Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom Live 20180401 : vimarsana.

You and thank you for joining us. To our viewers in the u. S. And around the world, im natalie allen. Im George Howell from cnn news headquarters. Newsroom starts now. And we begin with the war games ongoing on the korean peninsula. The u. S. And south korea kicking off an annual military exercise, this despite thawing tension between the two koreas. North Korean Leader kim jongun is set to meet with the south korean counterpart, president moon jaein later this month. A meeting between mr. Kim and the u. S. President donald trump could follow the month after that. Lets go live to seoul, south korea, cnns Paula Hancocks is on the story this hour. Paula, so, this time the drills shorter than last year. Is this a concession . And does north korea seem more accepting to more difficult employment si underway . Diplomacy underway . Reporter george, the us you has not called it tway concession. You look at the facts, its a month long. Its usually two months long. So, certainly that is a big change. The pentagon i insisting, though, it is still going to be the same size, the same scope. This is the full legal, the Field Training exercise, every single spring annoys pyongyang. They see it as having the power, seeing it as a dress rehearsal for an invasion. Interestingly, what weve heard this time around is that the south korean delegation that went to meet the north Korean Leader kim jongun said they brought up these drills and kim jongun said he understands that they will go ahead. So, we would imagine that were not going to see much of a reaction like we usually do from the North Koreans. Often we will see a number of missile launches, potentially even a nuclear test from the north Korean Leader. He said while negotiations are going on, tests will be on hold. One interesting point, though. At this juncture when the drills stop, we usually know when media days are going to be. We usually know when we can go along and film this fairly visual military exercise. We havent heard of anything at this point. The assumption is that they will not be showing this to the world very much. Theyll be going ahead with these drills, but not necessarily allowing us to film it so north korea can see it. And, paula, one other question. So, diplomacy underway, these drills will take place, of course, and kapa in place here, cultural exchanges twren tbetwe two koreas. How important is that . Yes, this is a concept in pyongyang that will take place in a few hours. It was pushed back a couple of hours at the request of the North Koreans saying they wanted more people to see it. Though its the First Time Since 2005 that you had a south korean act in north korea performing. Theres a number of kpop acts individuals and groups and its going to be an interesting viewing because certainly kpop is not something that most North Koreans would be very familiar with. But its unclear at this point whether or not the north Korean Leader kim jongun will be in attendance. We heard from the culture minister who is leading that delegation up there from south korea, he said that president moon went to a performance by north korean artists durlg the olympics. Theyre hoping that will be the same situation in the north. Theyre hoping the north Korean Leader will be there but they simply dont know that at this point. Hes also saying that he wants more cultural exchanges. So, its certainly significant in the way that it shows that this momentum in improving interkorean relations is continuing, not just on the political side and the sporting side which we saw during the olympics, but also the cultural side. Paula hancocks live in seoul, south korea. Thank you so much for the reporting. Here in the United States, there is anger on the streets of california, sacramento, california, two weeks after the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed africanamerican man who was shot by police. Take a look at the scene in sacramento. This happening late saturday night. Police say the protests began peacefully, demonstrators there chanting Stephon Clarks name, demanding justice. But they grew tense with the crowd of around 100 or more facing off with a line of riot police. Protesters also blocked traffic. And police are investigating after a sheriffs vehicle struck a protester in the street. Video of that, we warn you, it is disturbing. [ bleep ] oh, my god oh, my god there you saw it right there, this again from the other side of that car. You can see the panicked reactions of the protesters. The woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, we understand. An eyewitness describes what he saw. A woman was walking in between the two vehicles, stopped in front of the deputys vehicle, put up her hand in a stop sign, and the vehicle accelerated and struck her, accelerated very fast and struck her violently. And she fell to the ground. The deputies then sped off. More from sacramento, heres our ryan young. Reporter the protest for Stephon Clark in sacramento have been peaceful until this point. Tonight we felt the most tension interaction between police and protesters. You look behind me, you can see that police have donned their riot gear. That is after interaction between a sheriffs deputy and eye a protester. It appeared a woman was between the cars and there was an impact between the two. Were not sure exactly what happened. Well show you what is happening now. Look at all the sheriffs deputies and Police Officers from around the area that have decided to come down here. They are queued just in case anything happens here. Of course this is after a day full of protests where nothing has happened, but now that tenseness has bubbled up and there is definitely a tense moment. Not only between protesters, but between Police Officers who are trying to protect and maintain the peace. Ryan young there. We turn now to the middle east. The European Union calling for a transparent investigation into the deaths of 17 palestinians cl clashes with israeli troops friday. Hundreds of palestinians were wounded in the unrest at the gaza border, according to u. N. Diplomats the u. S. Has blocked the u. N. Security council from adopting a similar statement urging an independent investigation. There is also this video posted by the Palestinian Media Center. A woman waving a palestinian flag is seen running back and forth. Gunfire is 4erd as sheard as sh to fall. The Palestinian Media Center said she was shot by Israeli Forces during fridays unrest. In the meantime the Israeli Defense forces say its own videos like this one that you see here shows its troops were confronted with gunshots, fire bombs and burning tires as alleged terrorists attempted to, quote, infiltrate israeli territory. It insists troops fired only when necessary. Extremely tense in that region right now. Cnn International Diplomatic editor Nick Robertson is live for us from jerusalem. It is midmorning there, nick. How is the day progressing so far . Well, so far all indications are that it looks a little bit more like the protests of saturday which were relatively quiet compared to friday. It still is early in the day. And i think this is the scene that is going to be set now. You know, friday, if you will, both sides had said what they were going to do, israel had been very clear warning that if people approached the fence, they would be breaching israeli sovereignty and that israel would take appropriate action. They were very clear on what that action would be, strong, hard, tough reaction. Hamas, their side, the palestinians, called their protests, people did go close to the fence. Certainly there are plenty of images of people using sling shots and in some cases attaching explosives or fires to the fence. So, both sides have now tested each other out. And if you look at what happened saturday in the light of what happened friday, fewer people, a calmer day, six more weeks of this to come. But fridays are typically going to be the day where you tend to see more protests here and where typically traditionally theres more of a potential for greater violence. So, today so far as we know, you know, it seems to be going like saturday. But each day, though, i think has a potential to be different. But what weve heard from the United Nations, what weve heard from the u. N. , what weve heard from the israeli ambassador from the United Nations saying it was antithetical from the spirist of the u. N. To call an emergency session on the first eve of on the first evening of passover. He also went on to say that the statement from the palestinian representative at the u. N. Who said that these were unarmed protesters was inaccurate. So, you know, both sides have their positions very clearly staked out here today. As i say, so far relatively calm, as best we know at this time. Nick robertson covering it for us. Were glad to hear that the day is getting off to a peaceful start. We hope it stays that way. Thank you. Well, some of the Russian Diplomats expelled by the u. S. Are heading home. Two russian planes took off from washington bound for moscow. More than 20 countries have expelled Russian Diplomats over the poisoning with a nerve agent of a former spy and his daughter in the u. K. Russia denies any involvement. In the meantime the kremlin wants britain to pull out more diplomatic staff so countries are equal in size. Also, there was this. Crews removed the u. S. Flag from the building that had been used as the u. S. Consulate in st. Petersburg. Russia ordered that consulate to be shutdown. That was after the u. S. Did the same with the russian consulate in seattle, washington. Moscow has also retaliated by expelling 60 u. S. Diplomats, the same amount of Russian Diplomats the u. S. Expelled. Meantime, there is another indication President Trump could make significant changes to the u. S. Involvement in syria. Mr. Trump has placed on hold more than 200 million that was meant to be used for a Syria Recovery fund. On thursday, President Trump said the United States will withdraw from syria. Quote, very soon. U. S. Officials fear, though, a complete and quick withdrawal of u. S. Troops could lead to a dangerous power vacuum. We are also learning the identities of the two soldiers who were killed in a bomb attack in syria on thursday. They were taking part in an operation against isis in northern in the northern part of the area, so the city of mandish, one was british, the other from the United States. Defense officials in the u. K. Say british soldier Sergeant Matt tonrow was a natural in his role. The 26yearold master Army Sergeant Jonathan Dunbar from austin, texas, died from his injuries on friday. Back here in the United States, President Trump is attacking amazon again, accusing the online retailer of scamming the u. S. Postal service. However, the facts do not back up the president s accusations. Our White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez is on this one. Reporter a relatively uneventful saturday for the president at his maralago estate, a quiet one, too, by trumpian standards. He did as usual on weekends here take to twitter to attack a political foe, at least in his eyes. President trump targeting online retailer amazon, tweeting out, quote, while we are on the subject, it is reported that the u. S. Post office will lose 1. 50 on average for each package it delivers for amazon. That amounts to billions of dollars. The failing the New York Times reports that the size of the companys lobbying staff has ballooned and that that does not include the fake washington post, which is used as a lobbyist and should so register. If the post office increased its parcel rates, amazons shipping costs would rise by 2. 6 billion. This post Office Scam Must stop. Amazon must pay real costs and taxes now. Now, there are some factually questionable claims the president made in the tweets we have to point out. First off, amazon does pay state and local taxes. There are some thirdparty vendors, especially international ones, that sell via amazon that dont pay u. S. Taxes. Further, we do have to point out that the post office itself has claimed that it has a mutually beneficial relationship with amazon, so its not clear exactly where the president is getting those figures. And further, it appears that hes conflating amazon with the washington post. The ceo of amazon, jeff bezos, privately owns the washington post, but the two businesses arent related in the way that they conduct business. It leads many to speculate the president perhaps is targeting amazon because of the washington post, which has been very critical of his administration thus far. The president has no Public Events on his schedule umenyiora for sunday. Of course, we may be talking about more tweets to come. Boris sanchez, cnn, traveling with the president in west palm beach, florida. Well talk more about Political Developments with kate andrews, shes the u. S. Political columnist and joins us from london. Good morning to you, kate. Good morning. Well, we heard the family language there in boriss report from President Trump, the fake washington post, the failing the New York Times, attacking the two prestigious newspapers in the world. What do you make of the fact hes pro business on one hand and on the other seems to undermine it . Is it personal or is there something more businessy here . Well, look, because of the connections which arent particularly meaningful connections between amazon and the washington post, i agree it is hard to separate those two facts and surely part of the president s attack is related to the fact that hes frustrated with certain news outlets. But that being said, we cannot forget that donald trump has moved so far away from what really was the Republican Party platform on economics since ronald reagan. Hes on a big 180 here and he really enjoys talking about companies not paying their fair share, countries not putting in their fair share. Weve heard a lot of this around trade gork trade negotiations with other countries, china, the e. U. , slapping tariffs on allies. His attack on amazon isnt really out of character with that. Hes suggesting that taxpayers and the Public Sector arent faring as well because a private company has come into the market and been a disrupter. Traditionally for decades, they have encouraged disrupters in the market. They tend to bring down costs for consumers, they tend to make things more efficient. As you palomino pointed out, as your program pointed out, the post office is not necessarily complaining about this. There have been some calls about readjusting who pays what costs in terms of shipping between companies and between the post office. But amazon is not getting any kind of special deal. Its the kind of deal that is carried out for all bulk carriers. It does seem personal on the part of the president , but its also part of a new economic ideology, a more canesian democratic ideology hes bringing to the party. Interesting take there. We will talk about his remarks on syria, saying that he would pull out troops very soon. We just reported that that could cause some instability in an area thats already unstable. What might our allies be thinking about efforts in that area . Well, surely everyone would be deeply concerned. Trump did run on a more isolationist platform saying he wanted to bring troops home. He didnt want the u. S. Involved in as many foreign engagements. But of course the u. S. Has been bombing syria. Its been very actively involved there. And we have to be responsible for part of the mess that we ourselves have contributed to. Of course, we have very good efforts there, but given the fact that we have contributed to some of the destabilization in the region, we cant simply walk away. The president did make these remarks very off the cuff at a speech that was supposed to be about infrastructure. So, it doesnt seem fully thought through. Yet again, something that the president has said on a whim at a big speech almost a throw away line has become International News. But as you point out, this International News could have our allies deeply concerned about more instability in the region. Kate andrews, always appreciate your thoughts. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. The pope is presiding over easter mass at the vatican this hour. Billions of christians all around the world are celebrating easter. We will go live to the vatican right here live video for you as we prepare to hear from pope francis. But im not standing still. And with godaddy, ive made my ideas real. I made my own way, now its time to make yours. Everything is working, just like it should i knew at that exact moment. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors. Its not just picking a surgeon, its picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. Visit cancercenter. Com breast actor and Comedian Bill Cosby is headed back to court. It has been less t