from Netanyahu, the Israeli side has seen some of those demands put forward by Hamas as, in the words of Netanyahu, outlandish and unrealistic.

Now, as we understand it, the current focus of these talks and negotiations taking place today will be, once again, centered around a six-week pause in fighting. And this will be a multi-phase deal, during which we would see an exchange of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Now, in that first phase, Hamas has proposed to release all female hostages, including IDF soldiers, as well as the elderly and the sick and wounded. That is estimated to be around 40 of the around 100 hostages still believed to be alive inside Gaza. That would be in exchange for between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails.

The second phase would be to see the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, including around 100 Palestinian prisoners who are currently serving life sentences.

But what appears to be the key sticking point here and what has been for some time now is what Hamas wants to see after the exchange of hostages for prisoners. And that is a lasting, permanent and full ceasefire, as well as the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. And this has been something that the Israeli leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has out rightly rejected for some time now.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that the Israeli military will continue to seek what he has described as a full victory in Gaza, namely the complete destruction of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

And of course, there is mounting concern around what that will look like on the ground, particularly with regards to concerns around Rafah in the south. We know that the Israeli military and the Israeli leadership has said that that is still an option on the table, that they still continue to pursue potential ground operations around southern Gaza, in particular in Rafah, of course, somewhere where 1.5 million Palestinians are currently displaced.

And of course, those looming and mounting warnings of a famine in Gaza has raised concern, but also urgency from international allies, including the United States, for a ceasefire to finally be struck.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you.

The U.S. is condemning North Korea after Japan, says Pyongyang, fired three test ballistic missiles. Japan believes all three missiles landed outside Japan's coastal territory.

The tests come just days after South Korea and the U.S. completed their annual military drills. And as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in South Korea for a democracy summit. Blinken met with South Korea's president and they stressed the importance of deterring North Korea's aggression.

Still ahead, we'll have the latest on our top story, Russia's presidential election and learn how Vladimir Putin broke with tradition regarding late dissident Alexei Navalny.

Plus, a weekend of gun violence in the U.S. We'll bring you the updates on a man wanted in two states for alleged crimes.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Returning to our top story, Russia's presidential election and it's all but certain outcome. We are awaiting the final results. But on Sunday, President Vladimir Putin held a news conference in Moscow. He discussed opposition leader Alexei Navalny breaking his longtime tradition of not saying the late dissident's name. But when asked about the exclusion of opposition figures, Mr. Putin was dismissive.

The ongoing war in Ukraine hung over Russia's three-day presidential election with no lead up in the fighting. And after voting wrapped up on Sunday, Vladimir Putin issued a warning saying Western troops in Ukraine could lead to another world war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think that anything is possible in the modern world. But I've already said this, and it is clear to everyone that this will be just one step away from a full-scale World War III. I don't think anybody is interested in this. NATO military are present there. We know this. We hear French speech there and English speech. There's nothing good in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well Russia is marking the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. It's been 10 years since Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a formal decree declaring the Semi-Autonomous Republic an official part of Russia. His troops had seized control of Crimea in a covert invasion months before. Russian forces then held an illegal referendum condemned by the majority of the international community.

Now Ukraine says it'll continue to fight in its current war until it restores its borders from 1991, which includes Crimea.

The Dominican Republic says it's evacuated 27 of its citizens from Haiti as the country grapples with a violent gang uprising. Now they were flown out on helicopters using an evacuation corridor set up by both nations. Dominican officials say those citizens asked to be evacuated because it's so difficult to get in or out of Haiti right now.

Limited access to the country is also fueling a humanitarian crisis. UNICEF says a container with essential items for newborn babies and their mothers was looted in Port-au-Prince on Saturday. The agency added that more than 260 humanitarian containers are now controlled by armed groups that breached the main port last week.

CNN's David Culver is in Haiti's capital where people are camping out in a school trying to escape the rampant violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this was a school here in Port-au- Prince, Haiti and every single classroom that we pass like this one here has now become a dorm room essentially.

There are dozens if not hundreds of people who have made this a recent campsite and you can see a lot of them are following us around and are curious with what we're doing because for them it's a distraction really and you talk to a lot of these folks and they've come here in the past couple of weeks because of the most recent surge in violence and gangs taking more and more territory here in the city but these folks have also been on the run from their own homes for months if not years.

[03:35:03]

She just got this small bag of rice and she's going to cook it up for seven people and a lot of them tell me they don't know where their next meal is going to be. One little girl eight years old saying she goes to bed every single night hungry and a lot of that is because in the past two weeks in particular supply lines especially for programs of international aid like the World Food Programme have been severed so while those organizations are trying desperately to get food in it's not just about getting them into Port-au-Prince it's been about getting them into communities like this.

The challenges logistically are immense. They're dealing with this at a level that they have not faced prior. I mean it's unprecedented and the pain you sense it in the kids' eyes and their parents who feel helpless at this point but for them it's about pushing forward.

I asked one woman how you get up every day and move ahead. She said with the grace of God but then admitted in the same breath that sometimes they feel they'd be better off dead than living.

David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now to a rare sight in Cuba, public protests. Crowds of people gathered in Cuba's second largest city on Sunday protesting power cuts and food shortages as police and local officials try to disperse them. Lately Cubans have endured more electricity cuts and are facing the scarcity of basic items but Cuban government officials are blaming the shortages on U.S. sanctions.

Millions of Americans spent Sunday celebrating St Patrick's Day but for others the day was overshadowed by gun violence. In one deadly shooting incident officials saying the same man is wanted for crimes in Philadelphia and in New Jersey.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we're learning more about the 26-year-old man accused of shooting and killing three of his relatives among them his 13-year-old sister.

26-year-old Andre Gordon according to authorities released new information on Sunday charged with murder in the state of Pennsylvania. Additionally he faces a slew of charges in neighboring New Jersey.

We now know that Gordon is suspected of having stolen a vehicle in Trenton New Jersey on Saturday morning then driven that vehicle over the New Jersey Pennsylvania state line into Falls Township Pennsylvania where he allegedly shot and killed those three people at two separate locations.

It's believed by authorities that shortly after that he then carjacked a second vehicle that he then drove back to Trenton and that is where investigators believe he then walked into a home in Trenton New Jersey. In fact investigators swarmed the area around that home setting up a perimeter for hours.

I come to find out hours later according to Trenton's mayor who told me on Saturday that the suspect was arrested a short distance away from the home by a police officer who encountered him and was able to positively identify him.

According to this long list of charges Gordon now facing possession of a firearm without a serial number, receiving stolen property, possession of large capacity ammunition magazines, and also the possession of hollow point ammunition. So this new information released by the New Jersey state attorney general now painting a clearer picture of the potential firepower that was at the disposal of this young man accused of these crimes.

The A.G. there in New Jersey writing that this latest incident is quote "the latest horrific litany of illustrations of how illegal guns and assault rifles can empower one aggrieved and disturbed actor". The A.G. adding that it is still unknown if Gordon has a defense attorney at this time. We're currently working to see if there have been any changes on that front.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well one person's dead and two others injured after shooting in Florida. Police are searching for multiple suspects after the incident Sunday night in downtown Jacksonville Beach. Authorities say the shooting happened out in the open. Police say the city's bar district and beachfront are under lockdown until further notice. Still to come the U.S. is responding after Niger announced its ending

its or their military agreement. What this could mean for ties between the two countries. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Well the U.S. State Department says it's aware of Niger's plan to end a military agreement between the two countries adding that the announcement came after quote "frank discussions at senior levels during a three-day visit to Niger".

CNN's Larry Madowo has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more about why the Niger military junta suddenly decided to revoke a decade-long military cooperation agreement with the United States just days after a high- powered U.S. delegation met with the leadership there.

The growing Russian military presence in Niger is at the heart of this dispute between the U.S. and Niger. U.S. officials are telling CNN that they had a tense meeting with the military junta leadership in Niamey the capital of Niger and especially the status of what is called Air Base 101 and if that would be ceded over to the Russians.

The U.S. operates two bases in Niger. Air Base 101 and the larger Air Base 201 in central Niger. It's one of the largest drone bases in the world.

It's where the U.S. spent $100 million to build it. That's not part of this contention but Air Base 101 is where this major issue appears to be.

Back in January the Russian defense minister announced that it was expanding its military ties with Niger and the other major issue here is that the U.S. approach to dealing with the military junta leadership has always been that we're open to cooperating with you as long as you commit to a return to civilian rule. The Russians don't do that.

Secondly, the Russians can sell weapons and other equipment to Niger much faster to tackle the terrorism issue that they're facing and they don't have the same restrictions about human rights or a return to a civilian rule in the country.

That is a backdrop for this ongoing dispute and why suddenly after these tense meetings led by General Michael Langley commands the U.S. African command as well as Molly Fee, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and other officials, this surprise decision was announced on Saturday.

General Michael Langley warned Congress earlier this month that Russia was trying to take over the entire Sahel, this region. Listen.

GEN. MICHAEL LANGLEY, COMMANDER OF U.S. AFRICA COMMAND: I would say the Russian Federation's narrative drowned out the U.S. governments in the past years. They were accelerating. The Russian Federation, not just through Wagner, stoked a lot of the instability across the Sahel. They did this through misinformation, disinformation campaigns.

[03:45:03]

So I see how we could double down in our efforts is through our own information campaign but matched with our assurance efforts.

MADOWO: So the U.S. believes that Russia is stoking instability across this wider region, the Sahel, and also taking advantage of that to profit off the natural resources, especially the gold mines in Niger.

On the other hand, the Niger military junta leadership felt that they were getting lectured by the United States even after it canceled all military and foreign cooperation after the U.S. designated this as a coup. So why would you lecture us when you're not supporting us in any way?

That's why in that announcement on state TV, the spokesperson for the military junta said that the U.S. had been condescending to them and threatening consequences without offering them anything in return. So in the absence of that they see Russia as a better partner and that's the background for this current dispute.

It's not clear if now the military junta leadership in Niger will force the U.S. troops to leave them immediately because once that deal is off then that naturally follows. That should be the next step but they haven't said anything beyond that.

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FOSTER: Still to come, a thrilling match between bitter rivals as Liverpool sees its F.A. Cup hopes dashed by Man United. We'll have the highlights just ahead for you.

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[03:50:09]

FOSTER: Have a look at these live images coming from Iceland. Officials there say there's been no damage so far to critical infrastructure but adding that the lava flow has slowed pretty substantially. Seismic activity also decreased overnight. Airports on the island are operating as normal.

Now the heat index in Rio de Janeiro just set a new record high and it's the second day in a row that the Brazilian city has broken the old record for thermal sensation. Thermal sensation uses temperature and humidity data like the heat index or fields like temperature. One Rio neighborhood hit 62.3 degrees Celsius or 144 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. Officials say it's the highest thermal sensation temperature since the Rio alert system began in 2014. Now Tuesday officially marks the end of winter in the northern

hemisphere but in the U.S. at least 22 million people in the Deep South are under a freeze watch. Cities in the northeastern U.S. such as New York may see a brief spike with temperatures Wednesday before they drop again. CNN meteorologist Ellisa Raffa has a look at the cold snap and the week ahead.

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ELISSA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We've got some much colder air that's diving into the U.S. as we start out the work week here.

Look at all of the blues and purples diving south on Monday starting to shift their way east on Tuesday. That's going to send freezing cold temperatures as far south as Birmingham and Atlanta by Tuesday morning. Looking at those morning lows at 32 degrees, 30 degrees in Birmingham dropping to 27 degrees in Nashville where an average for this time of year across the mid-south is in the middle 40s. So definitely some unseasonably cold temperatures.

We'll find those temperatures even on the cold side during the afternoon. Those daytime high temperatures will be about 10 to 15 degrees below average for a huge swath of the U.S. on Monday and then by Tuesday continuing to shift south and east. Those cold readings getting as far south as New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida.

Now some of these cold temperatures are a little bit more typical for January and February. Those highs in the 30s from Chicago to Cleveland, those are a little bit closer to average for early February.

Even the warmer, relatively warmer highs in the upper 40s and low 50s from Memphis to Huntsville, those are a little bit more typical for mid-January. Same thing going into Tuesday as that cold slides east, your high temperature of 58 degrees in Atlanta is a little bit more typical for the middle of February.

Now, this cold snap could cause some problems for agriculture because we just came off of the heels of the warmest winter on record. So fruit trees, flowers all kind of bloomed and blossomed a little bit early this year. Now that means they're vulnerable and at risk to frost and freeze damage with these cold temperatures coming in.

We know that the growing season is getting longer because our winters are getting warmer. You can see a lot of these green dots showing places that add about a month or even more than that to the growing season for a lot of these places that are about to get the cold snap. For a place like Atlanta, they add about 34 days to the growing season, a whole other month again with that cold snap that could put anything that's blooming at risk.

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FOSTER: Now is a roller coaster of a rivalry match on Sunday with Manchester United knocking Liverpool out of the F.A. Cup in a thrilling extra time finish. World Sport's Don Riddell has the details on that.

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DIN RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Two of the greatest rivals in English football ran into each other on Sunday and it was epic. They played out an instant classic that will live very, very long in the memory. The headline is this, Manchester United beat Liverpool to advance to the semi-finals of the F.A. Cup. But that's not even half the story. Let's show you how it all went down.

Manchester United and their manager Eric Ten Haag are under a lot of pressure this season but they made a brilliant start ahead after just 10 minutes through Scott McTominay. But Liverpool wanted this one badly too and they were soon leveled through Alexis McAllister.

Remember their manager Jurgen Klopp is leaving at the end of the season and the Reds want to win four trophies before he goes. So thank you Mohamed Salah. Liverpool 2-1 up at half time and they were just three minutes away from winning it but United equalized through Anthony Delighting, a packed Old Trafford stadium.

Liverpool were stunned and United, by the way, could have won it with the last kick of the game but Marcus Rashford missed a huge chance and he would have been ruining that in extra time when Liverpool regained the lead through their young star Harvey Elliott.

But Rashford then made amends for his earlier miss, leveling the game at 3-3 and at this point it seemed as though a penalty shootout would have to settle it. But in the 121st minute of a pulsating game, United's youngster Ahmad Diallo scored the most sensational winner and to put an exclamation point on the whole thing, he was booted for taking off his shirt in celebration, a second yellow card for which he was sent off.

[03:55:09]

He won't care, it was a perfect mic drop to the most incredible win.

So here is the semi-final draw. Manchester United will be thrilled with their next opponents. They've got Coventry City, that's a team from the division below the Premier League.

Elsewhere though, Chelsea have a really tough draw against Manchester City.

Can't wait for those games coming up in April. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. National Park Service says the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. are in peak bloom and although it's extremely beautiful, it's also extremely early. Peak bloom is when 70 percent of the cherry trees lining the National Mall and the tidal basin have bloomed. That usually wouldn't happen for another two weeks.

But the U.S. Capital just experienced one of its warmest winters on record. Temperatures rose to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 27 degrees Celsius by late January. Climate change and very warm weather made this peak bloom the second earliest in D.C.'s history.

And the White House celebrated St. Patrick's Day by turning the water in its fountain a festive emerald green. This tradition began in 2009 when Barack Obama was president. The Obamas wanted to do something like their hometown Chicago, where the river is dyed green in honor of Ireland's patron saint.

That wraps up our coverage for this hour. I'm Max Foster, in London. "CNN Newsroom" continues with me and Bianca, next.

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