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Trump Predicts Riots if Denied GOP Nomination; Anger in the Streets of Brazil; Russia Partially Withdrawing from Syria; Fox News Cancels Monday's GOP Debate; Sweeping New Sanctions Against North Korea; Obama Challenging Republicans with SCOTUS Nomination. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired March 17, 2016 - 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)

ERROL BARNETT, CNN HOST: As Syria peace talks continue, CNN goes inside the country with an aide work while he dodges air strikes.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Donald Trump is predicting riots in the United States, if he is denied the Republican nomination.

BARNETT: And anger in the streets of Brazil, new polls in the appeasement of President Dilma Rousseff.

CHURCH: Hello and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. The second hour of CNN NEWSROOM with us starts now.

CHURCH: And we begin with the new view that we are just getting into CNN. It appears to be fruit of life of the Japanese war reporter feared to have been missing in Syria since last summer. This man is believed to be Jumpei Yasuda.

BARNETT: Now, in the video, the man doesn't say who is holding him, nor does he specify any demands from his captors. And CNN cannot independently confirm when this video was recorded. Now, Japanese media say he was captured by the al-Nusra front, which is an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

And now, we want to update you on the ongoing peace talks to end the brutal Syrian civil war. The U.N. is welcoming a new group to the negotiation table. The so-called Moscow group is opposition coalition backed by Russia.

CHURCH: Plus, Kurds in Northern Syria they will declare a federal system in areas where they already de facto autonomy. The U.S., Turkey, and Syria opposed that move.

BARNETT: And Russia is partially withdrawing its military from Syria. The big headline this week, Moscow tilted the war in favor of the Syria regimen, and effective gave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a stronger bargaining position. CHURCH: Now, despite the ceasefire that is being in place there for a couple of weeks, a delivery is still dangerous business. And in this exclusive report, CNN Senior International Correspondent Clarissa Ward went undercover into rebel-held Syria.

BARNETT: Virtually, no Western journalists have gone for more than a year. She met up with an aide worker as she dodged air strikes trying to help civilians trapped by violence. We have to give you a warning here. There are graphic images in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a Tuesday in Syria and British aide worker, Talkir Sharif (ph) is making a dangerous to Aleppo.

ALKIR SHARIF (ph), BRITISH AIDE WORKER: It's really important that we drive with the windows open because any kind of explosions that land close to us, the last thing we want is shrapnel of glass and so on, and so forth, you know landing on our face.

WARD: He is traveling in to devastated city to deliver an ambulance but it isn't long before he is diverted.

(SIREN)

WARD: Four air strikes have hit. Sharif (ph) runs into the wreckage to see what is needed.

SHARIF (ph): This is a house. It's all houses.

WARD: Remarkably, no one has been injured or killed but the sound of another jet means it's time to leave.

SHARIF (ph): Everybody out. Let's go, let's go.

They are saying that the plane is in the sky. We can hear it. They are saying a tactic that it uses (ph), when ambulances turn up, they will hit the same place again, so we're just going to try to get to a safer place.

WARD: Sharif (ph) is one of just a handful of Western aid workers living in Syria.

SHARIF (ph): Most of the big aid organizations they don't want to go into the line of fire in a sense. This is something that we have to do. This is something that is a human response. If we don't do it, then who will?

WARD: In the relative safety of an olive grove near the Turkish border, he told us religious conviction played a big part in his decision to come here three years ago.

SHARIF (ph): We need to look at what do the people really want? And if the people are Muslims -- this is not me saying it. If the people are Muslims and they want some form of Islamic governance, then it's important that we help them to establish that.

WARD: Is that what they want?

SHARIF (ph): In my opinion, that's what I believe. And you can ask -- you can ask, you can go and ask the people, what do you want? I don't think they will settle for anything else, especially after all this bloodshed, their right to self-determination.

WARD: For many of the 6.5 million displaced people in Syria, there are perhaps more immediate concerns. Most live in sprawling tent cities along the border. Conditions in the camps are brutal. There is a lack of food and clean water. And they become more crowded every day.

[03:05:10] SHARIF (ph): We just recently done a survey of this camp. Just this camp here, alone, which is a conglomeration of about 40 camps, is around 80,000 people.

WARD (on camera): Eighty thousand people.

SHARIF (ph): And this is just one on this border. There is another one not too far from here, another maybe 65,000, 70,000 people.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: Sharif's (ph) favorite project is this smaller camp that houses roughly 100 widows and their children.

Syria is now a country full of widows and orphans, some still too young to understand what has happened to their country, others who have seen too much. All of them dependent on the mercy of others.

SHARIF (ph): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: Clarissa Ward, CNN, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: And for more of our reporting from the war-torn country, just head to CNN.com/Syria. There you will find our digital exclusive, the Truth About Syria: Undercover Behind Rebel Lines. And even this, a 360-degree view what is uttered destruction in the Syrian city of Aleppo. All of that is online.

And troops in Iraq and a few dozens of Yazidis, ISIS was holding captive, an Iraqi lawmaker tells us, they were mainly women and children. And they have been under ISIS control since 2014. Since then, being moved from place to place.

CHURCH: Iraq's military intelligence carried out the daring escape Wednesday. Right now, we don't know exactly how many hostages the military rescued.

And in Northern Yemen, medical officials say at least 78 civilians are dead and more than 100 murdered following three Saudi airstrikes on a market in Hajjah.

BARNETT: Seven children were reportedly among those killed. A Saudi military spokesman says they're investigating Tuesday's attacks and that it is possible that another group is responsible for the bombing.

All right. Let's get to the U.S. politics now. Donald Trump is warning of riots, that is if he gets to the Republican convention with the most delegates, but he doesn't get the nomination.

CHURCH: Trump needs to win more than half of the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination, which is possible. Here is what he told CNN on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're you know a hundred short and we're at 1100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400, because we are way ahead of everybody, I don't think that you can say that we don't get it automatically. I think -- I think you would have riots. I think you would have riots. You know, I'm representing a tremendous -- many, many millions of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: There is also this development. Fox News has canceled Monday's Republican debate. This after Donald Trump said he wouldn't be there. Trump says he only found out about the debate recently and will be speaking to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee instead.

CHURCH: In the meantime, as Democrat Hillary Clinton moves closer to getting her party's nomination, she is setting her sights on Trump.

BARNETT: And CNN's Brianna Keilar reports both sides who are ready to fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton, fresh off the sweep last night.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is another Super Tuesday for our campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

KEILAR: The Democratic frontrunner bringing home four states, adding to her delegate lead over Bernie Sanders.

CLINTON: We are moving closer to securing the Democratic Party nomination and winning this election in November.

(APPLAUSE)

KEILAR: With the math and the momentum in her favor, Clinton is looking to the general election. CLINTON: Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it.

(APPLAUSE)

KEILAR: She is taking aim at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, treating him as the presumptive Republican nominee.

CLINTON: Our next president has to bring our country together, so we can all share in the promise of America. We should be breaking down barriers, not building walls.

KEILAR: Trump firing back at Clinton on CNN today.

TRUMP: She is under federal investigation. She doesn't have the strength or the stamina to be president. She talks about defeat our enemies, but where has she been for the last year? We can't even beat ISIS. She is not defeating our enemy. She wouldn't know how to defeat the enemy. It's ridiculous. So I think she's an embarrassment and we will see what happens.

KEILAR: He followed up with a video host slamming Clinton as incapable of taking on leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin.

(BARKING)

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: The back and forth, a preview of a potential general election match-up, even as Sanders presses on with his campaign.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Next week, Arizona has a very important election.

(APPLAUSE)

[03:10:04] SANDERS: We will win if the voter turnout is high. Let's make it high.

KEILAR: Bernie Sanders and his aides have said that he is going all the way to the Democratic convention in July. So while this is shaping up to be a Trump versus Clinton battle, both of these frontrunners still have primary fights in their hands. And that is expensive. You'll note that Hillary Clinton is focusing very much on fundraising here in the coming days as she tries to build up her general election war chest. Brianna Keilar, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: So now, what can we all expect to see? Joining me to discuss the path ahead is Republican Strategist Juleanna Glover alongside Democratic Strategist Joe Lestingi. Welcome to you, both. Julie, I want to begin with you because I think what is happening on the Republicans right now, it is so more interesting. Donald Trump of course has by far has the highest number of votes in all these early contests. But all we keep hearing is this plan to stop his march to the nomination. Trump says his supporters are likely to riot. And you can see that he does actually have a point here.

JULEANNA GLOVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think that every Republican meeting, his supporters are likely to riot. So if they are disappointed, who knows how this will turn out? But what's crucial to understand though is Trump is in no way, shape or form, trying to (tame) sort of the base or attendances of some of his supporters. He is out there egging them on. It is as though that he wants them to riot. He wants to see you know police out in the streets with tear gas and horses. It's really quite outrageous, quite frankly.

BARNETT: But what does it say about the grand old party in the state of the Republican establishment right now that he is favored more than anybody else. This is by all the things that you just mentioned.

GLOVER: It is not that he is favored more than anyone else. He happens to be getting the plurality of the votes right now. That does not mean he has the majority. So two-thirds approximately of the Republican Party oppose Donald Trump. And I will also argue that the man is certainly in now way or shape a Republican. It is history, or up until just recently, has been clearly that of a more moderate Democrat. You know, he has had a history of being (inaudible), he has donated prolifically to the Democratic Party leaders such as Pelosi, Schumer, the Clinton themselves. It is patently apparent. He is not really a Republican and he is just cloaking himself, the mantel of the Republicanism in order to acquire power.

BARNETT: And I guess this is why it is just so fascinating right now because he is still the most popular Republican running. Joe, you're smiling while listening to all of this. But the Democrats do have their own issues. I mean, why is Bernie Sanders still in the race? Secretary Clinton has the big delegate lead now than when she was competing against Obama back in the day. Why is Sanders still around? Does that hurt the Democrats?

JOE LESTINGI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I don't think it's hurting the Democrats. In fact, I think what you see on the Democratic side is sort of lack of enthusiasm and turnout is because we are happy with both nominees. I mean, the truth is I live in Virginia and I voted for Bernie. But will probably be supporting Hillary because I like the plans both of them have put forward. The reason why Bernie is still in this race is because the way we divide delegates is very different the way Republicans do. If you get 30 percent of the vote, you're going to get 30 percent of the delegates. So therefore, it always makes it look like it's closer than it is, but the mathematical probability of Bernie Sanders being able to really make a push even at the convention for the nomination is very, very slim. Hillary has got this thing locked up. Not only that, but we do have super delegates on our side which I know Republicans will kill for right now. So we do have those as well. And they're going to help push her over the top. And that's the way the system works. So Bernie is making his point, he is putting out really good policy decisions and proposals, and it is helping -- it is helping read the discussion, if you will, on free college, single parent healthcare, things along those lines. Setting bold ideas. So it's good for -- it's good for the party and it is good for us to develop that sort of brand, and that sort of message going forward. BARNETT: Now, two big challenges both frontrunners face are high unfavorables, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump disliked deeply by many in the electorate. Julie, is that something you expect will turnaround for Donald Trump or are you banking on the scenario that he won't become the nominee?

GLOVER: I'm banking on the scenario that more you Donald Trump, the more you dislike him. Let's go back to Joe's point a moment ago, you know, the Democrats have two candidates right now. They are also in a scenario where 30 percent of the Democrats are dissatisfied with their establishment candidate i.e. Hillary Clinton. So if there were more than one candidate running up against Bernie Sanders, I think you will see the exact same thing in the Democratic Party, sort of an extremist candidate who is facing a fraction of an establishment lane. In fact, I guess the part of argue that we are now looking at a four-party system, with both a Trump-like candidate, a Sanders-like candidate, and then two more moderates, more -- from both parties, taking up the center lanes.

BARNETT: I appreciate you both speaking with us. Juleanna Glover, a Republican strategist, with Joe Lestingi, a Democratic strategist, both joining us from D.C. Thanks for your time.

GLOVER: Thank you.

LESTINGI: Thanks for having us.

[03:15:08] CHURCH: All right. Let's take a very short break. Here's to come, outrage is boiling over in Brazil. Details on the president's announcement that has thousands of people pouring into the streets in protest, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. Anger over a huge corruption scandal in Brazil has come to this tipping point. Thousands of people protesting President Dilma Rousseff and her newest cabinet member.

CHURCH: Demonstrations broke out Wednesday all across the nation including Sao Paulo and Brasilia. Things got very tense with riot police spraying tear gas to protestors.

BARNETT: Shasta Darlington joins us now from Rio to talk about what is happening. Shasta, there has been growing discontent among Brazilians toward their leadership, but what exactly preceded these spontaneous protests Wednesday night?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the announcement, Errol, is that Former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has accepted the post of chief of staff for his protoge and current president Dilma Rousseff. Now, on one end, this will help shield him from some ongoing corruption investigations. But it is really inciting, these political tensions. And that's why we're seeing people out on the street, these anti-government demonstrations in more than dozen cities across the country in front of the presidential palace in Brasilia, out in the main avenue in San Paulo, but many other cities as well. And in hundreds of cities across the country, we heard people beating pots and pans and honking their horns when these announcements were covered in the nightly news programs. So a lot of discontent, a lot of anger. In some ways, this announcement was expected. The president has reportedly offered Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva a position repeatedly ever since the police raided his home earlier this month, and took him in for questioning as part of an investigation into a corruption scandal.

(CROSSTALK)

[03:21:05] DARLINGTON: But this is really taking it to a whole new level, Errol.

BARNETT: We should know that the former president is being investigated for money laundering, for fraud. State prosecutors have called for his arrest. But the current president, Dilma Rousseff, says that she appointed him as a chief of staff, not for any of those reasons, but because of his experience, the fiscal stability. It is a very unusual time to make a move like this. How many people are buying that excuse?

DARLINGTON: Well, the argument does have some elements that actually seem to make sense. President Rousseff has rock bottom approval rating, they're in the middle of this prolonged recession, and on top of that, she is facing an impeachment proceeding that was already opened in Congress. So the argument for the supporters of the workers' party of President Rousseff and former President Luiz, he is this charismatic two-time president. And his record approval ratings will get him in office, will get him into ministerial position, where he will be able to negotiate with lawmakers, stay off these impeachment proceedings, and build a confidence in the economy.

However, if you take a closer look, market didn't react so positively. In fact, the Real weakened against the Dollar, stocks were down, because the general consensus among investors is unless you change this government, things aren't going to get better, Errol.

BARNETT: Fascinating stuff for a place that is about to host the Olympics. Shasta Darlington live for us in Rio. I appreciate it.

CHURCH: Tension between Washington and Pyongyang is escalating. North Korea wants the U.N. Security Council to call amercing on the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, calling them a grave threat.

BARNETT: In the meantime, U.S. President Barack Obama imposed sweeping new sanctions against the North, in response to its recent nuclear attack and rocket launch.

Also, the State Department is condemning North Korea's 15-year sentence of hard labor for a U.S. college student, all for allegedly removing a political banner from a hotel. CHURCH: Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson met with two North Korea diplomats to push for Otto Warmbier's release. And now, Ivan Watson joins us now from Seoul with more. So, Ivan, what is going to happen to this young man?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The situation looks pretty difficult for him. And it does not look like a good situation for any diplomacy perhaps negotiating his quick release. Otto Warmbier, he appeared in a court in North Korea, that's where he got this 15-year sentence of hard labor. The crime was state subversion. And he was arrested in early January at the end of a tourist trip to North Korea. Listen to a fragment of what he said in court when he appeared for clemency, Rosemary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OTTO WARMBIER, U.S. STUDENT: My brother and my sister. I am only human. I have made the worst thing of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, Rosemary, here he is before in another televised confession where he confessed to basically pulling a government sign off of a hotel in Pyongyang where he was staying, a sign that he says he was trying to smuggle out of the country before he was pulled off the plane at Pyongyang Airport and arrested. Again, at the beginning of January, we can't confirm whether or not that confession was made under duress. North Korea has an appalling human rights' record. Just this week, a special repertory for human rights in North Korea found in his final report that North Korea is responsible for crimes against humanity. He recommended prosecution of North Korean officials, and recommended that the proper venue for that will be International Criminal Court. North Korea boycotted those sessions of the U.N. Human Rights Council. Rosemary.

[03:25:05] CHURCH: Of course, we have seen this play out with other Western prisoners. They have been released really. We hope that that happens this in this instance, but we will watch this very closely. Ivan Watson joining us live there from Seoul. Many thanks.

We are getting our first look at stunning surveillance videos showing two inmates breaking out of a Canadian jail in a stolen helicopter. And you can see they were climbing some sort of rope from the chopper before being flown away. This happened in 2013 in Montreal, but one of the inmates is on trial right now. Look at that.

BARNETT: Almost unbelievable. Reports say two accomplices apparently posed as tourists in a nearby town, rented the chopper for a tour, and forced the pilot to fly to the jail. The inmates, alleged hijackers, are all arrested later.

Now, President Obama pulls (ph) down the political gauntlet with his Supreme Court nominee. The Republicans' response next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back to those of you watching from all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. It is time to check the headlines for you.

Kurds in north of Syria say they will declare a federal system in areas where they already have de facto autonomy. The U.S., Turkey, and Syria are opposing that move. Separately, Kurdish groups fighting ISIS are furious. The U.N. did not invite them to the ongoing talks to end the Syrian Civil War.

[03:30:02] BARNETT: We have live pictures for you here, of more than 40,000 migrants and refugees along the border between Greece and Macedonia. More people are arriving daily as Macedonia closed its border. The EU and Turkish leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis.

We are receiving conflicting reports about who is responsible for deadly airstrikes that targeted a market in northern Yemen. Medical officials in Hajjah told CNN that Saudi Arabia launched the attack that killed at least 78 civilians on Tuesday. But a Saudi military spokesman says that claim is not conclusive and an investigation is underway.

BARNETT: Thousands of civilians are protesting in the streets. Furious over a former president return to government. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is now the chief of staff for his successor, Dilma Rousseff. Critics see the move as a way of protecting Lula possible imprisonment over corruption charges.

CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama is challenging Republicans with a Supreme Court nominee who's had bipartisan support in the past.

BARNETT: Republican leaders refuse to consider any Obama nominee, instead they insist the next U.S. president should make the choice. Pamela Brown has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today I am nominating Chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama today made his case for 63 year old, Merrick Garland, chief judge for D.C. appeals courts.

OBAMA: I selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even handedness, and excellence.

BROWN: An emotional Judge Garland with his family looking on, introduced himself to the nation.

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: This is the greatest honor of my life other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago.

BROWN: The White House pals Judge Garland as having more Federal judicial experience than any nominee in history, serving nearly two decades on the bench. Before that he prosecuted Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case.

GARLAND: The Ryder truck was seen there.

BROWN: The president considers the Chicago native and Harvard law graduate a consensus nominee. He was appointed to the D.C. Appeals Court by President Bill Clinton in 1997, and was confirmed by a 76-23 senate vote with bipartisan supporters including Republican, Orrin Hatch.

ORRIN HATCH, U.S. SENATOR: Based solely on his qualifications, I support the nomination of Mr. Garland, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

BROWN: The ball now is in the Republican's court, but they continue to vow there'll be no hearing for a nominee until a new president is elected.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy.

BROWN: And they're using Vice President Joe Biden's own words against him. From his days as a senate judiciary committee chairman

MCCONNELL: Here's what he said, it would be our pragmatic conclusion...

JOE BIDEN, THEN U.S. SENATOR: ... that once the political season is underway, and it is, action of a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over.

BROWN: McConnell went on to dub it, the Biden rule, the term getting a lot of support among Republicans on Capitol Hill, including House Speaker, Paul Ryan.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-W), HOUSE SPEAKER: The senate which is a co-equal branch of government has every right not to act on the nomination.

BROWN: Biden shot back on Twitter saying there's only one Biden rule as follow while on the senate, every Scotus nominee gets a hearing, committee vote, and floor vote, period. And senate Democrats is joining that battle cry.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We hope the saner heads in the Republican Party will prevail on Chuck Grassley and Mitch McConnell to do their job.

BROWN: For Garland, this day is especially poignant having been passed over twice before, for a seat on the high court.

GARLAND: Mr. President, it's a great privilege to be nominated by a fellow Chicagoan. I am grateful beyond words for the honor you have bestowed upon me.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about President Barack Obama's

pick for the Supreme Court is Page Pate, he's a constitutional and criminal defense attorney. Thank you so much for talking with us. Now before we get to the politics of this, let's look at who Merrick Garland is and how his view of the world would likely shape the many decisions and controversial decisions that will come before the Supreme Court in the months ahead, this, of course, if it gets approved.

PAGE PATE, CONSTITUTIONAL ATTORNEY: Right. Judge Garland is exceptionally well qualified for the job. I don't think anyone would dispute that. Background at Harvard law school, he worked for the department of justice, had very influential positions in the department of justice. He's been on the District of Columbia circuit court of appeals for almost 20 years now. And that's the court that people consider right under the United States Supreme Court. A very important court, they hear a lot of controversial cases. If you look at his opinions, and that's how you get to know a judge, look at what's he's written in the past, he seems very conservative on a lot of issues, criminal justice issues, gun control, perhaps even issues relating to campaign finance, but he's not taken a very controversial position on almost any of the major issues, and so that's why I think he's probably the most likely candidate to be pleasing to the Republicans.

[03:35:35] CHURCH: Right. That is why President Obama has selected him.

PATE: Presumably.

CHURCH: No doubt. So when you look at Mitch McConnell and a lot of the Republicans, as far as they're concerned, this is a lifelong position.

PATE: Yes.

CHURCH: It's not something to go in likely in an election year. And many of the Republicans are saying this is something that the people of the United States need to weigh in on.

PATE: Right.

CHURCH: What is being said about that in terms of the constitution. What sort of guidance does the constitution give us?

PATE: Well, like you said, it is a very important job, it's lifelong. You can serve until you die or until you retire. But even more importantly, this year most people believe the court is equally split, four conservatives and four moderates or liberals, and so this will be the deciding vote on a lot of key issues, abortion, immigration, gun control. So it is not a regular appointment. This is a very important appointment. So the senate is saying we're going to do what Senator Biden, now Vice-President Biden said many years ago. We're going to say, if this is an election year then the president should hold off and not send us a nominee, and if he does, we're not going to consider that nominee because we're in a middle of an election. Let the people decide on who's going to be president, and then let that president make the ultimate selection.

CHURCH: Now is there a sort of back door here for the Republicans if they don't get their president up saying if Hillary Clinton gets in what could be the outcome in that instance?

PATE: Well, I think the Republicans are not going to get a better nominee from a Democratic president. So if Hillary Clinton wins the election, she is almost certain to nominate someone who is a lot more liberal than Judge Garland. So I could see a situation develop that if Hillary Clinton wins the election in November, then the senate goes ahead and considers Judge Garland. They have confirmation hearings, they'll vote on him in December before President Clinton, if she's elected, takes office in January. And so, I think and I've heard that some influential Republican sent word to the White House that If you want a guy to get nominated and confirmed, it needs to be someone like Merrick Garland.

CHURCH: Page Pate, always a pleasure to get your perspective on this.

PATE: Thank you.

CHURCH: Appreciate it.

BARNETT: Now parts of the U.S. south are dealing with catastrophic floods right now. The entire town of Deweyville, Texas, for example, looks like this, it's all underwater. Local media say a river there has been rising ten centimeters an hour, breaking a 100-year-old flood record.

CHURCH: Some people refuse to leave their homes. A news helicopter found this family living on their roof, with furniture, cleaning supplies, even a television. And this is a familiar sight in Louisiana after severe flooding, caskets and vaults are floating away from low lying cemeteries, very disturbing, yikes.

BARNETT: Now residents there in Southeast Texas have experienced catastrophic flooding even though most of the rain is heading to the north. Our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, joins us to explain why that is. Why the region is being hit so hard.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. The heavy rain even took place a few days ago, so we're still feeling the effects of this major system that brought that area in Deweyville, for instance, isolating an entire town of 1200 people. Take a look at this, and I'll explain and answer your question, Errol and Rose, at least you could see why we have so much flooding in an area that actually didn't even experience the heaviest amount of rain.

Just a recap, the northern sections of Louisiana saw the record- breaking rainfall, over 500 millimeters in a few locations including the Monroe region. Now, there are several rivers, several tributary, and several streams that lead into the Sabine River, the area that you saw the flooding just a moment ago, but shattering a century old flooding gauge record that has been set in this area, just with this recent flooding, over 32.3 feet. But keep in mind the ground is just like a sponge. It's filled to capacity at the moment across this area, and water seeks its own level. Once that sponge becomes full, well the water is going to -- well, eventually makes its way to the surrounding areas, rivers, and low lying regions. And unfortunately that is going to affect households just like what you saw moment ago with people living on tops of their roofs. This is the reason why we get our groundwater, we get that extremely saturated environment, and eventually the water comes up and above the ground, and it floods out in all directions. And this is catastrophic flooding because it's taking so long for that water to eventually recede. That you can imagine the damage that it is left in its wake.

Now it's not only the Sabine River that is such a concern, anywhere that we've highlighted these shades of green across the Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas boarder, these are all the rivers and tributaries funneling in to each other, you eventually making their way toward the Gulf of Mexico to the south. But they need to crest different rivers at different stages as that water starts to funnel towards the Gulf of Mexico. So flooding will be a concern for this region for the next foreseeable future. And there's the potential for more rain, and again, in an already saturated environment. We'll monitor this area for more flooding going forward over the next week.

I want to end with this because this is fascinating. Take a look at this picture of the Beijing Television Tower. The same view photographed by an individual that's at an adjacent building on the 13th floor. He took a photo every single day for three years continuous. I'm showing you what a day that would be a blue bird day, perfectly sunny skies compared to the smog that we're all so familiar with in Beijing. Now take a look at it with this perspective. He actually lined up 365 days of the same building, same images, just to give you a composite view of what and how much smog they've had to deal with. Remember, last year, 2015, actually saw 46 days of heavy air pollution in Beijing. That's quite an interesting way to actually summarize it. Put it all in one composite photo and let the public decide what they need to do, right?

[03:41:38] BARNETT: Instead of all that smog it's getting into your lungs, getting into your body.

VAN DAM: And if you ask me, I see more gray than blue on that picture.

CHURCH: Definitely.

BARNETT: Pessimist.

VAN DAM: Half full or half empty?

BARNETT: Thanks.

VAN DAM: Thank you.

CHURCH: Hundreds of women in India have been sold into slavery. CNN spoke to one man who said he used to be a trafficker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNINDENTIFIED MALE: If you had the chance to do it again, and you

knew 100 percent that you wouldn't get caught, would you do it again? Would you put more girls on a train like this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: His answer after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:32] CHURCH: This week CNN's freedom project is shedding light on the human trafficking affecting tea pickers in India. Yesterday, our team followed police on a daring raid to rescue three young trafficking victims.

BARNETT: Today the freedom project, Muhammad Lila talks to a convicted trafficker who admits to preying on girls working on India's sprawling tea plantations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN'S FREEDOM PROJECT: For many trafficking victims, this is where their modern day slavery begins, loaded on a crowded trains heading for a life of bonded labor. For the people behind it all, it takes months of planning.

LILA: Do you still remember her, her face? Polo-Jens is a convicted trafficker who spent 4 months behind bars, admitting he tricked young girls from tea plantations with promises of a better life.

He agreed to talk to us. And as we drive through town, he described how he was the middle man taking three girls to deli, knowing they might never come home.

How much money were you paid for taking these girls to Deli? It works out to less than $200 per girl.

Do you think it's OK for people like you to traffic these girls, take money, and send these girls away, and they never come home?

(INAUDIBLE)

Traffickers like Polo-Jens, specifically targets young girls on tea plantations. He says it was the easy way for him to make some quick money. To find out, we head out to the nearest police district.

LILA: Sub inspector Bora...

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LILA: ... nice to meet you. I'm Muhammad with CNN's Freedom Project.

LILA: When girls go missing, it is sub inspector Bora's job to find them.

(INAUDIBLE) LILA: So he just said they were about 20 or 30 cases of trafficking just in this one district alone. Most of them are girls who work and live on tea plantation, sometimes making just pennies a day, with no education and no hope for a better life.

LILA: Why are there so many cases of trafficking involving families or girls from these tea gardens?

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: If you ask me, the sub inspector says, people who works on tea gardens are financially poor, uneducated, and they have a lot of debt. So they need a lot of money.

LILA: And that makes them perfect targets. Hundreds have been tricked by phony placement agencies who promised them jobs and money that they can send home. Instead, they're sold into bonded labor or the sex industry, with no way to escape.

Back at the railway station on the very same platform where he took those girls away, this trafficker insists he's a change man.

LILA: If you have the chance to do it again, and you knew a 100 percent that you wouldn't get caught, would you do it again? Would you put more girls on a train like this?

(INAUDIBLE)

LILA: But beneath his remorse, there's an even darker reality. For every ex-trafficker like him, there are dozens more waiting to take his place. For the CNN Freedom Project, Muhammad Lila in Guwahati, northeastern India.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The CNN Freedom Project wants to eliminate slavery for good. And to find out more and tramp the cause, visit CNN.com/freedom.

BARNETT: Still to come this hour on CNN, meet a woman who once was a popular chef and T.V. host in Syria. How she's doing now in her new home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:45] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Ski watch time. Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: We want to introduce you to a Syrian refugee who once hosted a popular cooking show on Syrian television.

CHURCH: Yeah. Mallakeh Jazmati, is bubbly and charming and it's easy to understand why so many people tune in to her program. CNN, caught up with her in Germany and see how's she is adapting to her new life away from home. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A dusting of flour, a splash of oil. One year ago this is how Mallakeh Jazmati was welcomed into Syrian homes. As a smiling face of, Queen of the Kitchen, a Syrian cooking show whose mission was much more than a tasty recipe. Today when people hear Syria, she told us, they think only of killing,

destruction, bombs, and I'm working to change that. When people hear Syria, I want them to remember our delicious food, our smiles, and that we are honest good people. I try to make them forget about all of that death and destruction.

Today, Mallakeh is a refugee in Berlin. Her husband fled here more than a year ago and she joined him in December. Now, she knows the German name of every herb and vegetable on sale.

I'm starting back at zero again, she says, maybe less than zero. But I'm aiming for more than ten, she says.

On the day we visit, Mallakeh cooks us a light meal, somewhere between lunch and dinner in the kitchen that she shares with a dozen other residence here. Mohammed, her husband, is given garlic duty.

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing I did this as before just the fried eggs, so it's not

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: It slips.

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I see.

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can eat it with rice or with bread.

[03:55:05] SHUBERT: On the menu, Maluhea, a pungent spinach like leaf she pan fries with plenty of garlic and coriander, a Damascus specialty. And Batersh, a dish from Hanna City, roasted aver gene topped with a savory tomato and beef sauce, food from home. Mallakeh's cooking often becomes a community event. Rama, another Syrian who just oved in, and Adrian, a German volunteer living next door, chop the parsley and coriander. Mallakeh is studying German now. And she's already started on a cook book, small steps on her ultimate goal of a cooking show.

I think of things differently now, she says. There is a saying, you can tear down a branch but not the whole tree. Now that I'm living in a shared house for refugees, I have the benefit of living with people who encourage me. And I'm stronger for it, she says. When we sit down to eat, the table has grown to include an Afghan, two German volunteers, four Syrians, and one very lucky CNN crew. Outside, snow falls and the kitchen is warm, the sound of laughter and cooking, which is exactly how Mallakeh, queen of the kitchen, likes it. Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That's wonderful.

BARNETT: Very cool.

CHURCH: That's inspiring as well.

BARNETT: And they say food can heal the soul, so best of luck to Mallakeh, and all of her efforts.

CHURCH: Absolutely. Thanks for watching CNN, I'm rosemary church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett, always great to have you here with us. We will see you here next week. CNN NEWSROOM, continues next with Hannah Vaughan Jones in London. Have a great day.

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