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CNN NEWSROOM

Antonin Scalia Dies at 79; Rubio and Trump Face Off Over 9/11; Russia Warned Against Syria Attacks; Pope Gives Tough Love to Mexican Government; Couple Reunited After 70 Years. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired February 14, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:07] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A powerful conservative voice on the U.S. Supreme Court silenced. And the debate on who should name his successor is already raging.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He kept us safe, and I am forever grateful to what he did for this country --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How did he keep us safe when the World Trade Center --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Heated words as the remaining Republican presidential hopefuls make their case to the people of South Carolina in the latest debate.

And thousands gather for Pope Francis' first mass during his week-long visit to Mexico.

It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for joining us. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

Our top story, the U.S. Supreme Court has lost one of its most conservative voices. For almost 30 years on the high court, Antonin Scalia made a name for himself with his witty, sometimes binding comments and legal opinions. This was the scene late Saturday as the flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court was lowered to half-staff. Scalia consistently opposed abortion, gay rights, and gun control, all on strict constitutional grounds. And the vacancy he leaves is already a political issue. In their debate Saturday night, the Republican presidential candidates hinted at the fight ahead. It will be between President Obama, who will nominate a successor, and the Senate, which will approve or reject the nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I do not believe the President should appoint someone. And it's not unprecedented. In fact, it's been over 80 years since a lame duck president has appointed a Supreme Court justice. And it reminds us of this. How important this election is. Someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of the Supreme Court. And it will begin by filling this vacancy that's there now. And we need to put people on the bench that understand that the constitution is not a living and breathing document, it is to be interpreted as originally meant.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The simple fact is, the next president needs to appoint someone with a proven conservative record similar to Justice Scalia that is a lover of liberty, that believes in limited government, that consistently applied that kind of philosophy, that didn't try to legislate from the bench, that was respectful of the constitution. And then fight. And fight. And fight for that nomination to make sure that that nomination passes.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If the Senate needs to stand strong and say, we're not going to give up the U.S. Supreme Court for a generation by allowing Barack Obama to make one more liberal appointee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Mr. Obama says he will nominate someone to fill the opening on the court in due time. He has close to a year remaining in his term. Mr. Obama also praised Justice Scalia's years of service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: Justice Scalia dedicated his life to the cornerstone of our democracy, the rule of law. Tonight we honor his extraordinary service to our nation and remember one of the towering legal figures of our time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The democratic U.S. presidential candidates are also weighing in. They're insisting President Obama nominate a replacement for Scalia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, I'm sure we'll all have a lot more to say about this in the coming days. So let me just make one point. Barack Obama is President of the United States until January 20th, 2017.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

That is a fact, my friends. Whether the Republicans like it or not. Elections have consequences. The President has a responsibility to nominate a new justice. And the Senate has a responsibility to vote.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I very much hope that President Obama will bring forth a strong nominee and that we can get that nominee confirmed as soon as possible.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

The Supreme Court of the United States has nine members, not eight. We need that ninth member. A lot of important issues coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: For more now on the Republican debate in Greenville, South Carolina that took place a few hours ago, the Republican contenders faced off Saturday exactly one week before their critical South Carolina primary vote. The stakes could not be higher. And the candidates went after each other, no holds barred. Marco Rubio and Donald Trump accused Ted Cruz of being a liar. And Cruz fired right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: Marco went on Univision in Spanish and said he would not rescind President Obama's illegal executive amnesty on his first day in office. I have promised to rescind every single illegal executive action including that one --

[03:05:05] RUBIO: First of all, I don't know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn't speak Spanish. And second of all, the other point that I would make --

CRUZ: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

RUBIO: Look, this is a disturbing pattern now because for a number of weeks now Ted Cruz has just been telling lies. He lied about Ben Carson in Iowa. He lies about Planned Parenthood. He lies about marriage.

(CHEERS)

He's lying about all sorts of things. And now he makes things up.

Here's the truth. Ted Cruz supported legalizing people that were in this country illegally.

CRUZ: That is simply false.

RUBIO: And only now --

CRUZ: That is absolutely false.

(CHEERS)

That is knowingly false --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Rubio and Trump also went head to head on whether George W. Bush kept the U.S. safe when he was president during 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: It's on behalf of me and my family I thank God all the time that it was George W. Bush in the White House on 9/11 and not Al Gore.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I think you can look back in hindsight and say a couple of things, but he kept us safe. And not only did he keep us safe but no matter what you want to say about weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein was in violation of U.N. resolutions, in open violation, and the world wouldn't do anything about it. And George W. Bush enforced what the international community refused to do, and again, he kept us safe and I am forever grateful to what he did for this country --

TRUMP: How did he keep us safe when the World Trade Center came down?

(CROWD BOOING)

The world -- excuse me. I lost hundreds of friends. The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush.

(CROWD BOOING)

He kept us safe? That's not safe. That is not safe, Marco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Joining me now from Greenville, South Carolina where that Republican debate just took place is Seema Mehta, she's a political writer for the "Los Angeles Times." She covered both the 2008 and 2012 races for the White House. So, Seema, I have to ask you, everyone's calling this a big brawl. What did you make of this debate compared to others we've seen?

SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": I've never seen anything like this in my life. I mean, it started off with a moment of silence and then from there just descended, you know, into this brawl, this all-out brawl. Jeb and Trump, Cruz and Rubio. And it just -- it went back and forth. It was amazing to watch.

ALLEN: If anyone's seen the movie "The Revenant" and saw the mauling by that bear, it's like you get it.

MEHTA: Right.

ALLEN: We got it. Enough already. So and then there was --

MEHTA: South Carolina's known, you know, for some rough and dirty politics, and we certainly saw that tonight.

ALLEN: Right. Yes. The people in the audience, the supporters of the different candidates were playing right along with them. Won't they?

MEHTA: Uh-hm.

ALLEN: Kasich and Carson seemed like nice guy bookends that didn't have a lot to say. But did anyone help their conservative cause with the South Carolina voters?

MEHTA: I think Governor Jeb Bush did really well tonight. And especially the Bush family has such a long relationship with this state. And so when you have Donald Trump, you know, going after George W. Bush talking about the Iraq war as a mistake, as a big mistake, and then Jeb Bush defending his brother, his mother, his father, I think that played really well to the audience. And that's something that the Bush campaign is counting on, you know, this long relationship the Bushes have had with the state.

ALLEN: Yes, it seemed that --

MEHTA: Marco Rubio also, he stumbled last time around, and this time, you know, he needed to regain his footing and he certainly did.

ALLEN: And it seemed like Rubio and Cruz were going after one another quite well.

MEHTA: Absolutely.

ALLEN: Somebody made the point that as far as getting into the weeds of immigration, even though it's an issue that a lot of people pay attention to, it's tough to follow sometimes Cruz and Rubio when they get into the nitty-gritty of what did or did not take place in Washington.

MEHTA: No, it is difficult to follow, and it has to do with, you know, Senate Amendments and stuff that normal people in the real world to not pay attention to. And it's also -- it's fairly arcane but it's like a very key sticking point between the two them, who was for amnesty, who was not for amnesty. He was not either one of them now. They're like no, we were never for amnesty. But there votes on things in their past which the other would argue, you know, shows that they were, you know, for legalizing, you know, the 12 million people who are in this country illegally.

ALLEN: We've also heard the candidates, Seema, try to paint Donald Trump as the most liberal of the conservative candidates. How do you think that played?

MEHTA: Well, I think Ted Cruz, he liked really nailed that hard tonight, and I think, you know, for voters here, certainly right to rise, the Super PAC that's supporting Governor Bush, they're advertising about that constantly here. And voters, I mean, Trump's still leading in the polls. It hasn't worked yet. But they're clearly trying to raise these doubts among conservative voters.

ALLEN: Well, we had, yes, Jeb Bush go after Donald Trump a little bit. It seems like they didn't want to sit there and let this be the Donald Trump show or TV show.

MEHTA: Right.

ALLEN: They know who they're dealing with and they're trying to push back. Does Donald Trump walk away from this debate, this bruiser, with more political heft?

[03:10:00] MEHTA: Well, I mean, he was clearly banged up a lot during this debate, but anytime I think anything's going to damage Donald Trump, he goes up in the polls. So, I've quit trying to make predictions about Donald Trump. But the other thing I thought that was interesting in terms of their dynamic was they've clearly gotten each other's skin. This goes beyond the political. I mean, they clearly like intensely dislike each other, and we saw that on the stage tonight.

ALLEN: Before we let you go you talk about you've never seen anything like you saw in this debate and you're a political writer for the "Los Angeles Times." Have you come up with your opening line yet for your next article?

MEHTA: Actually, I haven't yet. I've been too busy like writing my daily piece. But wow, I mean, it's just like South Carolina, you never disappoint.

ALLEN: Yes. All right. We'll look forward to that. Seema Mehta for us there in South Carolina. We thank you for joining us.

Of course international relations, the war in Syria, Russia, ISIS also coming up at the debate. Strong language too at the normally diplomatic Munich Security Conference Saturday including warnings and stern responses between Russia and the West. We'll have a live report about that ahead here.

Also, Pope Francis kicks off a five-day visit to Mexico with some tough love for the country's leadership.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:13:20] ALLEN: Pressure is mounting on Russia to be more careful about who it targets on Syria. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a Munich security conference session that many of Russia's attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups, not ISIS. And Russia has denied bombing any civilians. The tension, however, is clear. Russia's Prime Minister even said Saturday that Russia's current relationship with the West is similar to the cold war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY MEDVEDEV, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER (through a translator): NATO's policy with regard to Russia remains unfriendly and opaque. One could go as far as to say that we have slid back to a new cold war. On almost a daily basis, we're called one of the most terrible threats either to NATO as a whole, or Europe, or to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Medvedev certainly not mincing words there expressing his thoughts. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is covering the conference. He joins us now live from Murich. Comparing 2016 to 1962 can't be something that's welcome at this conference there, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Not at all. There was a lot of pushback from NATO officials. I talked with the supreme allied commander for NATO forces. That's NATO's top military man. General Phillip Breedlove, a U.S. four-star general. He told me that what they see is Russia, not just trying to rewrite the rulebook but trying to create new rules. It's invasion, crossing international borders into Ukraine. It's annexation of Crimea. A build-up of military assets, sort of sophisticate defense systems that can deny air, land, and sea routes toward certain locations.

Notice that all along the border north to south of the border with NATO countries, Kaliningrad in the north, St. Petersburg, Crimea. And in the north of Syria now, a cluster of these sophisticated combined weapon systems. He said from NATO's perspective, NATO is not being unfriendly, not being opaque, and NATO itself doesn't consider that it's in a cold war situation with Russia. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Isn't this by definition the cold war? Armed build-up --

GEN. PHILLIP MARK BREEDLOVE, NATO COMMANDER FOR EUROPE: Well, they are entitled to their understanding of this and their description of this. We in NATO do not want to see a cold war. We do not talk about it. It is not what we want to happen or anticipate happening. We're a defensive alliance who are arraying ourselves to face in a challenge in we see. That challenge is a nation that has once again decided that it will use force to change internationally recognized borders. And so, we take those appropriate actions to be able to assure, defend, and deter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, Russia's ambassador to the United States has also sort of entered into this debate about how this feels as if it's close to cold war. He said, relationships between the United States and Russia are probably, he said, at one of their lowest points since the cold war, that Russia sees the United States as trying to isolate it. Now, why is this important at this precise time? Well, this week the United States and Russia are supposed to head the task force that agrees and sets up if you will, enables a cessation of hostilities in Syria. The international Syria support group agreed here a couple of nights ago. And this is supposed to be the beginning to get the political process, the political talks in Syria back up on track. So what we're really hearing here is that the relationship between the United States and Russia is at an all-time low. Yet this is the week when they're really supposed to come together to help the Syria peace process forward.

ALLEN: And it's just after 9:00 in the morning there, and another day begins there at the conference, and you'll be covering it certainly a lot of tension and very, very serious issue there on the table. Nic Robertson for us. Thank you. Live in Munich.

Pope Francis says, Mexico is a great country but one with a history of, quote, "Difficult Moments." On his first visit to the nation as Pope, Francis urged the President to fight against corruption and drug-related violence. He also called on the clergy to step up their role. Thousands continue to gather in Mexico City to greet the Pope. CNN's Shasta Darlington talked with them there in the Mexican capital.

[03:18:03] SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The crowds just keep growing. More and more people turning up. In fact, a million expected to line the routes that Pope Francis will pass by in his Popemobile. Some of them are pretty excited. A lot of them anxious. Many of them holding placards like this one, "I love Pakito," his new name in Mexico.

(CROWDS CHANTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

"Brother Francis, you're already Mexican." Some great chants here. But from Pope Francis himself, we heard a lot of tough words. In the national palace talking to the President, he warned against the dangers of drug trafficking, inequality and of course corruption here in Mexico. Then at the Cathedral, he spoke to the bishops about their role in the drug war. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through a translator): I urge you not to underestimate the moral and anti-social challenge which the drug trade represents for Mexican society as a whole, including the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: The day ended at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the most revered shrine in Mexico and much of the Americas. Pope Francis celebrated his first mass in Mexico in front of over 30,000 people, using a torch to light a flame of mercy. During the homily he talked about the downtrodden, those who don't feel wanted and of young people without a future.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Mexico City.

ALLEN: Pope Francis has a full schedule Sunday. He will travel to the City of Ecatepec and lead a mass at the study center. He'll then return to Mexico City where he will visit the Federico Gomez Children's Hospital and then the Pope will meet with representatives of culture at the national auditorium.

For this Valentine's Day, we have a love story 70 years in the making of a love lost and found again with the help of the internet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:22:12] ALLEN: Take a look at this. You're looking at a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shaking that car and everything right there, at Christchurch, New Zealand area. Sunday the U.S. geological survey reports the quake was centered 17 kilometers east of the city. So far no reports of serious damage or injuries. Seismologists warn, though, of aftershocks. And next week is the five-year anniversary of that powerful earthquake that killed 185 people in Christchurch. And you can see the pictures there, pretty amazing. Derek Van Dam is following it for us.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We remember five years ago when that happened in Christchurch.

ALLEN: Yes.

VAN DAM: Quite a dramatic day for that particular country. Now, this was an ominous earthquake happening almost on that five-year anniversary. And the effects of this earthquake were felt widely across the South Island and even into the Northern Island across the capital of Wellington. Here's an image for you. Of course earthquakes strong enough to rattle items off of their shelves and department stores and grocery stores. The intensity was listed as severe. Buildings were evacuated in the center of Christchurch. There wasn't a tsunami threat. You remember the earthquake was just offshore. And there were no reports of injuries, which is good news coming out of this.

But what I've done here is I've taken the U.S. geological society's shake map. This gives a representation of the population densities that felt the effects of this magnitude 5.8 earthquake. And if you can see, I know the text is a bit on the small side there, but strong to very strong shaking felt around the Christchurch region, anywhere between 150,000 to 250,000 people felt that strong to very strong shaking from this particular earthquake. Now, with typical earthquakes of this magnitude we would expect aftershocks to continue for the better part of a day or even two days afterwards. This is the severity of the earthquakes, or rather aftershocks following a 5.8 magnitude.

And we would typically experience roughly about a 3.8 magnitude or less. Roughly about ten of those. As the ripple effects of this earthquake continues. And that of course can cause scary moments for people there as well. I want to take you to Japan quickly because we'll have some impressive rainfall totals over the past 24 hours. Over 150 millimeters in some locations. That's going to change to some snow for the higher elevations, which is good news for skiers and snowboarders coming out of that area. Take a look at the footage coming from the International Space Station. You'll like this one, Natalie. That in the distance is a thunderstorm and lightning striking Europe into Africa as the International Space Station crossed over those two continents. A beautiful sight. Something I love to see.

ALLEN: Well, I was about to say you're getting all romantic on us for Valentine's Day. But then you said it was lightning.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN DAM: Still lights up the sky.

ALLEN: All right. You did. Thank you, Derek. And Happy Valentine's Day. And we have this for Valentine's Day. The story of a couple who met in the 1940s but parted ways for 70 years after a whopper of a misunderstanding. But now they're reunited and they're inspiring others to never give up on finding true love again.

Ivan Watson tells us how their children and some total strangers helped them out. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NORWOOD THOMAS, VIRGINIA BEACH WWII VET: Norwood Thomas I'm going to give her a squeeze.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Norwood Thomas never stopped thinking about Joyce Morris. The pair first met in 1944. She a 17-year-old British girl living in London, he a 21-year-old paratrooper for the U.S. forces. Young love blossomed.

JOYCE MORRIS, WARTIME GIRLFRIEND OF NORWOOD THOMAS: We snogged, as you call it, when it was dark and nobody could see us.

WATSON: But their brief romance was interrupted when Thomas was deployed to Normandy to fight in World War II. After the war he returned to the U.S. and invited Morris to join him but she misunderstood his letter and thought he was already married, so she refused his invitation and they went their separate ways. They married other people. Thomas eventually became a widower. Morris got divorced. Last year, one of her sons found Thomas online, and they reconnected on Skype after more than 70 years.

MORRIS: Did you find (INAUDIBLE) and I say good morning to you every morning.

THOMAS: And I will say good morning --

MORRIS: (INAUDIBLE)

(LAUGHTER)

THOMAS: And I will say good morning back to you. You broke my heart.

MORRIS: I don't believe that for a moment.

THOMAS: What would you do if I could give you a squeeze?

MORRIS: Oh, it would be lovely.

WATSON: A crowdfunding campaign raised enough money to make that actually happen. This week Thomas made the journey from Virginia to Adelaide.

MORRIS: Well, you're still vertical. Hello.

THOMAS: I'll give you a squeeze.

WATSON: A couple that first met just before D-Day reuniting seven decades later just in time for V, or Valentine's Day.

THOMAS: This is about the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me.

MORRIS: Yes.

WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Didn't we tell you? The perfect Valentine's love story. Thanks for watching. We'll be right back with your top stories.