. . . it is a break with tradition. the president declining to be a guest of honor for a yearly dinner with journalists who cover the white house. we'll have reaction. >> democrats elect a new leader. he is coming out swinging against president trump. >> giving the airport the all-clear in kuala lumpur. they say there are no traces of poison that killed the half brother of kim jong-un. live from cnn in atlanta. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen.

we begin with president donald trump. also, this week, the white house is expected to roll out a revised executive order banning travelers from seven mostly muslim nations. >> it does promise to be a busy week. there is one event on his calendar coming up in april that president trump is declining. he tweeted without explanation, i will not be attending the white house correspondence association dinner this year. please wish everyone well and have a great evening. the head of the correspondents association spoke with brianna keilar about it. >> it is not a surprise to say that the president has said many negative things about the media and comparing the media or suggesting that the media is the enemy of the american people. that, of course, is something that the correspondents association and journalists

reject. the media is an incredibly important part of a vibrant republic. we celebrate that at that dinner. it is up to him to decide whether or not he wants to come. the correspondents association and the members that work in their room every day will continue to do our jobs and write the news and tell the truth about this administration as we have done by every administration before. >> you insist the dinner is not going to be canceled but do you see it as being a different event than in past years? >> it was already going to be a different event. we haven't had a whole lot of details about that yet. obviously, the fact that the president has decided not to come will impact the dinner, it will impact who sits up on the dias with the rest of the board. we are not going to cancel the dinner. we are going to uphold our mission. >> it is quite a break in

tradition. this is something that president of the united states have done for decades now. >> the one president who missed was ronald reagan, because he was overcoming being shot. it is that one night when everyone kind of makes peace for a night and parody somewhat. he will have none of that. >> no jokes there. >> we move on to other stories regarding the president. the phrase radical islamic terrorism is one he uses, uses it often and slams opponents that don't. >> cnn has learned his new national security adviser may dislike that word choice and thinks it won't help in the fight against terror groups like isis. elise labott has this report. >> reporter: president trump's new national security adviser appears to have a more moderate approach than his predecessor, mike flynn and the president himself. lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster held a meeting a few days ago with his staff. he said that the term radical

islamic terrorism was unhelpful, because terrorists like isis are perverted the religion and, therefore, their behavior is unislamic. the president and flynn have frequently used that term to describe jihad terrorists. mcmaster made the argument this only plays into their prob bepaa and that hurts efforts to work with u.s. and arab allies to defeat them. we are told he had a strikingly difr different tone than mike flynn who was forced to re-sign after controversy with the russian ambassador. in contrast to president trump who praises vladmir putin, mcmaster said russia as an adversary. the president doesn't seem to be that bent out of shape about it. the white house acknowledging a difference of opinion on language but not about the approach to fight terrorism. president trump does seem to be

impressionable to the opinions of his aides and career staff, many of whom agree with mcmaster's world view are hoping he can push a more moderate u.s. foreign policy. owe facials s officials say his arrival and discussions with staff is boosting morale, which was sinking under flynn. elite labott, cnn, washington. democrats are rebuilding after a tough loss in november electing a new leader. >> how do they move forward enter that? we well find out soon. tom perez seen there was elected as the new chairman of the democratic national committee. he wasted no time pledging a vigorous, party-wide challenge to the trump administration. >> thank you so much. >> january 20th was an undeniable important day. january 21st and beyond was far

more important for america. millions of people stood up and said, donald trump, you do not stand for america. donald trump, we will not allow those values to divide america. >> former u.s. president, barack obama, congratulated the new democratic leadership with this statement. he said, i'm proud of all the candidates who ran and who make this great party what it is. what unites our party is the belief in opportunity. the idea that however you started out, whatever you look like aor whomever you love, america is the place you can make it if you try. >> this from hillary clinton, quote, congrats to dnc chair, tom perez and deputy keith elson. excited for strong, unified party standing for best of our country into the future. >> we want to talk about the developments from the political world there with us from birmingham, england. scott lucas, professor of international politics joins us often. nice to see you. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you. >> bottom line, if you were

advising this new leader of the democrats, what would be your advice for a democratic comeback. how do they approach this? >> i think he is already implementing it along with keith ellison, who he narrowly defeated yesterday. the watch word is unity. that means that divisions we saw between hillary clinton and bernie sanders and ripples of that even up to now, that's gone. i think there is consensus that given the threat of trump, not just a party threat but a threat to many issues, many values that they consider important, the democrats are looking to rally. it is going to be easier for them than it is when they are in power ironically. in opposition, they can protect things and say, we still want to have obama care and defend the environment and a positive image abroad. they don't have to focus on squabbles much themselves but the man in the white house. >> does that mean that the

democrats will try and work with donald trump or fight him tooth and nail? >> they won't work with donald trump. trump and his close advisers don't want to work with them, including steve bannon. watch for the democrats to try to build bridges with moderate, centrist republicans. for example, we have an on going investigation into trump's link was russia. look for the democrats to work with colleagues saying we need a full and fair investigation. look for them to work with the republicans inhou house or sena specially. we know that obama care needs reforms but we don't want to throw it out the window. they will look for common ground. >> we will have to wait and see how their voices are carried if they can go head to head with donald trump, who does things his own way and certainly is laying out his agenda. he had dinner with nigel farage last night, the former head of

britain's u.k. who tweeted a photo, dining at trump's hotel in d.c. he enjoyed himself. he said the brexit and trump victory launched a great global revolution. 2016 would be a year to remember. as i said, with president trump laying out his agenda, does it look like president trump's revolution will take hold? is it taking hold. >> first of all, nigel farage is out for nigel farage. he doesn't represent the mainstream views or the views of the british government. to say that trump and farage are going to lead this global revolution, they may want that but that's far from the situation. the reality is that trump has very strong opinions. trump's advisers have strong opinions on issues like global trade, climate change, russia and all of those issues.

concerned, many people in europe, many people connected with nato and many people in areas like asia and the middle east. trump is considered an unstable proposition at this point despite what mr. farage might say to praise him. >> scott lewis, we always appreciate you joining us. thank you. >> thank you. >> one of the messages that the president hit hard on the campaign in his victory was his message to coal country. that promise is being put to the test. large numbers of coal plants are being shut down across the united states. >> in ohio, residents are asking president trump to save not only their jobs but their entire town before it is too late. here is martin savidge with that. >> reporter: in ohio, it is hard to find an air why more remote or more red than man chaesstche where two of every three votes were for donald trump. >> donald trump, trump, trump,

trump. >> reporter: the tiny town sits along the banks of the ohio river. >> something about the water here. you get it in your blood and you don't want to leave. >> reporter: they can tell you when it started, 1791 and when they believe it will die. >> 2018. >> june of 2018. >> reporter: when two large coal plants are projected to close. the news broke just after the election. >> it was a shock to myself and friends and co-workers, family, people in the local community. i think some people are still in shock. >> reporter: as it stands now, the union says about 700 jobs will be lost in a town of 2000. the coal supplier says it will cut an additional 1500. tax revenues and property values will plummet. what about all those rallies, all those promises of jobs and

reenergizing coal. >> jobs, jobs, jobs. >> reporter: if he is the energy coal president, why are coal plants still shutting down? >> i don't think it is 100% up to trump. i think he has a lot of say-so in it. to me, it is poor business decisions. >> reporter: the mayor agrees. it is not trump's fault. he blames plant owners and management. >> men in overhauls built it. the men in suits destroyed it. >> reporter: he is a man in a suit. >> but he stood up for the working people. >> did you vote for trump hoping he would save your job? >> i did vote for trump because i like the way his views are on stuff and i like the way he don't try to be politically correct on everything. >> he was positive towards coal where others weren't. >> reporter: you don't feel despite all the talk of coal and bring the jobs back that somehow your coal-related job? >> i personally don't feel let down but i personally hope he steps in on this part as well. >> put some pressure on.

>> reporter: they are trying to encourage president trump to keep his promises about jobs and coal? >> i don't know. p more of a disappointment. >> reporter: in manchester and other towns, futures once so bright will soon face much darker days? martin savidge, cnn, manchester, ohio. >> after the election, it became so clear and obvious for people that didn't see it. there are different perspectives on how it is to be an american. the progress, opportunity, that story goes to the heart of it. >> yes. the question, why is that coal plant shutting down? will the president intervene? a lot of people want to see coal

go away and jobs go away. we'll continue to follow that. >> a chemical weapon, a dramatic assassination and the hunt for answers in the murder of kim jong nam. amid all the mystery, one thing can be for sure malaysia says. thousands are expected to march in honor of boris nemtsov. we'll have the latest coming up.

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welcome. an evening of festivities turned into tragedy. a pickup truck injured 28 people. the youngest victim, three-years old. >> the suspect was taken into custody and appeared highly intoxicated. a witness told them they barreled into a group of people. >> when i heard the impact, i seen the truck hitting the people on the ground coming through the crowd. it ricocheted off of one car to

another one and hooked a hard left. everybody was trying to help one another to make sure everybody was all right. >> it seems odd they are sitting there with their party necklaces on when such a tragedy happened. there is no indication the trash was involved with a terrorist act. officials are answering a new concern raised by the murder of jim jong nam. kuala lumpur international airport was swept two weeks after the strange attack of the north korean leader's half brother was poisoned with a banned nerve agent. it trickled out how he was killed and what was on that substance rubbed on his face.

where did it go? how did it get there? we still don't know those questions. it appears the airport is safe. >> reporter: that's right. that does come as a relief, because there had been a great deal of concern that this vx nerve agent had been deployed inside this busy airport terminal. bha we are learning in the last few minutes is news from the health minister who has said that the autopsy results are consistent with the vx nerve agent. that rev ligs was expected. he is saying it appears that kim jong nam died within 15 minutes of what happened at that airport terminal. there is a great deal of concern about the safety for those that have been passing through for two weeks. overnight, what you saw was teams of inspectors that went in there. they were wearing protective suits and did a full sweep of

that terminal. they turned up no dangerous or hazardous materials. they turned up checks on all in contact with him. also, some of the customer service staff where he had gone to first report that he was feeling dizzy in the aftermath of that attack. the word coming from police who were inside the terminal and from the health minister is that this airport is safe. anyone who had come into contact with this highly potent nerve agent would have felt the symptoms and the effects within minutes or up to 18 hours. again, we are being told no illnesses have been reported as a result of any contact with the vx agent, natalie. >> it has been interesting that north korea is not accepting any of this in the loss of kim jong-un's half brother. is there anything moving forward

in the tit for tat they are having with one another. >> reporter: there is still a fight over this boechld tdy. the north koreans demanding its return and the malaysians saying they will not release it without a dna sample and the next of kin coming to get it. they criticized the investigation and the poisoning theory. they said they were told he died of a, quote, heart/stroke. they have made no official statements about the finding of that vx agent on the face or eyes of kim jong nam. no word from korean authorities at this point. we do know that malaysian officials continue to seek up to seven north korean citizens. they want to speak to three of them in relation to this incident. they say that they are seeking

cooperation from north korea in reaching some of the people. natalie? >> that will be interesting, if they do, wouldn't it? we appreciate you following it for us. alexandra, thank you. >> in russia, opposition is holding a march in moscow to mark the second anniversary since kremlin critic, boris nemtsov was murdered. matthew chance is live following the story. if you could just set the scene and explain to our viewers around the world and in the u.s. where you are and what's happening right now. >> reporter: i am right in the center of moscow on this bitterly cold sunday afternoon where it is expected that thousands of people will arrive in this location just behind me through these metal detectors that are being manned by the moscow authorities and police to commemorate the second anniversary of the killing in moscow of boris nemtsov horks

was props the country's most prominent opposition figure gunned down on a bridge just outside the kremlin when walking home with his girlfriend. they have refused permission to stage a rally and march in the location where he was killed. instead, making them come to this area some distance from the bridge. there have been a couple of arrests made, people from a republic in the south of russia. two have been charged. opposition figures and family members say they are not satisfied at all with the investigation. while they have stopped short of accusing vladmir putin, the russian president, of ordering the killing of boris nemtsov. they do say he presides over a country that makes this kind of violence, the kind of violence that saw boris nemtsov shot four times until he was killed on that bridge in the shadow of the

kremlin to make that possible. so today it is all about trying to remember boris nemtsov and to call on people in russia and there are a number of other protests taking place in russia as well, to come and demonstrate for freedom and to demonstrate for freedom of speech, which is what the opposition say boris nemtsov stood for. >> while you were speaking, we were looking at these images that showed where people were coming together, where people were leaving flowers, the images of boris anymore sore there. just to get a sense, because many times you hear a great deal about the popularity of the russian president, vladmir putin, rarely do you hear about protests. how difficult or easy is it for prote protests? is that a welcome voice? >> reporter: i think this is fair to say it is not a particularly welcome voice, you are right. the popularity of vladmir putin

is very high. the supporters of boris nemtsov and the opposition in general are a tiny minority. as boris nemtsov once said, supporters, fighters for freedom in russia are always in the minority. that is certainly the case in 21st century russia. we are expecting to see thousands of people here today. this is a country of 140 million people. >> matthew chance live in moscow. thank you so much for the reporting. we will stay in touch with you as the crowds continue to gather. >> u.s. president, donald trump, promised job growth. he has almost p 202,000 jobs to fill. >> another weekend of very angry town halls. some face people and others

refuse to hold the meetings all together. it is 4:26 in atlanta, georgia. po (mic thuds) uh, sorry. it's unlimited without compromising reliability, on the largest, most advanced 4g lte network in america. (thud) uh... sorry, last thing. it's just $45 per line. forty. five. (cheering and applause) and that is all the microphones that i have. (vo) unlimited on verizon. 4 lines, just $45 per line.

. welcome back. i'm natalie allen. >> aim geori'm george howell. u.s. president, donald trump, says he will not attend the annual white house correspondents' dinner on april 29th. it is a break with tradition and usually a big deal. the president is usually the guest of honor. mr. trump has a rocky relationship with the mainstream media, referring to it or us, i guess, referring to it as the

enemy of the american people. >> at least 28 people are injured after a truck ran into a crowd in new orleans, louisiana. this happened on saturday at a mardi gras parade. the suspect is in custody. the new orleans police chief says that there is no indication that the crash was a terrorist. kuala lumpur international airport has been declared safe by malaysian authorities. they found no toxic material where kim jong nam was killed. they say the half brother was poisoned with the vx nerve agent, extremely toxic and banned under the chemical weapons convention. the president of the united states, donald trump, has been in office for a little more than a month. right now, according to available data he has nearly 2000 jobs in his administration he still has to fill. >> earlier, brianna keilar spoke with david cohaan about what the

vacancies mean. he is a professor of political sigh nens ohio z it is not unusual that presidents take a long time to fill all of the positions that they have to once they transition into office. if could be up to a year to get those positions filled. the trump administration has been pretty lax in terms of appointing people to these position. noerks, "the washington post" tracks some of the real key positions in the cabinet. 500 plus position the. the trump administration has appointed only 34 people to these position and only 14 have been confirmed. that's a pretty slow pace. there are serious implications to that. besides the fact that the cabinet is not filled, a lot of the deputy cabinet and sub cabinet positions that are crucial to running our executive branch, those positions are largely unfilled as well.

>> another weekend and another round of avery angry town halls, some u.s. voters have not been shy about making their voices heard. >> they have not. they want to meet with their elected representatives to get answers. here is sarah gannon. >> reporter: as we have seen, there has been angry at town halls. on saturday, republican congressman, gary palmer, was booed following a question on climate change. >> why are you doing this? >> reporter: moments like those that are making some lawmakers reconsider holding town halls at all. new york congressman, peter king, said he won't hold town hall fs they are going to evolve into a, quote, screaming session. they trivialize and diminish democracy. it is not just republican that is are backing off of the

traditional meetings. some democrats, particularly in states that went for trump in 2016, in vulnerable positions and up for re-election in 2018 are also shying away from town halls to avoid a possibly contentious situation. there is another reason some democrats might want to hold off on a town hall. i talked to one strategist. he explained it. >> i think they are avoiding stepping on the anti-republican story. it is the republican town hall that is have become very controversials and it is video clips from those town hall that is have made it on to the town hall. if a democrat has a town hall and it turns messy, that steps on the story. that makes it a bipartisan story, less interesting or less potent, politically. >> to be fair, many are holding them but not the traditional town hall. for example, senator jon tester in montana, opted for a facebook

live, a much more controlled environment. democratic strategists are telling me traditional town halls are too risky right now. they see no up side in putting themselves in a position where an exchange with an angry protesters to end up going viral. sarah ganim, cnn, new york. another community speaking out of issues is chicago. the violence in chicago is one of prettysident trump's favorit talking points. >> they are telling him, actions speed louder than words. >> can you believe what's happening in chicago as an example? >> reporter: president trump talking chicago violence yet again. >> two days ago, seven people were shot and i believe killed. seven people. >> reporter: not only during his speech at cpac but, you guessed it, on twitter.

wednesday was the deadliest day this year in chicago. seven people were shot and killed, including a pregnant woman. for community leaders who have been work tog sting to stop the violence, the president talking about it is getting old. >> my anger with the president, he keeps tweeting and dropping statements about chicago. in my mind, if you are really serious, come to chicago. >> reporter: candidate donald trump started slamming chicago early in his campaign. >> in chicago, 3,664 people have been shot since january 1st of this year. >> reporter: then he tweeted about it saying, if the mayor can't do it, he must have for federal help. as president, he continued beating the trump. >> what is going on in chicago?

it is worst than some of the place that is we read about in the middle east. >> reporter: using the word carnage to describe the killings and, again saying if the city can't solve the problem, he will send in the feds. >> i would welcome, always have, welcome federal participation in working with local law enforcement to dealing with guns and gangs. >> the election is over. >> the cook county commissioner is also frustrated about the president talking and not doing. >> the president of the united states does not change the course of any of this action. we are not a monarchy. >> the commissioners say the administration can pump money to combat crime and inject economic investment. they mapped it out for the president in a resolution passed earlier this month. chicago is still waiting. why does the president keep talking about the windy city. >> i think it is about embarrassing barack obama. i think this is, i am going to

go tower hometown and show that i care about it more than you. i think your agenda is sensationalism. it bothers me. this is blood out here. >> reporter: the white house, for its part, says law and order is the top priority. cnn reached out to the white house directly asking why the president keeps singling out chicago and we haven't heard back. rosa flores, cnn, chicago. >> i can tell you from having worked in the chicago burroueaud seeing blood on the streets, there are good people looking for solutions. they want actions and not word. >> they deserve it. chicago is a great, great city but it has got a huge problem with that, the gang situation there. we'll again follow up on that story as well and see if there is reaction from president trump. coming up here, one family's dangerous journey fleeing syria is captured in an

oscar-nominated documentary. why the academy awards mean so much to this family. that's next. >> plus, a chunk of ice that you would believe as big as a small country. scientists found it in antarctica.

welcome back. a solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the planet. >> at t minus 4. if you are in south america, southern after cars you have the greatest potential of seeing it. >> north america will see its most highly publicized solar eclipse. this is what you are looking at, a preview of things to come, if you are tuning in from south

america or southern after kachlt that africa. that's a solar eclipse. we know that the sunshine, that big beam of light that provides life and energy here on our planets while it also produces so much light rays that get blocks out by the time the moon comes in direct line between the earth and the sun. so we get the solar eclipse. the moon casts its shadow on the planet and it blocks out our star that provides life. now, there is a unique solar eclipse today that is happening. it is not only a total solar eclipse but it is an annual solar eclipse. let me explain. the difference is that the moon, think about this, as it rotates around the planet, it is an elliptical fashion. there are points when the moon is closer and farther way from us here on the planet. so that has an impact on the s

size of the shadow cast on the earth. the annual solar eclipse that is going to happen in four hours time is going to be visible with a smaller disc on the sun leaving the small per every on the outer edges called the ring of fire. that is why it is called the annual solar eclipse. the totality across southern chile into argentina. a beautiful part of the world, patagonia. that will travel across the atlantic. make its way to southernic zambia, including my friends in capetown. should see at least partial totality with this. that's occurring here in the next four hours. be prepared. get outside. it looks like the weather should play along, sfegsly if ypecialle in the western sections.

take to you you to antarctica. i want to take to you a video of a flyover of the ice shelf. this is a 5,000 square kilometer, nearly 100 story deep ice shelf. we have climate change written all over this, natalie. you are looking at this amazing, amazing image here of what is going to be a large ice burg. lots to cover at the weather center to say the least. some interesting stories. >> see you later. hollywood is getting ready for the biggest night of the year, of course. what would that be, george? >> the musical, "la la land."

it is tie ying with titanic. one short document up for an oscar following the story of a syrian family fleeing their country, fleeing the war. >> the mother purchased tickets for herself and children to travel to los angeles to tell the world about the war. she worried that the confusion could force her to watch the awards ceremony from home. atika shubert has the story for us. >> reporter: it is not the gun battles or violence that draws you into the film, it is the quiet rhythms of life in the midst of war. she and her family lived on aleppo's front line. before them, the snipers and behind them, the death squads of isis. her journey with four children from aleppo to turkey to germany

was captured in the documentary now up for an oscar. hala had tickets around a u.s. v s visa. she heard that syrians were going to be banned from entering the u.s. >> at first i was so sad as when you want to visit somebody and he close the door it was very bad and sad for me. >> reporter: president trump's executive order has left tens or thousands. >> i respect trump so much because he don't make this with us. we haven't any problem with him. we want to speak to the people in u.s.

i want to send message to the world that there are a lot of family, a lot of children in syria have this. i want to look for this story as a fact, as a truth, what happened in syria, what happened to these people, to come here, to europe. >> reporter: despite the daily shelling and gun battles, the family refused to leave for years until the father, a rebel commander with the free syrian army, was captured by isis. the film shows the children offering tearful good-byes as they leave the destroyed streets of aleppo and how they keep their resolve in camp as the turkish border. the youngest, sarah, still

running in fear from planes. the camera follows them to the cobblestone streets of germany where the family lives now. the children have quickly made friends in their new home. hala cried when the oscar nominations were announced. she shows photos of her celebratory breakfast with filmmaker. she explains her husband, abu ali, always stayed up late to watch the oscars, no matter what. >> reporter: so he loved movies and films? >> yes and he knows everything. >> reporter: she knows that her husband is probably dead but still searches through photos for proof. the children, the younger girls, still believe or hope that one day he may arrive at their door. for now, hala only hopes that people will see the film to understand what she and millions of other syrians have endured.

atika shubert, cnn, germany. >> we have this addendum to the story. we heard that hala has arrived safely and she has received offers from people, michelle obama and her spokesman to help her with her dress. >> i will have to see that film. we will be right back with more news. knows how it feels to seees your numbers go up, despite your best efforts. but what if you could turn things around?

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." he has never had a vote cast for him or gone through the nomination process. steve bannon is one of the most influential people. >> on thursday he stepped into the spotlight to answer questions at conservative political action conference. jeanne moos took time to compare the reality with the comedy show parodies. >> reporter: the man that snl portrayed at the grim reaper wasn't so grim as he made a rare public appearance. >> i can run a little hot on occasions. >> reporter: you may never have heard his voice but probably seen cartoons of him holding president trump on his lap whispering in the president's

ear being a master pickupeteer. >> president bannon has his own parody twitter account tweeting comments like, day 33, donald trump still believes he is the president. there are impeach president bannon t-shirts and a "new york times" editorial called him president? the late show showed bannon tucking in president trump. >> night-night, don't let the bed bugs bite. >> in person, the only thing he flipped was the press. does the actual president mind all the talk about president bannon. >> maybe bannon is calling all the shots. >> if that wasn't true, then a certain cable news fan wouldn't have felt the need less than an hour later to tweet i called my

own shots. >> david axlerod compared them as they got touchy feely. this was like bannon's coming out. >> steve, you are a really likeable guy. you should do this more often. >> get out a little more from under that mask snl put you under. >> mr. president, i well go sit at my desk. >> jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> maybe we will see more of steve bannon. >> or maybe we won't. you never know. >> thanks for joining us. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. the news continues right after the break. you are watching cnn, the world's news leader. today, unlimited gets the network it deserves. verizon. (mic thuds)

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the president of the united states says he will skip the white house course opinion dense dinner and democrats have a new leader. the term radical islamic terrorism, he says is not useful. >> we speak to a syrian refugee mother who will be watching the oscars to see if the documentary about her family wins. live from cnn world headquarters, welcome. to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. "cnn newsroom" starts right now.