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New Day Sunday

Cruise Ship In Limbo Over Coronavirus Outbreak Set To Dock Monday; At Least 19 Dead, More Than 400 Cases Of The Virus In The U.S.; Most Of Northern Italy Locked Down To Contain Virus; CPAC Attendee Tested Positive For Coronavirus; Biden, Sanders Campaign In Midwest Ahead Of Super Tuesday II; Wall Street Volatile As Investors Struggle With Coronavirus; New Documentary Exposes Extreme Gerrymandering; Fans Barred From Major Sporting Event. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 08, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:19]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. So glad to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. Thanks for being with us. I'm in for Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: We have breaking news from overnight. We want to get to you a final destination for the cruise ship now stuck off the coast of California, because of the coronavirus. Princess Cruises announcing the "Grand Princess" ship will be docking in Oakland tomorrow.

WALKER: Now 21 people have tested positive for coronavirus aboard that ship. Meantime, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the U.S. is also tracking a ship that may have shared a crew with the "Grand Princess."

PAUL: And across the country, there's a jump in cases this morning. The number of people infected now stands at more than 400. There are 32 states and Washington, D.C., involved, and 19 people have died.

Now listen to what's happening worldwide. There are more than 105,000 cases. There is a spike in Italy this morning. Nearly 16 million people in northern Italy are living now under lockdown in an effort to contain the spread.

WALKER: First, let's get to what's next for that cruise ship off the coast of California. CNN's Natasha Chen is here.

Good morning to you, Natasha.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

WALKER: What do we know about the timing and also what happens when once these passengers do disembark?

CHEN: So this was announcement that the captain gave to everyone on the ship over the P.A. system late Saturday night. Very welcome announcement, of course, for these people who've been waiting for information. So we want to start by letting you hear a little bit of that first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As part of our ongoing coordination with federal, state and local authorities, an agreement has been reached to bring our ship into the Port of Oakland tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And you heard that passenger say "Thank God." First, what we're hearing is that the people with acute medical needs will disembark first and those who do not need immediate medical attention will disembark after that. But it's a process that could take several days.

The captain also mentioned in that same announcement that there were, because of a lot of concerns over people's prescriptions running out, they were getting help in filling those prescriptions and having them distributed to people as they await that disembarkation.

Of course, this is a cruise ship that was going from San Francisco to Hawaii on a two-week voyage, and on their way back on Wednesday, we learned that a passenger who was previously on a former voyage on the same ship had come down with coronavirus and died from that. And so that's where all this concern surrounds these 21 people, 19 of whom are crew members and two of whom are passengers who have tested positive for coronavirus.

PAUL: Natasha, thank you so much.

CHEN: Thank you.

PAUL: Just imagine what it's like for these people, when am I going to get home.

WALKER: Well, hopefully it will be soon and at least they haven't been off the coast for weeks as we've seen with the other passengers on the other cruise ships.

PAUL: Exactly. Exactly.

There is an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference that tested positive for the coronavirus as well. The president, the vice president and other administration officials attended that conference.

WALKER: CNN White House Correspondent, Sarah Westwood is live in West Palm Beach, Florida. So, Sarah, the White House is downplaying all of this?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. Amara and Christi, good morning.

Yes. The White House is downplaying concerns about the fact that one attendee who went to this conference a little more than a week ago has since tested positive for the virus. Now officials say the patient was exposed to coronavirus before he or she attended the conference.

Vice President Mike Pence, President Trump, several cabinet officials and even now former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney all spoke on the stage at CPAC. Mulvaney actually attacks the media during his appearance there for overhyping the coronavirus and we've since learned that someone in attendance had contracted the virus before they went to that conference.

I want to read you part of the statement. The White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released yesterday in response to this news, "There is no indication that either President Trump or Vice President Pence met with or were in close proximity to the attendee."

Now last night here in nearby Mar-a-Lago the president appeared alongside Brazil president -- the Brazilian president Bolsonaro and he said he is not worried about the coronavirus and the fact that he was, could have been in the room with someone who had contracted that. He also said to plans to forge ahead with political rallies despite the spread of the illness. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you afraid that the virus is getting closer to the White House?

[06:05:01]

TRUMP: No, I'm not concerned at all. No, I'm not. We've done a great job. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now, meanwhile, U.S. officials are tracking yet another cruise ship that may have shared crew members with the "Grand Princess," another ship that has seen an outbreak of the coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence said yesterday that the administration is taking decisive action to deal with another potential cruise ship issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are tracking at this point a ship that may have shared crew with the "Diamond Princess" or the "Grand Princess." And we've taken decisive action to hold until we do a full assessment of the crew on that ship, and we'll just continue to lean into this effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now the number of cases has jumped dramatically over the past week. That has occurred as the administration has distributed more and more coronavirus testing kits.

Yesterday, FDA officials briefed reporters at the White House and they said that more than 5,600 tests have been performed in the U.S. and more than 1 million tests had been distributed as of Friday, Amara and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, appreciate the update. Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Let's get on the line now Debbi Loftus. She is one of the passengers under quarantine on the "Grand Princess" right now.

Debbi, good morning to you. I know we spoke with you about 24 hours ago and now we're getting new information. We know that the "Grand Princess" is scheduled to dock in Oakland tomorrow. What kind of information are you getting about what the process is going to look like and how that will impact you and your elderly parents?

DEBBI LOFTUS, AMERICAN QUARANTINED ON GRAND PRINCESS CRUISE (on the phone): They haven't told us much except we're going to be docking into Oakland and then they said first they'll be taking off the sick passengers, taking them to the hospital and then taking California residents and putting them in a California military base, and the rest of the U.S. citizens will be taken to military bases in other states. And then they said -- then they mentioned the international passengers and it sounded like they had no idea what they wanted to do with them.

They said we would get into Oakland later this afternoon, and they'd begin the process. So that's all that we know.

We haven't been told what the process is going to be like. As far as I know, the passengers have not been tested, so I don't know if we're going to be tested before we get off or while we're getting off or once we get where we're going. I'm not sure.

PAUL: How are your parents holding up? I know that there was one woman I heard yesterday who was really concerned for her grandfather because he had prescription refills and daily medication that he needed to get access to. How are your parents?

LOFTUS: Yes. They're taking care of that. We filled out a form yesterday or the day before with any prescription needs that we might have over the next week or two, and they're working on filling those prescriptions and delivering them to us.

So I had two prescriptions that I personally needed, and it sounds like they're going to take care of all of that for us. And I believe it's going to be coming through Walgreens, the captain said. We're taken cared of there.

WALKER: Yes. Debbi, sorry about that, didn't mean to cut you off. So 21 people on the "Grand Princess" so far have tested positive for the coronavirus. Nineteen of them are crew members. What do you think about these numbers, and the fact that the majority of the positive tests so far have been people who may, you know, who are working on that ship, who get in contact regularly with the passengers?

LOFTUS: Right, that was a little disconcerting. We heard that one of the positive crew members was a waiter in one of the restaurants, so there's so many huge restaurants, we have no idea if we had contact with that person or not but it would be nice to know but they haven't told us anything.

PAUL: I want to go back to what you were saying about having enough medication for one to two weeks. Do you take that as a sign that you've got another one to two weeks to deal with this before maybe they would release you to go home? Is that how you take that?

LOFTUS: You know, that's the biggest question that my parents and I were talking about last night is, we don't know, and I think the worst scenario would be that once we get out of our -- we've already had, well by the time we dock we'll have had three days already into quarantine, so does that mean we will only have 11 more once we -- military base or we're going to be starting from zero, and nobody has been able to tell us that.

[06:10:04]

WALKER: Still a lot of questions about the whole process, and how people's needs will be met. Debbi Loftus, thank you for keeping in touch with us. We'll talk to you again hopefully soon, Debbi.

PAUL: Wish you the best, Debbi.

LOFTUS: Hopefully soon, OK, thank you.

PAUL: Thank you so much.

So let's switch gears here and talk about Super Tuesday, because if you thought that was a big deal, just wait until the sequel, as in Super Tuesday 2.0.

WALKER: Can Joe Biden keep his momentum going, or are we looking at a Bernie Sanders spoiler? We're taking a deep dive on the next deluge of delegates up for grabs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Welcome back to Saturday here or Sunday, rather.

WALKER: It's Sunday.

PAUL: It's Sunday, yes.

WALKER: It's confusing Sunday.

PAUL: And it's international women's day, so happy international women's day to you. So we're two days away now from Super Tuesday II, Super Tuesday II that is, and that's where voters in six states are going to go to the polls.

[06:15:04]

And we're talking about some serious states here.

WALKER: You're right, the two front-runners, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders have been campaigning across the Midwest this weekend, making their respective cases for president. PAUL: Three hundred fifty-two delegates at stake with Michigan awarding the biggest prize there. CNN Senior Political Writer and Analyst, Harry Enten talks us through this.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER AND ANALYST: So after Super Tuesday last week, the question of course is what will happen on Super Tuesday II coming up on Tuesday. But in order to understand what will be happening on Super Tuesday II, let's take a look back at the results on Super Tuesday.

What did you see? You saw that Joe Biden swept a victory, winning 10 states, including pretty much everything east of the Mississippi, outside the state of Vermont. Now, of course the key question heading into Super Tuesday II is whether or not Joe Biden will be able to maintain that momentum.

Well, if you look at the national polls, what do you see? You see that in fact Joe Biden right now has a double-digit lead in the national polls, suggesting in fact he will maintain that momentum. In fact he's in a better position right now than Hillary Clinton was four years ago at this point over Bernie Sanders.

So of course here is the key thing. What does this all mean for Super Tuesday II? Well, it means that Joe Biden should be expected to win most of the states. Indeed he'll win everything from North Dakota eastward. The only states that Bernie Sanders is favorite in are Washington and Idaho.

Of course, the most important state perhaps on Super Tuesday is the state of Michigan, where white voters without a college degree played a key role back in 2016. Bernie Sanders won them overwhelmingly. But what are we exactly expecting amongst that group this time around?

Indeed, if you look back to Super Tuesday I, what did you see among white voters without a college degree in the north outside of Vermont? You saw that Bernie Sanders double digit lead flipped to Joe Biden actually winning this group by 8 percentage points. If that in fact occurs on Super Tuesday II in the state of Michigan, we should expect that Joe Biden is going to win.

Of course, I'm also concerned about what's going on in the state of Mississippi. Of course there's a large African American population there, and if you look next door to Alabama, what did you see on Super Tuesday I? You saw that Joe Biden overwhelmingly won African Americans by nearly 50 percentage points.

So, what should we expect on Super Tuesday II in Mississippi? We should expect that Joe Biden, even if he loses Michigan will more than cover for it with the delegate wins he's going to pull out of Mississippi.

WALKER: All right. Harry Enten, thank you for that. So a big question on voters' minds since several Democratic candidates have dropped out of the race, what happens to the tens of thousands of ballots that were cast early and their choices left the race? Is it suddenly a vote wasted? Joining me to discuss this is president and CEO of FairVote Rob Richie. FairVote is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for electoral reform. Rob, appreciate having you on. Good morning to you.

ROB RICHIE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FAIRVOTE: Good morning.

WALKER: So let's start with that question because, you know, the dynamics of the race have been changing quite rapidly. So let's say you are an early voter in Michigan and you casted your vote early for Michael Bloomberg. Well, he dropped out of the race after Super Tuesday, what happens to that vote? I mean, is it a vote wasted? Because there are some states that do allow to you cast your vote again.

RICHIE: Yes. It's a remarkable fact of this -- what has happened in this rollercoaster of a primary season. You know, more than a million votes on the first Super Tuesday were cast for candidates that have already withdrawn. That's more than a million voices lost on people that -- you know, those voters if they had known their candidate wasn't going to be running would have wanted to vote differently.

And now with Warren and Bloomberg out, that number or at least there's a percentage of all ballots is going to rise. We think it's going to be close to 3 million votes by the end of March will be cast for candidates who have withdrawn, far more votes lost than really for many other practice you can imagine.

WALKER: There's also talk about the possibility of a brokered convention, right? I mean, the Democratic nominee would have to have the majority of delegates which would be 1,991, 1,991 delegates but there is a possibility that neither Biden nor Sanders, since they look like to be, who will be the last two standing even though Tulsi Gabbard is still in the race, if neither gets the majority and even if one just gets more votes than the other this will still go to a contested convention.

Talk about the scenario, how this will play out and how that will impact the Democratic Party, because there is a high possibility that there are certain scenarios that could play out that could really rip apart the Democratic Party.

RICHIE: Absolutely. I mean, it would be incredibly intense for the party to go into the convention without a majority candidate and delegates and then you turn it over to like the old, you know, century old practices of having other people of relatively small number of delegates added in with super delegates picking the nominee, and that's something that I think is a very dangerous possibility for the party, something that could divide it for a long time after this convention and of course in November.

[06:20:09]

And so both of these problems really actually have pretty straightforward solutions tied to an increasingly popular voting method that we have been showcasing and it's used in a number of a cities and states, (INAUDIBLE) ranked choice ballot. So with the wasted vote problem, right, you have people not -- being able to have a backup choice.

With a brokered convention you have repeated voting to get to a majority, but in between the huddled discussions in hotel rooms and brokering going on rather than voters choosing, and that's where this ranked choice voting system would be much more transparent and get to a majority in a public way.

WALKER: Interesting option. Rob Richie, we appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you. Happy Sunday to you.

RICHIE: Thank you.

WALKER: And be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. Jake Tapper will be joined by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. He will also speak with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Sanders (ph) with the latest on the coronavirus outbreak. That is "STATE OF THE UNION" today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: You realize right now 16 million people are in lockdown in Italy and there are new restrictions across the country to try to contain the coronavirus. We are live in Milan for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:31]

WALKER: This morning, nearly 16 million people across northern Italy are under lockdown. Italy's prime minister announced the plan earlier. It is one of the toughest responses we've seen to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

PAUL: That announcement came after a spike in reported cases. Now Italy's dealing with the largest outbreak in Europe. They're recording more than 5,800 cases and 233 deaths.

WALKER: Let's get the latest now from Italy. CNN's Ben Wedeman joining us now from Milan, with more. I know Ben you've been talking a lot about how these new restrictions put in place have really changed the rhythm of daily life.

First off, talk about the lockdown in the northern region and how that compares to the restrictions placed on the rest of the country.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to keep in mind that the original restrictions that were in place for the last two and a half weeks or so only involved 50,000 people. This includes around 16 million people, that's about 25 percent of the Italian population.

In this part of the country of course is the most prosperous, the most productive. It's a bit as if 90 million people were put under closure like this in the United States, as if basically every city between Baltimore and Boston were put on lockdown.

Now, how exactly this lockdown is going to work is not all together clear. We're in front of the Milan train station, where last night there was a bit of a rush of people trying to get out, but now things seem to be back to normal. Trains are running on time, but just going down the list of restrictions that are going to be in place at some point, we don't know exactly when, it is indeed draconian.

They are talking about closing basically down all public gatherings in this part of the country, things like malls and supermarkets are going to be open only during the weekdays. They will be closed during the weekend. Bars and restaurants open only between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and there are distance requirements. People have to be separated by a meter, so when these new measures actually come into effect, the life that's already been disrupted by coronavirus in this part of the country is going to be disrupted even more, and ever more dramatically.

PAUL: Ben Wedeman, we so appreciate the update. Take good care there, thank you.

And as the coronavirus outbreak expands, financial markets here in the U.S. and around the globe, you've seen them, they're reacting. Wall Street had another pretty volatile week as investors really struggled with how to react to the outbreak.

All of the uncertainty, of course, amidst all of this, I sat down with financial expert Ted Jenkin to try to talk about the economy in the age of coronavirus and what it means to us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All right. So here is the thing. And let's shout out some pretty impressive numbers over the last 24 hours. We've got the expectation on the job front that was about 175,000. It surpassed that easily, Ted, 273,000 is what it ended up with, and then you've got the unemployment rate which is 3.5, that dipped down a bit. That's the lowest in 50 years. So I want to try to encompass all of this.

Actually let's pull jobs out in a minute. Stock market, 401(k)s, we know that there's a really solid numbers last month but we have to note that was last month. It was not in this current health crisis that we seem to be focusing on right now. What is the expectation for stocks and 401(k)s?

TED JENKIN, FINANCIAL EXPERT: Well, I have this formula now, Christi, which is coronavirus plus election virus plus interest rate virus equals uncertainty.

PAUL: Oh, my gosh.

JENKIN: The stock market does not like uncertainty. And you know what? The stock market is simply does not like uncertainty. So I would tell people at home that, look, if you have a college tuition bill to pay in six months or you're putting a down payment on a house in a year you have no business being in the stock market. But if you're going to leave your money in your 401(k) for five, or 10, or 15 years then I wouldn't worry about the day-to-day movements in the stock market. Some people panic, Christi --

PAUL: Right.

JENKIN: -- and they make the wrong move. So are you a short term investor or are you a long-term investor?

PAUL: And that's what you have to decide first and foremost.

JENKIN: Yes, you really do. You need to think about that.

PAUL: Jobs. What do you think is the -- I mean prognosticate what you think jobs are going to be doing here.

JENKIN: Well, the jobs report that came out just shows the wind that the economy had going.

[06:30:00]

But as we go forward it's likely we're going to see corporate earnings from the Fortune 500 companies not look that great here in the second quarter and maybe the third or fourth quarter as this coronavirus persist. I really encourage people to think at home and prepare, will get laid off, Christ, from work?

So I would get your doctor's visits now. I really would. I would get an emergency fund set up, because, you know, corporations have an insatiable appetite for earnings. And if they don't make earnings, they have to please the shareholders. And you should consider that if this happens for two or three quarters, there could be corporate layoffs. I see that coming.

PAUL: You made a very good point, make your doctor's appointments while you've got the insurance, right, and really beef up that emergency fund.

JENKIN: 100 percent. People are stocking up at Costco and Kroger and Target with all of these goods for the coronavirus. Well, you need to stock up financially, Christi, and that's where you get the emergency fund. You take care of your kid's doctors, do that now in case you do get laid off.

PAUL: Yes. Costco and Kroger are reporting panic buying, essentially, and then you've got the airlines and people are just canceling these trips. But for people who have to travel, that have to go, is travel insurance necessary right now?

JENKIN: And this is like a bet at a black jack table, but I think that if you are concerned, you spend the extra money and you buy the travel insurance. There is a distinct difference because most travel insurances do not cover the coronavirus. You have something called CFAR, which is cancel for any reason. So make sure that your travel insurance -- it will cost a little bit more but it says, cancel for any reason. And if you have booked a trip, most of the airlines are being reasonable, if you rebook it in a year, they'll let you use the ticket.

PAUL: And lastly, obviously, the physical health aspect of the coronavirus is what is most concerning for people, and what we should be concerned about. There is also a lot of people though would say that economic health that goes with this. So is there any economic positive that we can see in the end coming out of all of this?

JENKIN: Well, I mean, absolutely. If you have a 401(k) or an IRA and you've owned bond funds, they're actually doing pretty well this year because treasury rates have come down. So they're up 3 percent or 4 percent year to date. But most importantly, if you are ever thinking about refinancing your home, interest rates are back down to an all- time low, 15-year rates, Christi, at 2.5 percent, 30-year at 3.25 percent, these are super low rates if you're going buying a home or refinance. So if there's any silver lining to this at all, I'll be looking at refinancing my house right now.

PAUL: All right, good to know. Ted Jenkin, thank you so much.

JENKIN: Thanks, Christi.

WALKER: Variety Magazine calls Slay the Dragon the most important political film of the year. When we come back, I'll talk to the makers of the movie of the shady side of gerrymandering and the everyday people fighting to make their votes matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

WALKER: As voters get ready to go to the polls, there are renewed fears that gerrymandering continues to undermine the Democratic process. Now, gerrymandering gives an unfair political advantage to a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.

A new documentary film, Slay the Dragon, highlights the secrecy of this issue and follows everyday people as they fight to make their votes count. I talked with the filmmakers about what it means for the future of U.S. elections.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Joining me now is Chris Durrance, the co-director of Slay the Dragon, along with Barak Goodman, also co-director of the film, and Katie Fahey, an anti-gerrymandering activist, and she is thoroughly portrayed in this film. Welcome to the three of you.

We just saw a clip where the gentleman at the end says the winner is pre-decided just by the way the districts are drawn. I mean, that doesn't sound like a free and democratic system to me. Let's just be clear. Both parties have taken advantage of gerrymandering to their party's advantage. Your film, Barak and Chris, focuses on 2010, the Republican Party strategizes to win, to gain control of Congress and it worked, gerrymandering on steroids.

Barak, we'll begin with you. What happened in 2010? What has the impact been on our democracy?

BARAK GOODMAN, CO-DIRECTOR, SLAY THE DRAGON: Well, some strategists in the Republican Party had a clever idea. They would take this old practice of gerrymandering, drawing lines to advantage certain candidates and they weaponized it. They made it a national strategy.

So they took over various state legislatures around the country, gained control of the mapmaker's pen and then redrew the lines so, basically, their candidates were impregnable. They were all but assured a victory not just in 2010 but throughout the decade of the 2010s.

So we're still feeling the effects of that gerrymander in 2010. It is called project red map and it's part of the film that we -- part of the story that we tell in the film.

WALKER: When you hear the details, it's just head-shaking. I mean, gerrymandering isn't really a sexy topic. We know most Americans know it's been around. But when you see the impact of it, and, Chris, to you, because your film opens with the Flint water crisis from 2014, many of you may remember this was that water crisis and a cost-saving move, the managers of the city, they switched the drinking water supply to the Flint River.

We know that led to tainted water, a lot of health issues, many health issues and many in Flint are still dealing with. Chris, you found the decisions that were made in this crisis is directly linked to gerrymandering.

[06:40:05]

CHRIS DURRANCE, CO-DIRECTOR, SLAY THE DRAGON: Absolutely. I mean, gerrymandering works because it's done in secret. It's done in closed -- done behind closed doors. And what happened in Flint was a classic example. And to us, it was really important to bring home the real world effects of gerrymandering.

So the people got how pernicious and important it is -- how pernicious a practice it is and how important it is to fix it.

WALKER: Katie Fahey, I want to bring you in, because you are the one who slays the dragon in this film. You are a quite inspiring character. I want to play a clip before we talk to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even under the scenario of the Democrats winning the vote by the biggest margin they've ever won in modern Wisconsin history, the Republicans would get 59 seats minimum. That's an astonishing manipulation of democracy.

FMR. GOV. ARNOLD SCHARZENEGGER (R-CA): Congress will never fix this problem because they have one interest only, and this is to stay in power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the biggest heist in modern American political history.

KATIE FAHEY, ANTI-GERRYMANDERING ACTIVIST: I am Katie Fahey. I'm with an organization called, Voters, Not Politicians. We started from a Facebook post. I saw there was a pent-up energy. So I just thought I'd, yes, try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Katie, you're just an ordinary citizen from Michigan and thought you would just try to go up against an entire system and powerful politicians, and you ended up not just leading this push to change the system, at least in your state, but you won. You put the power of redistricting into the hands of regular citizens and took it out of the hands of the powerful.

FAHEY: Yes. And now, we're working to even help people outside of Michigan be able to do the same thing. I think, I was always a voter. But in 2016, I saw that a lot of people were mad at the entire political system and then with the Flint water crisis too. It just felt like, how is this democracy? How is this Michigan if there's an entire city that's been poisoned and nobody is really doing anything about it?

WALKER: What did you do? Because you just went on Facebook, and that kind of snowballed into this organization and this movement.

FAHEY: Yes. When I made that Facebook post, I did not think it would lead to a political movement or amending our state Constitution, but, quickly, I saw that I wasn't the only one who was really upset about this. I had people messaging me, saying I've cared about gerrymandering for a long time, I'm so excited we're going to do something about it.

So I quickly Googled, how do you end gerrymandering, and then thousands of us started uniting and figuring out how can we as the people of our state be the ones who decide this.

WALKER: So, Barak, what happens next? I mean, the fact that this is all legal, it's out in the open, is there a push thanks to the likes of Katie Fahey where people in power want to change this, the fact that gerrymandering is legal?

GOODMAN: Yes. You know, it has to be people like Katie, because the Supreme Court recently washed their hands of the entire issue, leaving the gerrymanderers a kind of free feel to keep doing what they're doing. So it has to be citizens.

And Katie's movement was totally inspiring for us to follow to see that group of ordinary citizens on the left and the right fighting back against this totally anti-democratic process was, in a way a kind of, you know, affirmation of democracy, and it's happening all over the country. Other states are picking up this call and their citizens' movements throughout the country.

And, you know, we hope our film will be part of really a national movement that will take on this process, which is harmful to every single one of us. And so more power to Katie and people like her.

WALKER: Thank you so much for making this film. It is very important. We appreciate the three of you, Chris Durrance, Barak Goodman and Katie Fahey, for joining us. I appreciate your time. GOODMAN: Thank you.

FAHEY: Thank you.

DURRANCE: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So today, we get to see the first of three super moons of the year. We're going to tell you the best time to catch them.

WALKER: First, here is a look at this week's new episode of The Race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On February 25th, 1912, William Howard Taft is having dinner in the White House with his wife, Nellie, and he's handed a piece of paper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Roosevelt. I will accept the nomination for president if it is tendered to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told you so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theodore Roosevelt wants back in the game. He now wants to undo the house of Taft.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Teddy Roosevelt, Taft's closest friend, the man who pressured him in the running for president, has finally decided to stab him in the front.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an astonishing betrayal, a very longstanding relationship, two men who were like-minded in so many things.

[06:45:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loved Theodore Roosevelt, loved him like family. And the thought that he was now having to have as his enemy, the person he most admired, it was quite devastating to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Be sure to watch Race for the White House tonight at 9:00 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: So the National Weather Service is telling residents of Forgan and Beaver, Oklahoma, evacuate because there's a fast-moving wildfire. Take a look at some of the latest pictures we have here. It's grown to about 13,000 acres, is only 10 percent contained right now.

WALKER: A 15-mile-long burn scar can be seen from satellite images. Weather conditions in the area expected to improve today.

PAUL: We hope that for all those folks there.

[06:50:00]

And, listen, keep your eyes on the sky tonight for a super worm moon. What is that?

WALKER: I know what a super moon is but don't know how the word worm gets in there. How did that happen?

First full moon of March is always called a worm moon but this year's will be bigger. All right, learn something new.

CNN's Allison Chinchar joining us now. So, Allison, when is the best time to see this super worm moon?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The word the worm. Oddly, technically, in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow, but since that's not really an ideal position to actually go out, it's going to be overnight tonight. And if you miss that, maybe, say, the weather isn't going to be ideal where you live, you can still take a look again on Monday night.

So here is what we've been talking about again. We've got -- this is all because of something called a perigee, the moon's closest approach to the Earth. That's what gives it the super designation, if you will. Basically, it means it's not only going to be bigger but also brighter. So when you go out, it's just going to look a little bit more fascinating.

This will be the first of three super moons this year. The next one is the super-est of the super moons, yes, in April. That will be called the super pink moon. The good news is for most of the folks in the eastern half of the country, weather will be ideal tonight to go out and take a look.

WALKER: I did notice the moon has been a bit brighter leading up to this, so very cool, looking forward to it. Thanks, Allison.

PAUL: Thanks, Allison

WALKER: Well, breaking overnight, another major sporting event will go on, another ripple effect from the coronavirus.

PAUL: Leagues around the world are working on the plight to figure out the best way to handle this coronavirus outbreak. And now, another major case of an event banning fans from attending. We're going to tell you what it is, and bring you some incredible sports highlights. Coy Wire is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Here is some breaking news overnight. The F1 Racing series has decided to ban fans from one of its races because of the coronavirus.

WALKER: Coy Wire is here with more on that.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, good morning to you. No fans in the stands at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. It's going to be an interesting site.

PAUL: Yes, I can't imagine the dynamics.

WIRE: Yes. We're starting to see in college sports here in the states, as well, of course, it's been happening in Europe for days now.

Race officials releasing a statement just over an hour ago saying in part, convening a major event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time.

Now, nearly a hundred thousand people attended the race weekend in Bahrain last year. There are 83 confirmed cases of the coronavirus there, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

All right, switching gears now college hoops, the first two teams punching their tickets to March Madness, talking underdogs. Utah State faces San Diego State, who's a powerhouse and borderline number one seat coming in, but Utah State go on punch for punch the entire game Sam Merrill landing the knockout, locked in, game tied, final second. He nails this three like there was just never a doubt in his mind.

The Aggies stunning San Diego, 59-56. The Aggies literally dancing their way into March Madness, tick tock.

[06:55:03]

How do you like that? Mountain west champs, it's their second straight trip to the big dance.

The other teams looking to punch their ticket, Belmont and Murray State, with no less drama in this one, down one, just seconds to go, Adam Kunkel delivering the dime to Tyler Scanlon, the backdoor cut.

How about this though? Murray State's final chance fails and look at this image here. I mean, that's it, the Bruins Ohio Valley Conference champs heading to the tourney in Casey Alexander's first year as head coach.

All right, finally, to one of the greatest rivalries in sports in its 100th year, Duke and North Carolina. The Cameron Crazies hyped (ph) for seniors playing in their final home game, including former walk- on, fifth-year grad student Justin Robinson, son of NBA Hall of Famer, David Robinson. He even wore his dad's number 50, and he gets his first career start, Amara and Christi, after 142 games at Duke, it becomes legend. 13 points, including that key three-pointer there, inspiring Duke to an 89-76 win over their biggest rival.

Coach K. said his story is better than Rudy.

WALKER: Really? WIRE: Dub (ph) nation, and they were so proud. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ROBINSON, JUSTIN'S DAD: It's hard to rattle him. He's so steady and confident and those are the kind of children you hope you raise, right, that they can take care of themselves in any situation. And that's why I watch him and I'm just amazed every day. He's wonderful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So great.

Now, after the game, Justin Robinson giving the game ball to 16-year- old make-a-wish kid Antonio Sellers, who's battled brain cancer for year. He'd always wanted to see a Duke/North Carolina game in person. Listen to this.

There he is, six surgeries, Antonio was diagnosed with a brain tumor his freshman year of high school. He had always wanted to play for Duke, but, in a way, we're thinking about you, Antonio, just as Duke was, and we're rooting for you as well.

PAUL: Coy, thank you.

WIRE: Welcome.

PAUL: So a cruise ship off the coast of California is quarantined for the coronavirus, and finally set to dock. We have more after the break. Stay close.

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[07:00:00]