who won, or who lost, because in the end, they were all on the same side. ♪ it's time for the nation to realize, it's not just a chicago problem or a parkland problem but it's an american problem. >> these students say this is not a moment. they say this is a movement. hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets demanding action on gun control in the united states. >> but as for whether or not the movement can bring about actual change and new legislation, we'll break it down with our guests this hour. >> plus has the legitimacy of the brexit referendum been damaged?

the brexit violated rules. >> newsroom starts right now. >> around the world. good day to you. 4:00 a.m. teenagers, teachers, parents, commanding the world's attention with one message saying enough is enough. it's called march for their lives demanding tougher gun laws in the united states. >> hundreds of thousands of people marched in more than 800 cities across the united states. but the main focus was in washington where demonstrators rallied behind the florida high school students that survived a mass shooting last month on

valentine's day when a gunman, a former student, opened fire at their school killing 17 students and teachers. these students may be young, but they say they're fighting, as we just mentioned, for a movement. >> people believe that the youths have no voice. when joan of arc fought back english forces she was 17 years old. when motzart wrote his first symphony he was 8 years old. we were the only people that could have made this movement possible. >> good points that young man made. joe johns now highlights some of the other powerful molts from the marches across the united states. >> from sea to shining sea activists pouring into the streets. from parkland florida. >> this stops now.

>> to our nation's capitol, students standing up to make their voices heard. >> my name is -- >> just like all of you, i have had enough. >> powerful voices of those that have lost gripping a world in awe of the power of our youth. >> people have said that i'm a tool of some nameless adult. it's not true. >> a student-lead demonstration demand changes to the nation's gun laws. >> i too am a victim, a surveillance vie volunte survivor and a victor of gun violence. >> we're done being afraid. we're done being full of fear. >> each one drawing thousands including celebrities. >> one of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here so it's important to

me. >> the d.c. event brought famous performers like miley cyrus, ariana grande and common. one person not in attendance, president trump who, instead, opted to leave town one day ahead of the march. the white house issuing a statement applauding the demonstrators highlighting a new department of justice proposal banning bump stocks as part of the president's commitment to keeping children safe. to many that's not enough. >> when they give us that inch, that bump stock ban, we will take a mile. we are not here for bread crumbs. we're here for real change. >> but other lawmakers did show up, each with a similar refrain. that the best way forward is to keep pushing forward. >> they will make their voices heard and they will make them heard every single day. >> you have to stay with it. one day is not enough because the politicians are watching the

nra which is going to be there tomorrow and the day after and the day after. >> with student after student offering a different message to their elected official. >> we cannot and will not be influenced by money and demand the same from our elected officials. >> if you listen real close you can hear the people shaking. >> the voters are coming. >> young men and women demanding change. >> obviously the question is whether all of this energy will translate into change any time soon. they were encouraged in private meetings. and when it's time to run for office to keep the pressure on. organizers responded by registering people to vote at

the march in all 50 states. joe johns, cnn, the white house. >> students are certainly outspoken and articulate. >> making their voice and message clear. >> some of the most powerful scenes happened in parkland, florida where the march for our lives was born from the students that survived the massacre. >> they're hoping the school will become the launching point for change. >> here in pine trails park, this is a park many douglas students grew up playing soccer in, maybe baseball in a field next door and then this park became a memorial site where people would come to pay their respects to the 17 victims. this park took on a new significance in their lives. it became the rallying point for the change they were demanding. there was an energy and passion in the air here.

>> i was shot in the knee in my fourth period classroom. my classmates and i layed help leslie on the floor hearing and feeling rapid gunfire. as i am aware that the horrific tape that replays in my head will never be rewinded i am also aware that the need for change is overdue. >> the program concluded with 17 stoneman douglas students on stage. each stepping forward to say one of the victims names, one of their best friends. then with the line, this is why i march. the crowd then left this park and marched about a mile to the high school and as marchers approached campus they were asked to be silent to honor the victims of february 14th. they were also asked not to stop but to continue walking to signify the forward movement they want to see as they continue this fight and continue to honor the 17 lives lost that day. cnn. >> and just a footnote to that,

this school is about 45 minutes from where the u.s. president is spending the weekend. he has had something to say about the march. we'll have that coming up. >> as you mentioned, it wasn't just students at the marches. parents were there too including some parents that lost their children to gun violence. >> his 14-year-old daughter, this is jamie, was killed in the school shooting last month. he told us why it's critical that this march sparks a change, a real change. >> after every one of these incidents, we always have a conversation. we always talk about stuff we're going to do. it's always very comfortable for people and then it always goes away. i don't want to talk about my daughter and make people comfortable. i don't want this to be comfortable for people and i certainly don't want it to go away. i want to be part of this movement toward gun safety. this orange ribbon that i wear

here that started at my daughter's dance studio. i want this to be the symbol of a gun safety movement. every american should be behind it. we're not behind anything against the 2nd amendment. we're behind steps that we would consider common sense so that the safety of americans when they walk out on public streets, into public buildings or into buildings that should be secure like a school, where they don't have to fear being shot. >> there were tens of thousands around the world, people that came together marching for gun control but they were not alone on saturday. gun rights activists held counter demonstrations at some march sites. they argue that gun control efforts would infringe on their constitutional rights to bear arms and to use guns so protect themselves. cnn's van jones asked one gun rights supporter to share her experience on why she thinks broader gun control rights would

offer more safety. >> you grew up with guns, you had a gun permit. you got accepted to a college that was a gun free zone, you decided to leave your gun at home and then you were the victim of the sexual assault. so many people say guns are the problem. from a young woman's point of view, what are we missing? >> i think that there's so much that we're missing but the biggest aspect of it is the importance of self-defense. i was lucky to get accepted to my dream school and i was able to pursue a degree in neuroscience which is something i dreamed of for my entire life. sorry, but after 3.5 years at my dream school i dropped out because of what happened and after 3.5 years, all ai had to show for my time there was a horrific experience and student loans and i don't want anyone to

have to go through what i did. >> the powerful gun lobby, the national rifle association, seized the march as a fund-raising opportunity. it posted a video that slammed the marchers. >> here's part of the message from the nba. gun hating millionaires and hollywood elite are manipulating and exploiting children -- >> one is a proposal by the u.s. justice department to ban so-called bump stocks. mr. trump, president trump tweeted about itted from as he noted a bump stock is an accessory added to a legal semiautomatic rifle to make it shoot more like a rapid fire machine gun. >> other actions include the safe school safety committee.

also language to include background checks on some purchases. that bill also provides more funding for school security. >> let's talk more about what we have witnessed on this saturday. steven is chief diplomatic correspondent for the new york times. he joins us now from brussels belgium. it's remarkable that high school students from a school in florida mobilized worldwide rallies. hundreds in the u.s., on every continent. they have the passion and support and nra and congressional leaders, americans that want no encroachment on gun laws. do these kids have a chance? >> they have a chance. it's a democracy. it reminds me of the 60s when kids including me were marching in the streets trying to bring an end to the vietnam war. these things have an impact. they don't always have an impact tomorrow but they do have an impact. one of the reasons we get so

involved is because we hear these tragic story which is are truly tragic of base aici -- basically people but this is suffered by people in cities. these are the people that range are really victims of an awful lot of gun crime. so i hope this pushes congress to at least make some legitimate restrictions on the current market in semiautomatic weapons which no american citizen should have. i hope they will raise the age of gun ownership all across the country to at least 21. i hope they will install at least a month long waiting period before people get gun licenses with real background

checks. these are not things that will infringe americans right to have a gun. it will just protect normal people from crazy people. >> and let's stick with that point because we just heard from the nra, gun hating billionaire, hollywood elites are manipulating these children. i don't think anyone believes these children are not doing this of their own accord. and again saying that the 2nd amendment will strip our rights to defend ourselves and our loved ones. that's not what anyone is talking about. how can the nra continue the same old same old and still have an impact that they certainly do? >> well, they do. partly because, we have a very divided country and it divides along identity lines too. it's not just economic lines or racial

. they're nervous. in general, you just interviewed a grieving father that said quite rightly very often these things have momentum for a little while and then fade away. we saw this with president obama who felt one of his greatest failures was his failure to convince the congress to install

more gun control. but it's a fight really for politics, for president trump too. his instinct in the beginning was to put in serious gun control changes at least. then, the nra is holding back a bit. partly because of politics. lobbies work in america. they have money, they get voters out to vote. if everybody voted lobbies would have less power but many people can't be bothered and people that care passionately about issue which is is part of democracy do get out and vote. that's troo whether it's the gun lobby or it's, you know, pro this or pro that lobby. these are identity issues. they matter to people and things that matter to people push them to vote and the nra like many other lobbies perfectly legally presses these buttons and congressmen and women have to

listen. politics is expensive in america. >> exactly. well, we will see how the but tons are pushed come november as a result of this movement. it will be interesting to watch. always appreciate your analysis. thank you. >> thank you. >> politics are expensive but these messages certainly powerful. she stood on stage for 6 minutes and 20 seconds. that's the length of the shooting at parkland, florida. >> she was silent for that time. >> just to show the impact on stage. very powerful, indeed. still ahead here on newsroom, whistleblower claims the official brexit campaign cheated by breaking campaign spending rules. what does that mean for the referendum result? stick around.

a volunteer is saying they broke finance rules a head of the referendum. they're saying they used a

separate campaign group to deliberately spend more than the authorized campaign limit. >> in effect they overspend and not just by small amounts, by 2-thirds of a million pounds they overspent and the impact of that, the difference between -- the difference between that was just a few percentage points and that makes all the difference and it wasn't legal. >> the majority of that money allegedly went to the canadian data firm called aggregate iq. they have been linked to cambridge analytica. they were accused of using facebook user data to target voters. >> they cheated and people were lied to and the referendum wasn't legitimate.

now we're going on with brexit based on lies, based on cheating, based on what is essentially a scam. what does that mean for our democratic process? leaving the union i agree with but i don't agree with the process. >> it has twice been cleared on this matter by britain's electoral commission but the group will investigate the new allegations and the canadian data firm, aiq denies any wrong doing and also says it has never entered into a contract with cambridge analytica. >> stephen was the then national organizer and is denying the allegations. he's the political secretary for teresa may. he told channel 4 this, i had no

responsibility for donations on the vote leave campaign and am confident that i stayed within the law and strict spending rules within all times. >> last hour cnn spoke with the reporter that brought this story to light. channel 4's political correspondent. he said the allegations being leveled really boil down to this. >> it's a complicated system during the referendum. you had the main designated group with a maximum of 7 million and there's also little groups that were also allowed to spend money. only 700,000 and the allegation is that vote leave channelled money to one of these groups and told one of the groups how they could spend that money. told them they had to spend it with this canadian data firm, aiq. >> let's parse through all of this. let's bring in european political commentator live in our london bureau. she has extensively covered

brexit. a lot to talk about coming out of this channel from the united kingdom but it really comes down to this, whether campaign finance rules were broken by vote leave allegedly to spend more money than legally permitted and effectively giving them more power to influence people's votes. it's raising the very clear question here whether voters that vote leave had an unfair advantage. >> well, that is indeed the million dollar question and we don't know the answer to that. now these allegations are not new. there's already been loads of rumors since vote leave won the referendum that they might have had an unfair advantage. if you actually look at how they -- there's main arguments, that the u.k. didn't have a veto on that. will this change the outcome of

the rereferendum? i would say given that these accusations have been leveled before and there hasn't been enough, i don't think you'll see the result of the referendum being overturned. and partly that is also because brexit has divided this country into two. you see, tremendously and i think these will be seen as the latest conspiracy theory to overturn brexit. >> okay. aside from the whistleblower everyone implicated in this report said no laws were broken here. nothing wrong happened here, but, if it's proven that rules were broken, what's next for the people involved? and you say this wouldn't change the referendum but could it tarnish the referendum? >> absolutely it could tarnish the referendum and if they find that rules were broken i would imagine that those people involved, some of course who are

in the government are advising the prime minister closely may have to step down. i don't think it will change the referendum at all but i think going forward, no matter what the results of the investigation are, even if it's found that there was no undue spending, no rules were broken, i think that it's quite clear to at least half of the electorate that the entire brexit campaign will be tarnished. that's not only to do with the allegations but also the manner which they campaigned. they campaigned very aggressively and at least half of the country are very, very upset about the manner in which the referendum was won. this is going to be a very devicive political issue for many years to come. >> in the final days, the vote leave camp says that it targeted around 7 million voters just before the referendum with political ads. it's not clear exactly how those voters were chosen.

it's being weaponized against us in political campaign strategies. >> this is something not only confined to the brexit referendum. but we have also seen it in the context of foreign interference in national elections. but you're right. the main point is its not personal data being used as a weapon for political campaigning and the question is how do governments and regulators respond to that. when you have highly targeted campaigns when you're pushing an opinion piece it's difficult to crack down on them. it's important in the years to

come. it's something playing out in the u.s. and the u.k. but all over the western world really. >> where these allegations go, we'll have to wait and see of course. thank you for your time and perspecti perspective. >> brexit divided the u.k. it's guns that have divided the u.s. london took part in rallies and we'll talk to the students that organized it. coming up next.

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taking complete control of the region along with allied rebels. this according to turkish state media. they reportedly seized a sector a week ago. turkey says it's now trying to help residents return to their homes. >> a french police officer is being hailed a hero for actions in southern france. he died from his injuries after swapping places with a female hostage. the gunman killed three other people before he was shot by police. police have arrested two people reportedly connected to the attack. >> seen around the united states and around the world denver, los angeles, so many different cities, people rally against gun violence. survivors of last month's school shooting in florida that killed 17 people spear headed the march for our lives rally. >> it's amazing how this one march blossomed all over the

world. people everywhere on all the continents heard the students rally and participated in their own cities. rah rallies were held on every continent. in berlin people gathered in part of the u.s. embassy. >> protestors in london lay down in a moment of silence honoring the victims and in sydney, australia people held signs that said america love your children, not your guns. >> organizers for the march for our lives rally in london, good to have you both with us. >> we point out you're both americans. you organized this march in london. i know that you're from colorado where there was a massacre at a school and a movie theater. what does this mean to you? >> well it's been something weighing on my mind.

everyone has been touched in some way. it's a stable otherwise safe country. it's not right having to fear going to school, going to the movie theater. all of those things and so many people effected by this and since coming to london to study and see three more major mass shootings happen. it's very inspired by the parkland students to take action. >> people around the world were watching the rallies including the nra in the united states that responded saying this. if we can pull this up full

screen. as part of their plan to destroy the 2nd amendment and to strip us of our right to defend ourselves and our loved ones. you heard the statement there. what is your response to that? >> well it seems like they are on their last argument. that doesn't make any sense given yesterday was filled with teenagers that to the best of my knowledge, none of us had any contact with hollywood elites and billionaires in the united states. it's the response that you would expect in a debate in a stable democracy. it's inspirational. makes us hopeful that this time we'll see change happen. we are going to keep going.

we're on every continent except for antarctica and our supporters are voters and also those about to vote. >> what was particularly poignant for you organizing this and taking part and seeing what went on around the world. >> the thing that made me the most hopeful is how young some of these people are. i know that 76% of americans think congress should do more to reduce gun violence and we have so many americans that want to see an assault weapons ban but the next generation is too. the generation will be voting in 2020 and 2024 and they want this as well. that's something that's very good. millennials get criticized and if anything, we're seeing the

streets of parkland is that millennials deserve a lot of praise for not giving up and not surrendering to people organizations like the nra that will engage. >> same question to you there. how does this movement play in your mind as we get closer to national elections? >> it's just the right stuff and right direction. something that frustrated me with past attacks in the u.s. is how fast it went from a public conversation. no one was talking about it anymore and nothing was happening in congress. here we're a month now and still in the news and still on peoples minds. and coming up and telling their ideas of how they can further

contribute and then they were also saying they were asking us what is the next steps. what can you do? so it's just very encouraging that people are interested, they're passionate and they really want change. >> we saw the biggest massacre ever in las vegas last fall. dozens and dozens and dozens mowed down and we didn't see a movement come out of that but we have from these high school kids in florida. how do you explain that? >> our generation is the difference. to be sure, people were certainly calling for the end of bump stocks in the united states and every movement, even the ones that have made it, the students of parkland are

different and our generation are different and we're out hearsaying th here saying enough is enough. and now we're making it clear what it is that we want and i think that's why washington. >> we thank you for joining us and talking with us and wish you all the best and certainly i think the world has changed it's mind on millennials. my goodness. thank you so much. >> message loud and clear. thank you both. >> thanks. >> still ahead here, northeastern australia gets hammered by a very strong storm. still ahead, our meteorologist will bring us up to date on the damage there and what's next for those still in the path of the storm. >> also ahead, he's italian.

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>> tropical cyclone nora, the storm's worst not yet done. >> on the northeastern side of queensland getting lashed with heavy rain as we speak from this system but it didn't make land fa landfall there. look at the video coming out of that area and you'll be able to see just the damage that cyclone nora caused. winds over 100 kilometers per hour. 110 millimeters of rain which is just over 4 inches of rain fell with this storm and it's not done yet. we still have more rain to come. the wind, however is starting to die down because it is over land and once that loses the interaction with the ocean, this

is the gulf and we lose the energy source. not a lot going on. really that impriessive. i expect that will be lowered here. the good thing to know though, the majority of the population right along the coast. it's very sparsely populated. however we're still going to monitor this, the potential of flooding as we still have easily another 100, 250 millimeters of rain over the next 48 hours. this is the northern sections of queensland for northern australia and strong winds. perhaps some trees and branches still falling but the good news is this storm wrapping things up. >> all right. stay in touch. >> all right. he could be the poster child for

the immigrant dream. he was born in nigeria and is now top lawmaker in italy's senate. >> you might think that would make -- >> his adopted hometown in northern italy is proud of their famous son. he has just been elected italy's first black senator. an immigrant from nigeria he married a local and his first job here was sweeping out horse stables. now the owner of an it company he visits with his former boss before leaving for the roman senate. >> i'm black, i'm proud. >> the irony is that the

political party he represents has campaigned to close the countries door to immigrants. their campaign slogan this year, stop the invasion. italians first. >> it's a sentiment that gained popularity. the support grew to nearly 18% of the national vote, making them italy's third largest party. >> he insists his party is not racist. that they're against illegal immigrants and for what he calls quality immigration. people that want to work hard like he did and to wait rather than risking their lives at sea. >> why do they have to go to another country? there are embassies, conciliates, visa offices.

he says he likes their fiscal policies and italy's flagging economy needs to be helped first. >> what does italy have to offer if it can't even guarantee jobs for its own children. he wrote his party guidelines for immigration, to stop immigrants from leaving their native countries by encouraging development there. welcome political refugees and block arrival by sea. a policy that has support but might not bring much hope to the thousands of immigrants that arrive on italy's shores hoping for the same opportunities he has enjoyed. >> this has been a historic at a. the voices of the students

asking for gun control across the world. more of their powerful words coming up here in newsroom.

but i'm not standing still... and with godaddy, i've made my ideas real. ♪ i made my own way, now it's time to make yours. ♪ everything is working, just like it should ♪

>> just a few minutes away from the top of the hour and our next hour of cnn newsroom. but first these powerful worlds from students in washington d.c. >> little children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character. i have a dream that enough is enough. >> i have lived in south l.a. my entire life and lost many loved ones to gun violence. this is normal. normal to the point that i learned to duck from bullets before i learned how to read. so i need each and every one of you, no matter your age to continue to fight along side us because hearts cannot pump without blood and i don't want your community to become part of the inner circle that mine is now apart of.

in the end we're all fighting fur our lives but we are a great generation and we'll be the ones to make america safe. thank you. ♪ >> thank you so much, everybody. thank you for being here. i love y'all so much. never again. you guys are so incredible. i'm just lucky to be in the presence of all of you wonderful people fighting for what is right. [ crowd chanting ]

>> what do you hope can be accomplished? do you think that can happen at the legislative level? >> i don't know. but this is what we can do. so i'm here to do it. >> to all the politicians out there, if you take money from the nra, you have chosen death. if you have not expressed to your constituents a public stance on this issue, you have chosen death. if you don't stand with us by saying we need to pass gun legislation, you have chosen death. and none of the millions of people marching in this country today will stop until they see those against us out of office because we choose life. >> today is march 24th, march

for our lives, but it is also the birthday of someone that was sensele senselessly murdered in front of me. today is his birthday. i'd like to sing together happy birthday. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ happy birthday dear nick ♪ happy birthday to you >> my goodness. what do you say after that? there's no words. >> in her silence she said so

much. >> top stories are just ahead. more on this historic day for these students around the world. >> newsroom right back after the break. stay with us. my name is jeff sheldon,

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