North Korea Launches Two Missiles; ISIS Acts Labeled Genocide; GOP Leaders Trying to Stop Trump
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: A defiant show of force, North Korea launches two missiles while the U.S. conducts military exercises just across the border. Turmoil in Brazil, the growing outrage over the allegations of corruption at the highest levels of government. And a mass murderer sues Norway over his prison conditions even though he allegedly has a three-room suite with a treadmill and PlayStation. That's ahead here on CNN Newsroom, We're live in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. Our top story, North Korea stirring tensions once again after it's fired two ballistic missiles on Friday, one that have landed in the sea of Japan traveling a very good distance. This comes as Pyongyang continues to demand an end to joint U.S. South Korean military exercises which began almost two weeks ago and they continue. CN senior correspondent Ivan Watson is in Seoul, South Korea following on the story. And Ivan, this missile went a great distance, and in fact, got quite close to Japan.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know quite how close it got to Japan. We're still -- the Japanese defense ministry is still analyzing the details of this. But the range of one of the projectiles which the U.S. Defense Department has described as a possible road-long medium range ballistic missile was about 800 kilometers. Now to give you a distance of the geography, the distance between the North Korean capital Pyongyang and the Japanese City of Hiroshima is 800 or just under 800 kilometers. So, it gives you a sense of how far a piece of North Korea's missile arsenal can travel in this missile test, which really violates a number of different United Nations Security Council resolutions. The second projectile disappeared off the radar of the South Korean Defense Ministry after reaching an altitude of 18 kilometers, we don't know what happened. Could it have exploded, could it have malfunctioned? We don't know it at this time. This is the second missile launch to have taken place from North Korea in about eight days and it just goes to show that Pyongyang is determined to carry forward with these tests despite criticism and resolutions from the United Nations Security Council that are supposed to be banning this type of activity. Natalie?</s>ALLEN: Absolutely. Certainly not banning them at the moment. And again, this comes at a time that the U.S. and South Korea carry out this war games and this isn't something that ever makes Kim Jong-un happy to say the least.</s>WATSON: No, absolutely not. These are annual joint military exercises. We've been able to observe some of them conducted by the U.S. and South Korea with contributors from countries like Australia and New Zealand as well. North Korea says that these are a threat. They view them as a precursor to a possible invasion this week. The North Koreans sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council protesting against these joint military exercises. Now, in 2014, during these annual series of drills here in the south, North Korea fired a lot of missiles and rockets, around 90 according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. So, that gives you a sense of how North Korea typically responds to these series of drills that take place down in the south. But there is another element here, as well. And that is that North Korea is determined, it seems, to move forward not only with its missile technology but also with its nuclear weapons arsenal. So, in January, North Korea tested its first, what it claims to have been its first hydrogen bomb. It has also since then fired a satellite into orbit, and just this week, the North Korean leader ordered his scientists and his military to carry out further nuclear tests and further missile tests with the ultimate goal of putting a nuclear bomb on the tip of an intercontinental ballistic missile, that's an action that is viewed very much as a threat by South Korea, by Japan, by the U.S. Natalie?</s>ALLEN: Yes, and of course all have condemned this action by North Korea. Thank you, Ivan Watson for us there in Seoul. ISIS has systematically slaved, sexually and psychologically, starved, and killed thousands of ethnic and religious minorities. And now, the U.S. officially labeling the terror group attacks as genocide. Our Elise Labott explains the significance of this declaration.</s>ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Images of ISIS slaughtering Yazidis in Iraq brought the world's attention to the terror group's barbaric methods. Since then, ISIS has beheaded of Christians in Libya, crucified people in its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqah, Syria, and captured thousands of Yazidi women and girls for use as sex slaves. Today, Secretary of State John Kerry formally declared ISIS atrocities against minorities a genocide.</s>JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The fact is that Daesh kills Christians because they are Christians, Yazidis because they are Yazidis, Shiite, because they are Shiite.</s>LABOTT: The genocide label have a year-long debate inside the Obama administration and came amid mounting pressure from lawmakers who said branding ISIS massacres a genocide was long overdue. Kerry made the call after a genocide resolution passed to House this week with overwhelming support. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry led that charge.</s>JEFF FORTENBERRY, NEBRASKA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Hopefully it compels the international community to act more aggressively and it puts the whole question which I don't think has ever been done before as to how these ancient faith traditions, Christians and Yazidis, and others are going to have their rightful place restored.</s>LABOTT: The finding doesn't legally require the U.S. to do anything to stop genocide. But by putting ISIS on par with the conflict in Deir ez-Zor, the last time the U.S. found genocide in 2004 it could put political and moral pressure on the administration to step up its bombing campaign against the militants. Since this dramatic rescue from Mt. Sinjar two years ago, Yazidis say little has changed. And they still face ethnic cleansing by ISIS.</s>KERRY: Naming these crimes is important but what is essential is to stop them.</s>LABOTT: The finding could also ignite the debate on whether to welcome more refugees from Iraq and Syria to the U.S. For Christian groups like the Knights of Columbus who provided evidence for this designation, the time to act is now.</s>ANDREW WALTHER, KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS VICE PRESIDENT: The first priority is making sure that we protect the people that are being slaughtered. The policymakers and others need to sit down and strategize and figure out exactly what's that going to look like.</s>LABOTT: Secretary Kerry made clear the U.S. is neither the judge, nor the jury with respect to allegations of genocide, but officials hope with the U.S. finding momentum will build to document evidence of ISIS's atrocities so that the members engaged in ethnic cleansing can be held accountable. It is still remains to be seen about what changes, if any, will be made to U.S. policy to rescue these minorities now. Elise Labbot, CNN, Washington.</s>ALLEN: And of course, the ISIS atrocities have led to in part the migrant crisis. In a few hours, E.U. leaders will pitch to Turkey a proposal to deal with the crisis. On Thursday, E.U. member state agreed on what will be offered. Syrian refugees currently in Greece would be returned to Turkey. Each time that happens E.U. members will a screened Syrian refugee from Turkey. The plan was partially designed by the German chancellor.</s>ALLEN: Our senior international correspondent Atika Shubert is following developments on this. She joins us now on the phone from Berlin. Certainly they're trying to figure out some sort of way to stop this influx, Atika.</s>ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've been trying now, well, frankly, for years this has been an issue, but it's been in the last year reached its peak. And so, they've been struggling for months now to come up with a solution. And the German chancellor is really pinning her hopes on this deal with Turkey, but it's fraught with problems. One is the legal issue. Turkey is not a full signatory to the refugee Geneva Convention. And so, there is a whole bunch of legal gymnastics really that has to be done to ensure that Turkey is going to treat each refugee case individually according to a humanitarian law the EUSC is fit. So, first, that's the first thing they need to sort out. Secondly, what is the whole process turning back Syrian refugees from Greece to Turkey, when will that happen? How will that happen? And then how quickly can refugees be resettled from Turkey into the E.U.? I think from many of the refugees certainly that we spoke into the story, they say if there was a legal way and a quick way for them to be resettled from camps in Turkey, Lebanon, or Jordan into the E.U. then that was route that they would take rather than the illegal and dangerous route of crossing the Aegean Sea. So, it's all the question of how quickly this gets implemented and whether or not it will work. In the meantime, what we have seen already is that migrants and refugees, asylum-seekers have now started taking other routes instead of the Aegean route. For example, in the route from Libya to Italy, they have also seen a rise in the number of people crossing there. So, there is a fear that with sort of a turn back agreement that we're starting to see from Turkey to Greece that we will simply start seeing the flows of people trying to reach Europe in other way.</s>ALLEN: Wow, another complexity in this tremendously complex story. What might be the reaction from Turkey, Atika? This plan includes some incentives for them?</s>SHUBERT: Well, it does. And Turkey is really looking at this. It's coming in a very strong -- from a very strong point of view. It's basically being offered the possibility to reopen E.U. membership negotiations. It will also look at whether Turkey -- Turkish citizens can have visa requirements lifted so that they can travel freely within the E.U. They're also looking and have asked for more money, specifically, they've already been promised 3 billion euros. Now they're asking for another 3 billion. It's expected that in negotiations today, the E.U. is likely to say, well, it's possible to give an extra 3 billion. They first need to make sure that the first funds really has been used up and used effectively and positively. So, Turkey is in very strong bargaining position here. The other question of course in all this, what about Greece? What kind of resources will be given to Greece which already has 40,000 more or less asylum-seekers stranded in its country? And of course, not all of them are Syrian refugees. Many of them are from other countries. When I was there we met many from Afghanistan, for example, which would not be a part of all this deal. So, what would happen to the thousands of Afghan refugees that have made it all the way to Greece?</s>ALLEN: Oh, my goodness, you wonder how Angela Merkel gets any sleep these days? You know, the pressure she faces back home in Germany to do something about this. We appreciate your reporting for us, Atika Shubert. Thank you. The U.S. presidential election, an unprecedented move is underway within the U.S. Republican Party to stop theirown frontrunner from winning the presidential nomination. A group of prominent conservatives met in Washington Thursday calling for a unity ticket and a convention fight to stop Donald Trump. On the democratic side, Bernie Sanders has conceded in Missouri primary to Hillary Clinton giving her a clean sweep in all five of Tuesday's contests. Clinton is now turning more of her attention to Donald Trump. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports on what is shaping up to be a vicious battle.</s>JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump was one of the best democratic punch lines around.</s>HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is making the most out of it. I'm having a good time watching it. I find it...</s>ZELENY: The Democratic Party is no longer laughing. As the primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders goes on, The New York Times is reporting President Obama told donors in Texas last week, it's time for democrats to rally behind Clinton, an assertion the White House denied today. But there is little question the party is quickly turning its focus to Trump.</s>CLINTON: Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it.</s>ZELENY: Liberal groups are sounding the alarm, suddenly taking Trump seriously as a general election foe, from labor unions to environmental groups. The democratic machine is spinning into action trying to do what the republican establishment could not.</s>HARRY REID, U.S. MAJORITY HOUSE LEADER: Most of us cannot fathom how he rose so far and so fast. His vile rhetoric is embarrassing, his proposals are dangerous.</s>ZELENY: Senate democratic leader, Harry Reid delivered a speech today, focused solely on stopping Trump.</s>REID: The republicans created the drought conditions, Donald Trump simply struck the match.</s>ZELENY: Nearly two dozen progressive groups signed a letter this saying it's time to unite, they're calling this moment a five-alarm fire for our democracy. One day after Trump released this video making fun of Clinton. The Clinton super PAC returned fire by using Trump's own words against him.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you consulting with consistently so that you're ready on day one?</s>DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm speaking with myself.</s>ZELENY: But Clinton hasn't won the nomination just yet. Sanders is trailing significantly in delegates but he is far from folding. But Clinton is running a dual track strategy, keeping an eye on Sanders and another on Trump.</s>CLINTON: I've gotten more votes than he has. I think he has, if you really analyze that a pretty narrow base. Let's find out. If he gets nominated we're going to have a very vigorous general election if I'm the nominee.</s>ALLEN: Well, Bernie Sanders says he believes he will win several of the upcoming democratic contest including Arizona and the State of Washington. Well, tempers flare in Brazil over allege corruption. We'll get the latest from Sao Paolo as the protesters call for the ouster of the president and for controversial new cabinet member more about it in news.