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CNN NEWSROOM

North Koreans Coontinue Saber-Rattling; Democratic Presidential Nomination Contest; Clinton Asked about E-Mail Investigation; European Migrant Crisis Update; Trump Claims Victory Basically Assured with Ohio and Florida Wins; US Attempting to Determine if Airstrike Killed ISIS Leader; Volkswagen America Resigns. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 10, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ERROL BARNETT, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: More missile launches, threats and nuclear claims from North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Madame Secretary, I will match my record against yours any day of the week.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clashed over immigration, health care and Wall Street in a heated debate.

And, a huge violation of human rights. The activist and artist, Ai Weiwei stunned by a visit of migrants stuck on the Greek-Macedonia border.

I want to welcome all of you watching from across the globe. I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks you for joining me as we begin our final hour of the week together here on CNN Newsroom.

We begin with North Korea threatening Seoul with plans to sever all economic ties. This latest action from Pyongyang just ratchets up the tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Japan is condemning the country for firing two short-range ballistic missiles which landed in the sea.

This launch follows North Korea's claims about having miniaturized nuclear warheads.

Let's go to Paula Hancocks in Seoul for the latest development on this. Paula, how concerned our officials there and what options are on the table as far as a response?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Errol, we did hear from one senior administration official in the U.S. after these two short-range ballistic misses were fired and they said that it, quote, "raised huge concern in the administration." So, certainly this has been watched very closely around the world and also the fact that the state-run media KCNA, announced that all economic cooperation between the two Koreas is now null and void. Now, obviously there is very little cooperation between the two Koreas at this point.

But the crucial part is that the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which was closed recently, they have said that they will seize all South Korean assets, the same with a mountain complex that they -- a resort that they have had up until 2008 as well.

So, North Korea saying that they are going to take all the South Korea assets, they're liquidating the South Korean businesses that are in North Korea. So, that's just another development.

And of course, the defense ministry here is watching very closely. We know that they did up the surveillance in recent days of North Korea just to check that there was -- there was no movement.

BARNETT: And, Paula, all indications are that these joint U.S./South Korean annual military drills will continue as planned?

HANCOCKS: Absolutely. This is quite normal for there to be tensions at this time of year. The joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea are always a big concern to Pyongyang. They see them as the two sides, the two allies practicing for an invasion or for a regime change, even though Washington and Seoul say they are defensive in nature.

This year, they are the largest they have ever been. You got 30,000 South Koreans troops involved, 17,000 U.S. troops. They are carrying out military drills on land, at sea, by air. They are very comprehensive military drills. So, certainly, that is irritating Pyongyang. And certainly, this is why we're seeing some of this reaction.

Of course, the nuclear strike warned off on Monday and Sunday, in fact, and also these new photos that North Korea has released showing that they have as they say miniaturize a nuclear warhead.

BARNETT: Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul for us. Thank you, Paula.

Let's turn now to Iran where a senior military official says his country will never stop its ballistic military program. That's according to Reuters that military official says Iran never agree to U.N. resolutions on his country's missile work.

All of this comes on the heels of another report from Fars News Agency that Tehran launch missiles Wednesday marked with hate messages directed in Israel. Now CNN cannot independently confirm that report.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials say a similar missile test on Tuesday likely breached a U.N. resolution but not the nuclear deal itself.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Wednesday. He says the U.S. will respond if Iran violates the terms of the nuclear agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We're united in belief that a nuclear armed Iran is absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region, and the United States. And I want to reiterate, which I know people still doubt here. If, in fact, they break the deal, we will act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Mr. Biden took a veiled swipe at Palestinian leaders for failing to condemn an attack Tuesday that killed an American tourist.

[03:05:08] Now, it was a stark contrast from the name-calling and insults of the recent U.S. republican presidential debates but there were still some fireworks as democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders met on the debate stage in Miami.

Clinton and Sanders are vying for votes and hundreds of viable delegates ahead of the next round of primaries on Tuesday, in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Univision's Jorge Ramos pressed Clinton over the e-mail controversy that's dogged her campaign for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that we've got here is a case of over classification.

JORGE RAMOS, NOTICIERO UNIVISION CO-HOST: Who gave you permission?

CLINTON: I'm not concerned about it. I am not worried about it. And no democrat or American should be either.

(APPLAUSE)

RAMOS: The question was, Secretary Clinton -- the question was, who gave you permission to operate? Was it President Obama?

CLINTON: There was no permission to be asked. It had been done by my predecessors. It was permitted. I didn't have to ask anyone.

RAMOS: If you get indicted, will you drop out?

CLINTON: Oh, for goodness. It is not going to happen. I'm not even answering that question.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: How about that. Of course, immigration was a hot topic with Clinton and Sanders defending their records on border control and the deportation of undocumented immigrants. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAMOS: Yes or no. Can you promise tonight that you won't deport children, children who are already here?

CLINTON: I will not deport children. I would not deport children. I do not want to deport family members either, Jorge. I want to, as I said, prioritize who would be deported. Violent criminals, people planning terrorist attacks, anybody who threatens us.

(APPLAUSE)

RAMOS: Senator Sanders, will you, can you promise us tonight that you won't deport children?

SANDERS: Let me just say this. I don't think that the secretary fully answered your question. And I think the proof may be in the pudding. Honduras in that region of the world may be the most violent region in our hemisphere.

Children fled that part of the world to try, try, try maybe, meet up with their family members in this country, taking a route that was horrific, try to start a new life. Secretary Clinton did not support those children coming into this country. I did.

(APPLAUSE)

So, to answer your question, no, I will not deport children from the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now things got even more heated as Clinton attacked Sanders' record of voting with republicans on immigration issues. Then Sanders fired back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: In 2006, when Senator Sanders was running for the Senate from Vermont, he voted in the House with hard-line republicans for indefinite detention for undocumented immigrants. And then he cited with those republicans to stand with vigilantes known as 'minutemen' who were taking up outpost along the border to hunt down immigrants.

So, I think when you are running for the Senate, you made it clear by your vote, senator, that you were going to stand with the republicans.

SANDERS: What the secretary is doing tonight and has done very often is take large pieces of legislation and take pieces out of it. No, I did not oppose the bailout over support of the automobile industry.

No, I do not support vigilantes. And that is a horrific statement, an unfair statement to make.

(APPLAUSE)

I will stand with my career, political career, fighting for workers, fighting for the poorest people in this country. Madame Secretary, I will match my record against yours any day of the week.

(APPLAUSE)

BARNETT: How about that? Now Clinton also took Sanders to task for some of his more progressive policies and exactly how he plans to pay for them without adding to the federal deficit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Senator Sanders has talked about free college for everybody. He's talked about universal single payer health care for everybody. And yet, when you ask questions as many of us have, and more importantly, independent experts, it's very hard to get answers.

And a lot of the answers say that, you know, this is going to be much more expensive than anything Senator Sanders is admitting to. This is going to increase...

(CROSSTALK)

RAMOS: Thank you, secretary.

CLINTON: ... the federal government dramatically. And, you know, my dad used to say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And lead us no...

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: Now let me respond to that.

CLINTON: And we deserve answers about these programs that actually work and how they would be paid for.

SANDERS: Please, I want you all to think, what secretary Clinton is saying, is that the United States should continue to be the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all of our people.

(APPLAUSE)

[03:10:04] I think the rest of the world could do it, we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now, Wednesday's debate was hosted by the Spanish language network Univision. And CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with several of their correspondents about their impressions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALICIA MENENDEZ, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: I've been studying the polling that was done on behalf of Univision and The Washington Post and part of what they found is among Latinos who are democratic voters, Clinton tends to leave Sanders two to the one except in one area with the young voters.

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 SHOW HOST: Right.

MENENDEZ: And so, tonight, you really saw him leaning into a lot of the messaging that is meant to cater to younger voters, talking about free public tuition for college, talking about a variety which is including health care that are very important to young voters. So, I thought that that was not surprising but addressed.

COOPER: Nando?

NANDO VILA, FUSION CORRESPONDENT: I thought it was pretty remarkable early in the debate when Jorge Ramos got both candidates to promise not to deport children and immigrants that don't have criminal background.

COOPER: Essentially, any...

VILA: Any adult.

COOPER: Any immigrants -- right. Who are not -- have not committed a crime or not a terrorist.

VILA: Which is remarkable given the current administrations deportation policy, which have deported 2.5 million people which is an astounding number. It's a huge break in sort of a democratic -- from within democratic politics.

COOPER: Right.

MENENDEZ: Also astounding when you consider the reality of who's leading the republican field, right? I did see some of them are conservative tweeters who I follow, talking about the facts that perhaps tonight's debate was best for Donald Trump, right?

That if you are trying to stir up a nativist ring the Republican Party, then this in many ways stokes their greatest fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now on the flip side, the republican presidential candidates are looking ahead to Ohio and Florida. Donald Trump says if he wins both, he will be unstoppable. And if the latest Fox news poll is correct, Trump's victory plans could be on hold.

Take a look at this. A survey of likely republican voters in Florida has Trump winning the state with 43 percent. That's more than double the support of Florida's Senator Marco Rubio, which is pretty incredible.

But the tables turn a bit in Ohio. John Kasich, the state's governor, enjoys a lead over Trump 34 to 29 percent.

CNN politics reporter Sara Murray has more on the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was watching the news in one of the rooms and every single advertisement was about me. I was doing my tournament. I'm turning my tournament. I go from tournament to horrible ad. Every -- the most vicious ads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: In the face of an onslaught of attacks, Donald Trump is triumphing, notching three more victories Tuesday night and nudging the party to rally behind him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The bottom line is, we have something going that's so good. We should grab each other and we should unify the party. And nobody's going to beat us, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: The billionaire businessman celebrating with a surreal election night event. Responding to a drum beat of criticism about his failed adventures with an evening design to showcase Trump-branded products.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And we have Trump steaks. And by the way, if you want to take one we'll charge you about what, 50 bucks a steak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: According to news report, sharper image no longer sells Trump steaks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You'll absolutely love Trump steak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: And Bush brothers provide steaks to Trump hotels and golf clubs, so it's unclear where the slabs of meat Trump touted came from. Now that the fight for the nomination is looking more like a two-man race, Ted Cruz isn't letting up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't have any steaks to sell you. I don't have any wine. I don't have any cleaning products.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: The Texas senator emerging with a victory in Idaho Tuesday. And today, getting another boost with an endorsement from former presidential hopeful, Carly Fiorina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRUZ: Carly is being with us today, is just one more manifestation of

what we have been seeing playing out over the last several weeks, which is republicans uniting, coming together behind our campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: But for Marco Rubio, a brutal night. Another winless evening and even deeper odds as he pins all his hopes on Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you very much. You believed in me once. I'm asking you to believe again. We can win this election and we will. I need your help next Tuesday because we're not just going to win the Florida primary. We are going to win Florida in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: And today, John Kasich is still holding on, outperforming Rubio last night and fighting for victory in his home state of Ohio next Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And with those states that have not yet selected a delegate, basically the three, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and I are dead even going into the last half of this whole match. So, don't be thinking it's over yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll could also knock away some of Trump's confidence, if that's possible. You see it shows him losing in the general election. Check it out. In the survey of 1200 registers voters, Hillary Clinton would get 51 percent of the vote to Trump's 38 percent.

[03:15:04] The margin is wider between Bernie Sanders and Trump. The survey shows Sanders with 55 percent of the vote to Trump's 37 percent.

Now polls aside, Trump talked at length earlier to Anderson Cooper telling him how he will win the republican nomination. And he went on to say why the U.S. has to go off the families of terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: If you win Ohio, Kasich drops out and you win Florida and Rubio is gone and it's just you and Cruz. If you don't get all the delegates needed to win by the convention...

TRUMP: Well, I think if I win Ohio and if I win Florida, I pretty much -- you're going to be pretty much assured of doing that.

COOPER: Do you think you'll get all the delegates? TRUMP: I think so. Yes. I really think so. I don't see the convention

going that route. I see --I see probably getting the delegates. You know, it's like the fighters. That's the ultimate way of doing it. You knock them out. If you knock them out, nothing can happen.

COOPER: You want to go for a knockout?

TRUMP: I'd rather go for a knockout.

COOPER: If it goes convention, you don't have -- you're a couple shorter -- you're a couple hundred short, for you, that doesn't matter. It's got to be you -- no other deal is acceptable.

TRUMP: Well, I think -- I think this, if you go to the convention, and because of some artificial number that they set, if you go to the convention and you're leading by a lot of delegates, I think you should get the nomination. And that will be me. I mean, I'll have far more delegates. Now whether or not I get to that artificial number, I don't know, but I think I will.

COOPER: Do you think Islam is at war with the West?

TRUMP: I think Islam hates us. There's something -- there's something there that is a tremendous hatred there. There's a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us.

COOPER: In Islam itself?

TRUMP: You're going to have to figure that out, OK? You'll get another poll at, sir, right? But you're going to have to figure that out. But there is a tremendous hatred and we have to be very vigilant, we have to be very careful. And we can't allow coming in to this country who have this hatred of the United States.

COOPER: I guess the question is...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: And of people that are not Muslim.

COOPER: I guess the question, is there a war between the West and radical Islam or is there a war between West and the Islamic...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, it's radical but it's very hard to define. It's very hard to separate because you don't know who's who. Look, these two young people that got married, she supposedly radicalized him. Who knows what happened.

COOPER: The San Bernardino killers.

TRUMP: The bottom line is, they killed 14 people. They gave them baby showers. I mean, they were friends of theirs, so they walked in and they killed them. There's an unbelievable hatred. You look at Paris, 138 people killed.

Many, many more people going to die in the hospital. Wounded, horribly wounded, horribly wounded. Horribly wounded. And they walk into a room and, boom, boom, boom. There's a sickness going on that's unbelievable.

COOPER: You recently...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: And honestly, you have to get to the bottom of it.

COOPER: You talked about going after to the families of terrorists, you never reverse that...

TRUMP: I didn't reverse anything.

COOPER: You would still want to go after the families of terrorists?

TRUMP: No, no, no. I didn't reverse anything. I clarified, very simply, we have laws. We have to obey the laws. Now, if you want us to be...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Killing the families of terrorists would be against the law.

TRUMP: I didn't say kill. We have to go after them though. The family knows -- look...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: What will you do, kidnapping them?

TRUMP: You have a terrorist. You have -- we have to do something. And it's the only way you're going to stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: There you have it. Now maybe you're like me and you're having a tough time knowing if these candidates are all telling the truth.

Well, CNN politics has you covered. Our reality check team vets every single one of their claims and tells you on this page if they're true or false or if it's complicated. Kind of like a relationship. Just head to cnn.com/politics.

Coming up, what the U.S. has learned from a detained ISIS leader about the group's chemical weapons program.

Plus, migrants heading for northern Europe face a major new setback and are now stranded at a Greek port. More on that after this.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with CNN World Sport headlines.

Paris Saint-Germain have reach the quarter finals to the Champions League after knocking out Chelsea. PSG already held a 2-1 lead from the third leg and scored a crucial away goal early in the game through Adrien Rabiot who stay till got Ibrahimovic's cross.

And despite a quick equalizer from Chelsea's Diego Costa, it was that man Ibrahimovic who put the game after sight with a winner. PSG go through 4-2 on aggregates and it marks the second year in a row they've knocked out Chelsea at this stage of the competition.

In other game two-time European Benfica progressed with a 3-1 aggregate win against Zenit St. Petersburg. The Portuguese side won 1- 0 from the first leg. Got the tie became levelled on aggregate when Zenit Hulk scored a second half header and Benfica time the game and the tie on its head with two late goals (Inaudible) Nicolas Gaitan and Anderson Talisca.

According to the Pound chairman of the world anti-doping agency independent commission, Russia is running out of time to stop doping and may not be able to send a track and field team to this years' Rio Olympic.

Pound doesn't think the team is making adequate progress with compliance after being banned from international competition after a report by Pound's commission revealed widespread doping.

And that's a look at all your sport headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

BARNETT: The U.S. is trying to determine if an air strike in Northeastern Syria killed a top ISIS leader. Activists say Omar al- Shishani was critically injured in the strike last week. Al-Shishani was born in the Soviet Union when it was part of the Soviet Union.

The Pentagon describes him as the ISIS minister of law. The U.S. State Department offered a reward of $5 million for information that could lead to his capture.

Iraqi officials, meantime, are now investigating whether ISIS may have carried out a chemical attack in the country's north. And we're learning more about U.S. operations against the ISIS chemical weapons program itself.

Here's our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Military has been secretly interrogating the man it believes is the head of ISIS' chemical weapons program. For nearly a month, trying to get him to offer up crucial intelligence. Top intelligence officials spelling out the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT STEWART, U.S. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY DIRECTOR: Neither ISIS or Al Qaeda has walked away from their desire to develop chemical, biological capability that they could use against the west. JAMES CLAPPER, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR: ISIL has also used

toxic chemicals in Iraq and Syria including the booster agent sulfur mustard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: U.S. intelligence has confirmed 12 instances of ISIS using mustard agent against civilians in Iraq and Syria, including this attack against Kurds last year. Officials say the detainee provided enough information in recent days for U.S. warplanes to conduct limited air strikes in Iraq against suspected chemical sites but there is reason for skepticism. First, ISIS didn't appear to react to a key operative disappearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It appears that they didn't mission him, so this tells me that it's more of a middle level functionary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: He says he traveled regularly, making his disappearance into captivity less obvious. And there's also no immediate indication the U.S. met the military goal taking out the entire chemical weapons enterprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEIGHTON: It's very difficult to take out the entire chemical capability of ISIS because the types of chemicals that they're using, like mustard agent, are ones that can be produced very easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:04] STARR: The Obama administration has been going to great lengths to keep all of this out of the public eye. But U.S. officials say it is very likely that ISIS still could reconstitute the mustard agent program and begin to manufacture it again at a time and place of its choosing.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

BARNETT: The chief executive officer of Volkswagen America is leaving his post. The company says the resignation of Michael Horn was mutually agreed and he will pursue, quote, "other opportunities."

Now the U.S. is suing the automaker for installing emission software that made cars appear cleaner than they really were on the road. Last year, Horn testified to the U.S. Congress that he had not been aware of any wrongdoing.

A dramatic development in a long-running bribery investigation in South America. Brazil's former president has been placed under former investigation by prosecutors in Sao Paolo. This is part of a broader inquiry into corruption and money laundering allegations tied to Brazil's state and oil company.

Prosecutors allege Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva financially benefitted from the scheme while he was president and after he left office. The popular former leader denies any wrongdoing.

Coming up, a feisty debate for the democrats in Miami, with the focus on immigration and deportation and one exchange getting a bit of attention is on Hillary Clinton's e-mail controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORGE RAMOS, NOTICIERO UNIVISION CO-HOST: If you get indicted, will you drop out.

CLINTON: Oh, for goodness. It's not going to happen. I'm not even answering that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. To those of you watching all over the globe, glad you're still with me. I'm Errol Barnett. This is our last half hour of CNN Newsroom together. Let's make it count. Here are our top headlines.

North Korea says it will sever economic ties with Seoul as Pyongyang's actions raise global concern. Japan is speaking out against North Korea for firing two short-range ballistic missiles which landed in the sea. The launch comes as U.S. and South Korea hold joint military exercises.

And its new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has arrived in Washington for three-day official visit. An unabashed liberal he'll meet President Obama in just a few hours and be the guest of honor at a state dinner Thursday night. Trade, climate change and border security are top items on the agenda.

U.S. republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tells CNN's Anderson Cooper it will be a knockout win for him if he takes Ohio and Florida. These two states hold their primary elections next week. There are 165 delegates up for grabs in these winner take all races.

Now meantime, the democrats face each other for the first time since Bernie Sanders upset win in the Michigan primary. Wednesday's debate was co-sponsored by the Spanish language channel Univision. And here's one reason why that's important.

There are 27.3 million Hispanic voters eligible to vote in this years' presidential election. That is a record number according to the Pew Research Center. Immigration, of course, was a hot topic from the get go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN TUMULTY, THE WASHINGTON POST NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONT: Secretary Clinton, you've known Donald Trump a long time. You've seen what kind of campaign he's running.

CLINTON: In 2006, Senator Sanders supported indefinite detention for people facing deportation and stood with the Minutemen vigilantes.

SANDERS: No, I do not support vigilantes and that is a horrific statement. Madame Secretary, I will match my record against yours any day of the week.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: The money that rescued the auto industry was in that bill.

TUMULTY:

CLINTON: Now Senator Sanders voted against it.

SANDERS: It was the Wall Street bailout.

(APPLAUSE)

I have no interest for Wall Street.

CLINTON: The clean power plan is something that Senator Sanders has said he would delay implementing which makes absolutely no sense. We need to implement all of the president's...

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: I have introduced...

CLINTON: Excuse me, excuse me.

SANDERS: Dis you ask me to speak?

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Sanders, as you can see, this is a painful and personal issue for Lucia and her family. She wants to know what you will do to stop deportation but most importantly to reunite families like hers.

SANDERS: I absolutely support them at the heart of my immigration policy.

CLINTON: The government has to quit making money off of lending money to young people to get their education.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: I think I said it many months before, she said it, but thanks for copying a very god idea.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) BARNETT: Kate Linthicum joins us now from Miami; she's a writer for

the L.A. Times. Kate, we keep trying to find daylight between Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton on a wide range of policy issues. It's hard to do primarily because she keeps taking a lot of things that Sanders says.

But what do you make of Clinton's apparent break with President Obama on deportation, she said children will be off limits.

KATE LINTHICUM, L.A. TIMES REPORTER: Well, I think much of what Clinton said about her deportation policy as president actually sounded a lot like what Obama is currently doing.

I mean, he has said he wants to go after criminals, not families and yet, he's been called 'deporter in chief' by immigration activists because he has deported a record number of people and it's gone beyond just that narrowly defined category.

Obama has said that he would, I mean, he is deporting children, the Central American asylum-seeking children who have been crossing the border. And Clinton said today that she wouldn't do so with those young children who are currently here. The question is what does she do about the people that continue to cross the border, tens of thousands every year?

BARNETT: Now what about Bernie Sanders, did he have a bit of a socialist slip? Because when he was asked about positive comments he made way back in 1985 about Castro and Cuba and Sandinista and Nicaragua, he actually doubled down and said, no, that was more about criticizing the U.S. government policy at the time. Could that cost him in a state like Florida?

LINTHICUM: I think especially in a state like Florida, where you have a Latino community that looks really different than it does in other parts of the country. In Colorado and Nevada and California it's largely Mexican immigrant population.

[03:34:59] Here it's Cuban, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, and especially for those Cubans and Venezuelans, people who basically fled, you know, socialist, communist governments, takeovers, political revolutions like the one Sanders is calling for, I think some of them are actually very wary of sort of the language he has embraced like socialist.

BARNETT: Yes. And currently, Sanders is polling behind Hillary Clinton in Florida. Now, Secretary Clinton avoided calling Donald Trump a racist when she was asked directly to do so. Will she or Sanders, if he somehow becomes the nominee, will they have to use such direct language at some point? Trump is the presumptive nominee and a lot of the comments he's made have been quite xenophobic.

LINTHICUM: I mean, I think I would definitely expect whoever is the nominee to embrace, yes, much more strongly-worded statements as the general election approaches. But I do think it was really interesting.

I mean, you saw at this debate, the democrats basically competing over who is more friendly to immigrants. BARNETT: Yes.

LINTHICUM: Which is starkly different than what you're seeing at the republican debates where Donald Trump and his competitors are competing over who can build a bigger wall.

BARNETT: Kate Linthicum with the L.A. Times. Thanks for your insight today, joining us from Miami.

LINTHICUM: Thanks.

BARNETT: Next Tuesday's primaries will be pivotal on the republican side. Jonathan Mann takes a look at what's at stake when voters in five states go to the polls next week.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Next stop, Super Tuesday, round three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're in the middle of March madness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Primaries are set in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and the biggest prize, Florida. And it's do or die for at least two of the remaining republican candidates. Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich must win their home states to keep their White House hopes alive and keep a cash of delegates out of front- runner Donald Trump's hands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's critical because I think if you can't win your own home state, I think you got to think about calling it a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Both know the stakes. Both are spending big. And while they're running behind Trump in recent polls, both are pledging to win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I need your help next Tuesday because we're not just going to win the Florida primary; we are going to win Florida in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: And this Super Tuesday is winner-take-all, so whoever wins Florida gets all 99 of its delegates, a total of 367 at stake in five states. This is the last best chance for the other candidates to stop Trump's momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: If we win Florida, it's over. If we win...

(CROWD CHEERING)

If we win Florida and Ohio, it's really over, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Not yet over but another big Tuesday for Trump could all but flinch the GOP nomination.

Jonathan Mann, CNN.

BARNETT: Of course, you can watch the next republican debate live from Miami, Florida, Friday morning at 9.30 Hong Kong time. That is early in the morning only here on CNN and, of course, streaming online.

Another Balkan nation says enough is enough, Macedonia closes its border to Greece, shutting down a major path way to Europe for migrants.

Plus, another dramatic matching South Korea. We'll tell you who won the second Go challenge between a world champion and a Google-made computer program.

Also coming up, most reporters are used to their photographers looking out for them but one reporter in California is especially grateful after a potentially disastrous live hit. That story next.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Macedonia has joined the list of countries no longer accepting migrants by sealing its border with Greece. The move effectively closes the so-called Balkan migration route where hundreds of thousands of migrants were taking to Northern Europe.

Doctors without Border says 11,000 are stuck in Greece at the Macedonian border. Germany's border with Austria is the only one open at the Balkan route and it has restrictions. Now it's basically impossible for migrants to get there. Macedonia says it shut its border with Greece after Serbia closed its southern border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER (TRANSLATED): We are going to act responsibly and seriously. We are going to protect human rights of all migrants. But we will protect our national interest, too. Serbia is not going to be either a parking or a collective center for migrants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now despite the closure, migrants are still arriving at a port in Athens which was their doorway to Europe. Now they're camped out in the Greek capital with no place to go. Here's senior international correspondent, Atika Shubert.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Piraeus port, the gateway to Athens, but for many refugees, it is no longer the doorway to Europe. Most mornings the ferries arrive from the islands. The tourists come off first, then the refugees. They carry bundles of blankets, rolled up tents in one arm, babies in the other. All with the same destination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Germany.

SHUBERT: There's been a lot of confusion and chaos here. Nobody is really sure where to go. There is a bus, but it really only brings people around the terminal. And there's no official here to tell them where to go next.

We do see a single U.N. official attempting to figure out who needs what. But many refugees simply set up temporary homes inside the port. But where there are few officials, there are plenty of volunteers.

Sotiris Alexopoulos was laid off in the debt crisis so he turned to helping the homeless and now refugees. But since the borders north have been closing, he says, their work has changed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOTIRIS ALEXOPOULOS, VOLUNTEER: Foods, clothing, and medical care, and then we would see them off on their buses to the border.

SHUBERT: But that's changed now?

ALEXOPOULOS: That has changed now. This change means that we are overnight would became a camp.

SHUBERT: Greek heavily in debt, deep in unemployment, know what it's like to need a helping hand. Athens residents stream in with donations. Nearby Johnson and Johnson sponsors a children's play area that also serves as a waiting room for an onsite pediatrician and a children's dentist.

But the days are hot, the wait is long and the border is still not open.

(CROWD CHANTING)

SHUBERT: This is a group of Afghan refugees demanding that Macedonia open up the border. But their demands are not heard.

[03:45:06] As governments bicker over what to do, ordinary Greeks do what they can to help. The refugees wait, facing a choice. Stay in Greece and hope to be legally accepted as an asylum seeker and relocated somewhere in Europe or keep moving whether illegal or not.

Atika Shubert, CNN, at Piraeus Port in Athens, Greece.

BARNETT: Now, north of Athens' Piraeus port, Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei visited the Greek border camp of Idomeni on Wednesday when he strongly condemned how stranded migrants there are being treated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AI WEIWEI, CHINESE ARTIST & ACTIVIST: What we've seen here is almost unbelievable. Now people are saying this is in the middle of Europe, all the people being stuck here and there's no hope for them even to be can't afford to anywhere else, you know.

Just in the rain, in the cold, and the women, children, all those people waiting for some bread or some dry clothes. And this is very sad situation. And most people have no hope because the door is closed, completely shut off. I think this is huge, big violation of human rights in front of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: To find out how you can help migrants as this crisis continues, head to cnn.com/impact.

We turn to the U.S. State of Louisiana now where multiple families have to be evacuated Wednesday in the state's northwest. This after their homes were submerged in floodwaters.

At last check, about 100 houses were impacted, that's according to the local sheriff's department. And the worst may be yet to come since more rain is anticipated in the coming hours.

Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joined us from the International Weather Center with more on what has been incredible rainfall in this region. Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It have, you know, the storm door has just remained open for a couple of days across this region, Errol. We know the atmospheric moisture, that is enormously high for this time of year.

It is some 200 percent of normal when you take a look at what's happening upstairs. And then you come back to the surface, you observe the soil moisture content, that is also among the highest we've seen.

So, the combination here basically tells us when rain comes down it is going to become runoff instantly across the area of North Texas and it's a part of Louisiana. And we know some 20 million people have been placed under this flash flood watches, meaning any sort of heavy rain here will cause flash flooding to occur within a matter few moments which is precisely what happened.

But again, the moisture source comes right out of the Gulf of Mexico. We know the flood risk remains extremely high. And look at what's transpired over this region. In fact, some of the observation and the indication and the color white right there, that is an excess of 15 to 20 inches.

So, we're talking roughly a half a meter of rainfall has come down in just seven days' period. Where really the vast majority of it in a two to three-day period. And that is typically a 1 in a 200-year event when you look at the statistics of how often you get this much rainfall in such a short time period of half a meter coming down over this region.

Still getting the thunderstorms to pop up has been heading from Thursday into Friday. But notice it does get a little displaced farther to the east and it wanes a little bit. So, certainly good news at least looking forward through the next couple of days.

But some areas could still pick up over four inches or upwards at 150 to 220 millimeters of rainfall. And the storm finally exits the picture as it moves off farther to the north. Now we do have another weather story that transpired in the past 24 hours.

That was around Abu Dhabi, we have hurricanes force wind, school closures, flights also halter across this region. A strong thunderstorms brought tremendous rainfall for this time of year for this part of the world as well.

And some of the observations showed three years' worth of rainfall coming down just outside of -- just south of Dubai there, actually coming in with almost 300 millimeters. About 90 is what they would get in an entire year. So, it got that tells you what we're dealing with.

And again, climatologically you see March is among the wettest times of the year, but about 25 millimeters, not 300 millimeters is what occurs. This is why this was such a big story across this region of Abu Dhabi and really the UAE, Errol.

BARNETT: Yes. And they're really not just used to that amount of rainfall all at once either. So, we want folks to of course take care on the roads there. Pedram, thanks very much.

A TV reporter is thanking his photographer for literally having his back during a live report. How he saved him, next.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good news for skiers and snowboarders looking to extend their winter season. Over the western half of North America we have a very active jet stream. And that means we will continue to usher in storm system after storm system at least for the next foreseeable future.

I'm talking one to two weeks. Maybe we'll last this weather pattern into the middle of April as well. That's the potential.

Now let's look at our forecast radar. We have snow expected for the Cascades. Even into Western Canada. Portions of British Columbia, into the Canadian Rockies. We could get an additional blanket of snowfall going forward.

Whistler, 2 degrees snow in your forecast. We do have cloud coverage in store for above where your snow season hasn't been that impressive so far but still the potential of more snow exist going forward.

Whistler, your base is at 126 inches. Going forward over the next 36 hours, the next day and a half or so, we can expect maybe an additional foot to foot and a half of snow for Mountain Baker, Crystal Mountain 5 inches, Mount Hood maybe 1 to 3 inch rain.

Now traveling a little further to the south into Central California, there's our active weather pattern. Another storm system expected through the end of the weekend. That could dump another maybe half a foot to foot of snowfall for these regions, Heaney to Squaw Valley as well as Monmouth and Mount Chestnut (ph) above.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Another tense ending in South Korea to a nearly five-hour match between a man and a computer. And the machine came out on top once again. It's not just any computer or any game, though.

You see, on Wednesday, Google's AlphaGo software beat world champion and legendary Go player, Lee Sedol, and it won just again a few moments ago. It's now up two games to none. Go is an ancient, a very difficult Chinese board games. The wins though, is seen as a major breakthrough for artificial intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEMIS HASSABIS, DEEPMIND TECHNOLOGIES CEO: So, of course, we're very, very excited about this historic moment and, you know, we're very pleased with how AlphaGo performed.

LEE SEDOL, GO PLAYER CHAMPION (TRANSLATED): I didn't know that I will lose, even though things didn't go up at the beginning. And I didn't think AlphaGo would play the game in such a perfect manner, so I was surprised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: The fifth and final game is scheduled for next week. Good luck to the human.

Photographers can be life-savers reporters in the field, but a photographer in California has truly earned the title after his quick thinking saved a colleague during a live broadcast.

Jeanne Moos has the story.

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reporting can present dangers, whether from a tear gas canister or flying debris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back, get back! This is all coming apart!

MOOS: But what could happen in a parking lot of a Fremont, California, seven-11 while reporting on a train derailment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:55:01] ALEX SAVIDGE, KTVU REPORTER: And obviously it was a chaotic and confusing situation to put.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: No one was hurt but you can't blame KTVU's Alex Savidge for his reaction.

SAVIDGE: My heart is -- hasn't stopped racing.

MOOS: Since his back was to the traffic, Alex credits his cameraman for yelling, get out of the way! Before diving to safety.

SAVIDGE: This is the man, Chip Vaughan.

(APPLAUSE)

SAVIDGE: Always has my back.

MOOS: It turns out the elderly woman driving the white car turned right on red into the path of another car, got hit, and then, police say, stepped on the gas instead of the brake.

SAVIDGE: She missed me by about this much.

MOOS: Police took her license.

SAVIDGE: Every time I see that video, it freaks me out.

MOOS: This is the kind of thing that usually happens to police, not reporters. When officers are stopped on the side of the road everyone reacts differently to a close call. For instance, the cameraman's wife.

CHIP VAUGHAN, KTVU CAMERAMAN: She said, good, you will be able to walk the dog when you get home.

MOOS: In the business this is known as a live hit. But Alex could have ended up dead from this hit.

SAVIDGE: I would just like to thank Chip for it. Thanks, buddy.

VAUGHAN: You're all right. Are you all right?

SAVIDGE: Yes. Thanks. It was scary.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

BARNETT: Incredible. I was in New York a short while back. A window, 10 floors swung opened. The glass shattered went everywhere in front of me. Everyone keeps walking like it was nothing. Alex, I feel your pain.

That does it for me. I'm Errol Barnett. I so appreciate you're spending some of your day with me. For more you can chat with me any time on Twitter. I'll see you next week. More Newsroom is next.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)