Obama Warns Of Trade Issues If U.K. Leaves E.U.; It Could Be Weeks Before Autopsy Results; Prince's Last Days; Obama Holds Town Hall In London.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now. We begin this hour in London. The U.S. president is there and facing some backlash for his thoughts on the debate over Britain leaving the E.U. A Brexit as it's called and he warns there are consequences to consider. The president's visit there comes just as some Britons say Mr. Obama has been meddling after he weighed in on this touchy debate. He urged Britain to stay in the E.U. and warned that leaving it would do the British and American relationship more harm than good. Let's go live to London this hour. CNN's Athena Jones is there following developments. Athena, good day to you. So these two nations have always had what's been considered a special relationship. The president says as a friend he should offer an opinion, but there are those who say he should, instead, butt out.</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely true. Hi, George. There are a lot of folks on the leave campaign, the folks who want the U.K. to leave the European Union, who feel that the U.S. president is meddling in the affairs of the U.K. in a way that the U.S. would never accept. The U.S. would accept another country telling their American voters what they should do. And you can imagine during this political season, there are a lot of opinions in other countries about what American voters should do. But as you say, the president said, look, there's no closer friend to the U.S. than the U.K. As a friend, I'm offering my opinion. I'm not going to cast a vote. I'm not trying to fix a vote, but in a democracy people should want more information. I'm here to provide the U.S. perspective. You talked about this special relationship. You've heard talk of the U.S. and U.K. being kindred spirits. No closer ally, no stronger ally, well, the U.S. wants its closest and strongest ally to remain in Europe, to have a voice in the debates and the affairs affecting Europe at a time of turmoil. If you look at the migrants crossing across European borders from these conflicts in the Middle East and other issues, of course. One of the main arguments being made is an economic one which is that the U.K. is a stronger in Europe. Some in the leave campaign have argued that look, even if the U.K. were to leave the E.U., they could have to negotiate a separate trade deal directly with the U.S. The president said not so fast. That's not something that would happen too quickly. Take a listen to what else he had to say about that.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it's fair to say that maybe at some point down the line there might be a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement, but it's not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big block of the European Union to get a trade agreement done. U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue.</s>JONES: So the back of the queue. That is a warning, more or less, from President Obama to U.K. voters approaching this big vote in June just a few weeks away, a very economic argument. Also security, they believe that the U.K. is stronger in Europe and will be stronger security-wise and economic-wise as a part of the European Union -- George.</s>HOWELL: Athena, that comment, the back of the queue, a lot of people didn't like that on Twitter. Twitter just blew up over that. I know that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did not mind the frank talk from the U.S. president, a friend, chiming in on this. What more can you tell us about the U.S. president's schedule while there in the U.K.?</s>JONES: He just now wrapped up a visit to the Globe Theater. It's a replica of the theater which burned down centuries ago. It was rebuilt in the spot. This is a theater where many of William Shakespeare's plays were originally performed. So the president made a stop there at the Globe Theater and he's now on his way, he should be arriving any minute now at the town hall he'll be having with young people here in the U.K. He has these town halls oftentimes on these foreign trips so he can speak with ordinary folks, not just the politicians and the leaders of countries. He'll be having that town hall. We expect this Brexit issue to come up again among other issues. Later in the day, he'll meet with the opposition leader, the leader of the Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn (ph). So a jam packed day here in London on his second day here. Tomorrow morning, he heads to Germany, to Hanover to take part in this international trade fair, the biggest trade fair in the world -- George.</s>HOWELL: CNN correspondent, Athena Jones, live in London at this hour. Athena, thank you for your reporting. Again, that comment about the back of the queue and the possibility of the U.K. leaving the E.U. London's mayor, Boris Johnson hit back about the president's comments.</s>BORIS JOHNSON, LONDON MAYOR: I do think it's perverse that we're being urged by the United States to embroil ourselves evermore deeply in a system where our laws, 60 percent of them are now emanating from the E.U. when the United States would not dream of subjugating itself in any way to any other international jurisdiction.</s>HOWELL: So Britain's biggest partner in Europe is the European Union. Max Foster tells us more about the relationship.</s>MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What is the E.U.? The European Union is a group of countries that work together to create a single market. This allows goods, capital, services and people to move between the member states as long as they follow rules and pay the entry fee. We're getting ahead of ourselves. To start this story we need to go right back to the end of World War II. After six years of fighting, Europe was disseminated. Economies were collapsing and mistrust was ripe as old enemies faced the prospect of recreating trade ties. France and previous occupiers, Germany, faced the difficult task of creating a unity for profit. So they started talking, mainly about steel and coal. In 1951 a total of six country, France, Belgium, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands reached their first accord by uniting the steal and coal industries creating the European Coal and Steel Community or the ECSC. They later introduced the European Economic Community, the EEC in 1958. These two organizations are seen as the origin of the modern European Union that wouldn't adopt its new name until 1993. More than six decades later, the European Union now represents more than half a billion people across 28 countries and with a common currency, the euro, which generates an estimated 14 trillion euro in GDP per year. The premise, countries economically linked are less likely to have conflict. But it isn't a totally happy marriage for many counties as some are affected differently by world events. There have been arguments over financial regulations, bailouts and different approaches to migration. This has given rise to anti-EU parties across Europe with many calling for their countries to withdraw from arguably the world's most powerful union. Max Foster, CNN, London.</s>HOWELL: So the referendum about the U.K.'s future in the E.U. is set for June 23rd. Those who support an exit or Brexit as it's called argue that Britain would be better off economically if it were to leave. But experts are not so sure. The think tank Open Europe projects a worst case scenario would cost Britain 2.2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product by 2030. Their best case scenario predicts GDP would rise 1.6 percent over the same period. On the flip side, the U.K. currently contributes 5.8 percent of the E.U.'s operating budget, second only to Germany and one-third of all foreign direct investment. Experts say if the British exit is approved, the European Union stands to lose 15 percent of its GDP. The death investigation of Prince. Medical examiners in Minnesota have completed their autopsy, but say it could take weeks before we know exactly how this music legend died. Paramedics found Prince unresponsive on Thursday in his estate. He was 57 years old. The sheriff says there was no obvious sign of trauma or suicide. Prince had some medical scares though in the past few weeks. A spokesperson for the medical examiner thanked everyone for respecting the investigation.</s>MARTHA WEAVER, MIDWEST MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE: This is something that we remember and we take very, very seriously, and we appreciate the respect and the dignity and the outpouring of support that everyone has shown not only to his family, but to the law enforcement officers working on this. To the state of Minnesota that so proudly claimed him and adored him.</s>HOWELL: Our Kyung Lah takes us through Prince's last week including exclusive video of the artist riding his bike just days before his death. Here is her report.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was outside and saw a gentleman riding a bike and noticed right away that it was Prince.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kelly Collins seeing what she and others at the mall saywas their famous neighbor couldn't resist recording even though he indicated he didn't want to be filmed.</s>KELLY COLLINS, SAW PRINCE AT THE MALL: I couldn't blame him. I was looking at him especially hearing that he had not been feeling well the day before.</s>LAH: That video taken on Saturday just five days before Prince's death. Prince had not been feeling well for weeks. On April 7th anxious fans in Atlanta learned that two shows that night are postponed. According to the Fox Theater, Prince is ill, battling the flu, but one week later, April 14th, Prince takes the stage in Atlanta, the makeup concerts, two shows, 80-minute sets. No sign of illness. He finishes to a standing ovation. Prince seems to relish the moment tweeting "I am transformed." The next day, April 15th, Prince is flying home to Minneapolis. His private jet makes an unexpected detour, an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, rushed to the hospital. But Prince doesn't stay long instead continuing his flight back to Minneapolis. The next day Saturday, April 16th is when Kelly Collins says she sees Prince on that bike ride.</s>COLLINS: He looked like Prince. He looked really good.</s>LAH (on camera): Did anything appear wrong?</s>COLLINS: No. I was actually shocked to see him riding his bike after learning just the day before his plane landed and he wasn't doing well.</s>LAH (voice-over): That same day, Prince post this announcement, an impromptu dance party at his residence, Paisley Park, Michael Holtz went as a spectator to the Saturday night gathering. Prince speaks to the small crowd of about 200 people for 20 minutes he says.</s>MICHAEL HOLTZ, PRINCE'S STUDIO DJ: He addressed the crowd. He's like, hey, if you hear any news, give it a couple days before you waste any prayers.</s>LAH (on camera): How did he look Saturday versus the other time?</s>HOLTZ: Just the same, as far as I've ever seen him. Always healthy looking, always energetic. He was definitely a worker. He had the worker mentality, nothing is going to keep him down. I thought we're going to be seeing Prince well into his 80s.</s>LAH (voice-over): The next day, Sunday, April 17th, Prince tweets, #feelingrejuvenated, feeling well enough that he heads out to a local live music spot. (on camera): Tuesday night Prince came here to the Dakota Jazz Club. He sat at this table, watched some live music and talked to the staff. They say nothing seemed out of the ordinary.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was here for that show on Tuesday.</s>LAH: And everything seemed fine and normal?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like any other night when he would come.</s>LAH (voice-over): The Sheriff's Department said the next night, Wednesday, April 20th, Prince is dropped off at his home at 8:00 p.m. He spends the night alone. No one is concerned until the next morning when employees can't reach him. They find him collapsed in an elevator then a panic call to 911.</s>DISPATCHER: Person down not breathing.</s>PARAMEDIC: CPR started.</s>LAH: The CPR fails. He's pronounced dead at 10:07 Thursday morning. There remain big gaps in Prince's last days. Did he visit any doctors? Did he take any prescriptions?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is part of the investigation, and that would be our normal protocol.</s>LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Chanhassen, Minnesota.</s>HOWELL: An investigation we will of course continue to follow on CNN. You're watching NEWSROOM. Still ahead, it has been a month since the devastating terror attacks in Belgium. Now for the first time, we're getting to see the reconstruction of the Brussels airport. We'll show you. Plus a historic climate change accord is one step closer now to taking effect. What this could mean for the air you and your children breathe as NEWSROOM continues.