the governor of virginia says the racist photograph in the yearbook isn't him. but he calls -- says he will not resign and calls for resignation are piling up. also this hour, protests and counterprotests across venezuela. this as more diplomat and high ranking military officers leave president maduro's camp. a milestone in u.s. aviation history. first ever all female flyover of navy fighter jet. >> it was carried out to honor the first female pilot in the navy who died this week. welcome to our viewers from the united states and around the world, coming to you live from

atlanta, your super bowl headquarters, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell from cnn world headquarters. "newsroom" starts right now. 4:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. democrat ralph northam saying he wasn't in a racist photo 34 years ago. keep in mind it was 24 hours ago he admitted to being one of the people in this very offensive picture. >> calls for his resignation are getting louder by the minute. and his news conference on saturday when he tried to explain himself only made matters worse. here's cnn's jessica dean with that. >> reporter: governor ralph northam really digging his heels in during a press conference on saturday, continuing to say over and over again it was not him in that racist photo that was found in his medical school yearbook and that he could continue to

earn back the trust of virginians and move forward. >> today i am not ready to ask virginians to grant me their forgiveness to my past actions. i also do not fully expect they will believe my account of these events. when i was confronted with the images yesterday, i was appalled that they appeared on my page, but i believed then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. i stand by my statement of apology to the many virginians who were hurt by seeing this content on a yearbook page that belongs to me. it is disgusting. it is offensive. it is racist. it was my responsibility to recognize and prevent it from being published in the first place. my belief that i did not wear that costume or attend that

party stems in part from my clear memory of other mistakes i made in the same period of my life. that same year i did participate in a dance contest in san antonio, in which i darkened my face as part of a michael jackson costume. i look back now and regret that i did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that. >> reporter: significantly after that press conference, we started hearing from state wide elected democrats, we heard from senator tim kaine and senator mark warner, both former governors of the commonwealth as well as representative bobby scott. they put out a joint statement saying they did not believe that this position was tenable for the governor, that the trust that virginians had placed in him had been broken and that he needed to step aside and resign. we also heard after that press conference from the state's attorney general who is also a democrat, calling for governor

northam's resignation. so a chorus that continues to grow, calling for the governor to step aside. he, for now, saying he's staying in the governor's mansion. we'll see how it evolves over the next 24 hours. in richmond, virginia, jessica dean. >> let's talk more about this now with cnn political analyst april ryan. april also a white house correspondent for american urban radio networks and the author of the book "under fire: reporting from the front lines of the trump white house." thank you for your time. >> anytime, george. how are you? >> very well. very well. so, look, this is certainly controversial to say northam sa stay in that position. what does that mean for democrats politically if he won't leave, if he won't resign? >> well, democrats are saying it is time for you to go, particularly after this press conference. you know, there's no space and place in 2019 for this kind of

racist behavior, even if it was a 1984. it has been revealed now. it has been compounded with his statements and the revelations of other things. you know, democrats right now, if you look at the political spectrum, if you look at particularly the presidential contest that is shaping up, this is the most diverse group of people thus far to run for president of the united states. and then to have this from one of their fellow democrats and the democrats have been screaming about president trump about other people to include congressional leader steve king. if they're screaming about them, they have to point the finger inside their own circle. and they're doing that. and they have someone who can replace him. his lieutenant governor who happens to be a black man. so this is going to play out for a minute. doesn't want to step down, but

this is going to play out for a minute. you got democrats and republicans calling for him to step down. >> so, look, april, when the story first came out, he said that he apologized for being in the image, but 24 hours later he said, hey, it wasn't me. what do you make of that excuse? >> wasn't me. wasn't me. it reminds me of this r&b song, "wasn't me." it looked like it, it wasn't me. i think you know the song i'm talking about, shaggy. >> i do. >> yeah, but see here's the problem, george. when he came out and said i was one of the people, he didn't want to say which one he was. now today -- that was yesterday, and now today he's saying, it wasn't me, but i did, you know, used shoe polish to dress up like michael jackson for a contest, i did the moon walk. there is also another yearbook

with a nickname, so, okay, so it wasn't you in that picture, but you have some other things that were questionable. this is just -- this is not a good look at all. and if he went in the court of law, beyond a reasonable doubt, you think he was guilty of that yearbook image. and that he, you know, knowing that he did blackface, already, you would think that he was the blackface in this picture. it is an ugly scenario in 2019, especially for that state grappling with the aftermath of charlottesville. it is not a noun anymore, it is a verb, it is fighting racism. it is just -- it is not a good look for this governor. >> and, you know, we have an international audience on this show along with our viewers here in the united states. and for a moment i do want to pull up this despicable disgusting image to show.

we hear northam say he's not the person in the image. but what we see there, a person dressed in the klans robe, a person who thought it would be a good idea to dress in blackface. northam says wasn't me, but help our viewers understand the history, this goes back to minstral shows. >> when it comes to blackface, it is about making a mockery of black people, making us like a character, a cartoon, if you will. it is not funny. it is very racist. since the time we were brought here, we have always been viewed as second class, never having first class status. in the eyes of many, particularly racist america. when they dress up in blackface, they dress themselves up in blackface, mimicking us, who want to be taken seriously, who

want to have first class citizenship, it demeans us, degrades us. this nation was built on the backs of slaves, free labor, and to make a mockery of us. it is a very, very ugly, very ignorant, racist gesture. like all we're doing is just laughing and hee hee'ing. some of those things you see with people eating watermelon. it is not a good depiction of who we are as people, who we have been for this nation, the united states of america, and who we are, period, in general. >> wasn't good during the jim crow south. wasn't good in 1984. and sure as hell isn't good now. april ryan, we appreciate your time. >> thank you, george. >> we'll continue to follow that story if there are developments, of course. on tuesday, u.s. president

trump will deliver his state of the union address, finally. >> one issue that is absolutely front and center, the border wall that he wants. mr. trump isn't saying exactly what he will do to fund that wall, but he is dropping some hints. >> have you privately decided whether or not you will declare national emergency and just to clarify -- >> privately? what's in my mind? certainly thinking about it. >> you're thinking ahead -- >> i think there is a good chance we'll have to do that. >> are you saying you will -- we should be prepared for you to announce at the state of the union what you're going to do? >> i'm saying listen closely to the state of the union. i think you'll find it very exciting. >> boris sanchez now, he's traveling with the president in florida. >> reporter: not much progress to show in talks between democrats and republicans on the issue of border security. and now both sides are engaged in yet another shouting match with president trump telling cbs that nancy pelosi is bad for the country, and suggesting that democrats have an open border

policy, something that democrats have refuted and today a spokesperson for the house speaker shot back in a statement to cnn, writing, quote, president trump's recklessness did not make us safer. it undermined our security with 35 days of border patrol agents, dea agents, fbi agents and homeland security personnel missing paychecks. democrats have put forward strong, smart and effective border security solutions and the bipartisan conference committee while the president still refuses to take a second shotdo shutdown off the table. the misrepresentations about democrats' commitment to border security do nothing to make our country safer. to be clear, democrats have offered republicans some concessions, offering to expand funding for added personnel and technology at the border, but they offered zero dollars when it comes to the president's long promised border wall and not giving an inch on that issue. the president clearly frustrated, that's part of the reason we heard him threaten to declare a national emergency on

the issue of immigration. on friday, even hinting to reporters he may do it during his state of the union address on tuesday night. no emergency declaration for the president on saturday in west palm beach, though. check out what he tweeted. he was golfing with legendary golfers tiger woods and jack nicklaus during his first trip to mar-a-lago in 2019, first trip since the 35-day record-breaking government shutdown. boris sanchez, cnn, traveling with the president in west palm beach, florida. well, let's talk about what we might expect this week from the president's state of the union address with the professor of international politics at city university of london and frequent guest on our program. good to see you. >> thank you, very nice to see you too. >> the president has hinted, we heard in that story, he will make an announcement regarding the border wall during his state of the union. what do you expect from mr. trump? >> well, mr. trump is coming off the back of a disastrous government shutdown where he is

perceived to have had to step back and allow the government to run again. he's coming back off the largest defeat in midterm election history, really. he lost that popular vote by a million votes. so i think he's probably going to come out to reassert his authority, to try to win back the initiative, especially with his media supporters who believe some believe he caved in with the government shutdown and others believe he's playing a wise kind of strategy. i think he's going to try to refire up his own political support. >> we'll have to wait and see if it is a emergency declaration, because he keeps claiming there is an emergency at the border even though the intelligence leaders of the united states did not indicate that when they gave their assessment report. the democrat, nancy pelosi, specifically, floated a type of normandy defense, looking for a

compromise shy of a wall. would that satisfy the hard-line base, you mentioned the commentators that he so closely listens to. does he need a bona fide wall? >> well, this is the big question if you like between the two parties. and how they are perceived among their supporters. each one is now fixated on either a fence or a wall. if you look at it, both are fairly strongly agreed there needs to be greater levels of border security, but want for political purposes either to get a wall or not grant a wall. in the end, actually, those people who are at the border, who are in the various caravans seeking asylum or refugee status or on the move because of violent gangs and so on in their home countries, i don't think they're too -- in the end they're going to get blocked. and i think democrats and republicans are playing a party political game, but there is a human tragedy playing out at the

border which they're not addressing. thousands people are being detained, thousands of children are being separated. it focuses on greater security, greater spending. they disagree on what it should be called. president trump wants a wall. the democrats are offering fencing, higher technology, drones, and so on. both are basically agreed on extra border security. >> it is absolutely and meantime his -- a recent poll of polls conducted by cnn shows that his approval rating, with all americans being polled, is 38% with 56% disapproval from americans. so the government shutdown certainly had a negative impact on president trump. >> absolutely. and i think -- president trump

is now in a kind of key point of his presidency. he's looking to 2020. he has done some real damage to the country, if you like. he is polarized. i think you can still win a polarized electorate for your side, but what he's done is not just polarized, he's galvanized the opposition. the opposition is more fired up to oust trump at the next election than they would otherwise have been. so the midterms showed that very, very clearly. i think that was a bit of a shock to the trump administration. they lost 40 seats in november. and i think what he's trying to do is now shore up that base. but the problem is that he is actually lost a very large number of other people, very large proportion of other people. and i think what he wants to do is to sort of -- i think one of his statements he said he wants america to choose greatness. so in this state of the union address, i suspect he's going to try to put forward that same argument, america is besieged by enemies within, and without.

there are great powers like china, for example, who are seeking to oust america from kind of global leadership and the liberals at home and abroad have been wasting american power. and i think he's going to really sort of come down heavily on that kind of a message. the problem is that he is alienated far too many voters and i don't think they're going to be necessarily persuaded, even though his base may well remain fired up. >> we always appreciate your insights, your expertise. inderjeet parmar, thank you for joining us. still ahead, demonstrations and defections to tell you bah about in venezuela. the struggle to dig in and maintain power. we'll have the latest from caracas. a power outage and brutal weather leaves inmates at a detention center shivering in the cold. out rage at the government response. when we started our business

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we are following new developments in the venezuelan political standoff. >> the country's ambassador to iraq, he is defecting from the

government of nicolas maduro. in a video declared support for the opposition, you see here, making him the first ambassador to do so, this comes after a venezuelan air force general announced his own defection. cnn cannot independently verify either of those videos. >> meanwhile, the venezuelan press is defiant despite mass protests. mr. maduro said he would support early elections for the opposition-controlled national assembly and he urged the militia to join the national military. stephano posiban has more. >> reporter: two leaders, two crowds, battling for the future of venezuela. on one side, the opposition, rallying around its leader, juan guaido, the president who swore himself in as acting president of venezuela on january 23. people gathered from the early hours of the morning to wait for guaido's speech, many hoping for an end to the country's years

long downward spiral. over the last few years, venezuela's economy collapsed, and its people have been unable to put their hands on the basics, such as food and medicine. >> i hope we end this right now. i hope we have a country, free country. i hope we start living our lives past this nightmare, past this inferno situation we're in right now. >> reporter: there is a new momentum behind the venezuelan opposition, after nicolas maduro began the second presidential term that many consider illegitimate, here and abroad. >> a lot of geopolitics at stake here. you see the negotiations going on. we heard that both russia, china are on maduro's side and white house and the rest of international community on the opposition side. but today here in caracas is the turn of the street. when juan guaido arrived at the rally, an avenue of enthusiastic support welcomes him. on stage, the young leader outlined his plan to put an end

to humanitarian crisis that is bringing venezuela to its knees. >> translator: we are also announcing to the people of venezuela that we already have three collection points for humanitarian aid. the first point, colombia, that will be first collection point of humanitarian aid. and there will be two more, which we will announce precisely where they will be in the upcoming days. >> reporter: on the other side of the city, another rallying cry from the old leader. >> translator: i am the president of the republic of venezuela and i owe myself to everyone, not just some of them, to all of venezuela. >> reporter: standing firm, calls for fresh parliamentary elections that mean dismantling the national assembly led by guaido. >> translator: i am in agreement with the legislative power of the nation and going forward with free elections and the nation with guarantees before the people to decide on a new

national assembly. >> reporter: a proposal cheered by maduro supporters, wary of the international interest towards venezuela. >> translator: we are telling those yankee lovers don't you dare do anything here. >> reporter: two crowds, two leaders. today, simply not able to speak to each other. for cnn, this is stefano posibano. inmates have been shivering for days and the power may not be completely fixed until least monday. federal and local politicians are among the people getting involved and demanding action. katie curado from wpix has the story. >> reporter: a heated protest outside mdc, demanding to know why inmates inside are freezing, reportedly stuck in cold, dark cells for days. >> these are families in here.

>> reporter: the problem began with a fire last sunday, elected officials who toured the facility today say some prisoners still have no heat, others have too much. some have not showered in days, many receiving no medical attention. no one, they say, has electricity or telephones to communicate with loved ones. >> the people who are there have no sense of emergency. >> we are fixing the situation right now as we speak. we got electricians working around the clock. >> reporter: that's what the union president told us, but congressman jerry nadler said the warden allowed contractors to leave at 2:30 many they ran out of materials. >> we are eager to solve this situation that the contractors left for the day and won't be back until monday. >> reporter: the city's offer to

help fell on deaf ears. >> the city of new york tried to give generators, tried to give blankets, but the warden has not accepted it. we ask them why are you not accepting the blankets? he said, you know what, it is an emergency, maybe we will. >> continue to follow that one for sure. america's biggest football game, the super bowl, just hours away now. and it is a huge undertaking to keep thousands of fans, football players, and people around the arena safe. george, we'll talk with the mayor of the city about that coming up. the super bowl is coming. is your bathroom ready? stock up on febreze now, ...before it's too late. breathe happy

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here in the united states, this is "cnn newsroom." i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. the headlines we're following for you this hour. the embattled governor of the state of virginia now claims it wasn't me, saying he was not in a racist image published 34 years ago, despite saying a day ago he was one of the people there. democrat ralph northam did admit to once darkening his face to impersonate michael jackson. many prominent democrats calling for him to resign. the white house says the theme of u.s. president trump's state of the union address will be choosing greatness. he has been hinting he'll announce his plans to fund his border wall. his options include declaring a national emergency to secure the money. venezuela's ambassador to iraq has apparently defected from the government of president nicolas maduro. he made that announcement in a video released on saturday. this would make him the first known ambassador to do so. cnn, though, has not independently verified that

video. it was published on the same day that venezuelans marched in massive duelling protests, one opposing maduro, the other supporting him. the biggest sporting event in the u.s. is happening right next door, here in atlanta, in just a few hours. the new england patriots and the los angeles rams will face off in the new mercedes-benz stadium for the super bowl. a massive security operation is under way around the clock to keep fans safe. >> and on the ground, and in the air, thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers are at work patrolling. authorities declared a no fly zone, that includes drones. the fbi has already confiscated at least six drones and they're warning users to keep them far away from the stadium. joining to talk more about the super bowl is mayor keshia lansbotom.

is the city ready? >> the city is more than ready. we have been working since 2016, when we were awarded a super bowl. it has been a coordination of over 40 agencies, federal, state and local agencies, and so obviously our biggest concern is about public safety, but we also want to make sure that people have a great time when they're in our city and it looks like everybody is enjoying our wonderful city. >> with regards to public safety, what sort of things are in place to make sure that people are secure as they enter the buildings, watch around the areas. what sort of things are police and officials doing? >> we have a lot of coordination, not just in having manpower and woman power on the ground, but also making sure that our camera network is completely integrated, we have got things that we can't speak about publicly. >> sure. >> but it really has just been fascinating to watch the coordination with all of these different agencies and how well executed it has been.

>> what would you say the economic impact is for the city of atlanta and the metro community? >> i've seen numbers upwards of $400 million in terms of economic impact just from this week alone. but more importantly it an opportunity for atlanta to once again be on the worldwide stage. it is an opportunity for people to see our city in a very different way. not only are we a southern city, with all of the warmth and charm that comes with that, but we also are a city that is able to host big events, to host big events that are watched on the worldwide stage like the super bowl. so we know that we'll have companies and families seeking to move here, and also more visitors coming in to our city. >> certainly the eyes all around the country, and even the world, looking at what happens here when it comes to the super bowl. one other issue that has come to the surface and the city has put a great deal of focus on it, the issue of human trafficking. >> this is an issue that is not just a concern for our city during the super bowl, but

really a concern throughout the year. we have appointed our first senior human trafficking fellow to really put direct attention on this issue because what we know, it is not just about sex trafficking, it is also about labor trafficking and quite often it is happening right in front of our faces. and we don't recognize the signs. so we have been working with our partners, with our people in the hospitality industry, giving them information on how you can identify the signs. even our strip clubs, which are legal, but if someone is working there, against their will, then we want patrons in those places to recognize the signs so that law enforcement can get involved. >> you know, one other thing, as people come to the city, all eyes are on this new stadium. talk to us about what that new stadium has meant for this city so far? >> you have this beautiful, physical feature, the mercedes-benz stadium. more importantly in the shadow of the stadium, the west side

communities of atlanta, historic vine city that had so many resources poured in to them as a result of building this stadium, in large part because of the blank family foundation who owns the atlanta falcons. we now have job training programs in this area. we now have substance abuse classes available. people are able to go back and complete their education. and it is really been a coordination, not just with the blafrpg family foundation, but with corporations and with community folk right on the ground, making sure that as the city moves forward, that we aren't leaving anyone behind. >> i would be remiss if i didn't ask you for a prediction. who is going to take it in the super bowl? >> well, i've gotten in a lot of trouble with the who dat nation about making my wishes known about who i want it to go to the super bowl, so my husband asked many to please not offend anyone else, so as the mayor of this city, since the falcons aren't

in the super bowl, i'll just say we hope that everyone has a great time and it is a great game. >> madam mayor, thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> and you should be watching us during the super bowl. we'll be on as it is finishing up. you'll be able to hear it through our microphone. you really can. >> so many people. just unbelievable. the u.s. secretary of state made it official, he gave formal notice to allies on saturday that the u.s. is pulling out of that landmark 1987 nuclear arms treaty with russia, that takes place in six months. >> mike pompeo says russia continually violated the intercontinental range nuclear forces treaty. russia denies this and also said it would pull out of the pact. >> russian president vladimir putin also ordered his diplomats to stop any arms control talks with the united states. he says russia will now build a new medium range super sonic

nuclear missile. >> translator: i agree with the defense ministry's proposal to start working on turning caliber cruise missiles into ground-based ones and creating a new medium range hypersonic ground-based missile. i would like to draw your attention to the fact we should not and will not get involved in a costly arms race. the trailblazer in the u.s. military, remembered in death for allowing women to soar to heights never before achieved. we'll explain how she helped make history one more time at her funeral. audible members know listening has the power to change us, make us better people. with audible you get more. two audible originals: exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. plus a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. all for just $14.95 a month, and always ad free.

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welcome back. we take a moment to mark the passing of a true aviation pioneer. rosemary mariner, until she came along, no woman had ever qualified to fly fighter jets for the u.s. navy. in fact, she was one of the first women even allowed to try

in 1973. >> rosemary quickly proved she had the right stuff. not only did she master the navy super sonic aircraft, she smashed through the gender barrier at close to mock 2 and never looked back. she would go on to be the first woman to command a squadron. >> retired naval captain rosemary mariner died last week at the age of 65 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. and to honor her and her singular achievement, the navy sanctioned another aviation first, an all female flyover. there it is. >> it is called the missing man formation. you'll see one of them zoom up into the heavens, though the navy may want to consider a name change under these circumstances at a predetermined moment, one of the jets streaks toward the sky, it is a fitting and emotional tribute to the rare breed who can rightfully be called a navy aviator. joining me now is the mission commander for the flyover for

rosemary mariner, stacy utep and also with her jo ellen usland, the first naval helicopter pilot from the 1970s. in the background, as you can see, we have naval aviation pioneers, plus the women from the flyover. so i love the team spirit, ladies, that you have there with you. what a day. stacy, can you start and just tell me, i have always lost my breath at missing man formations. i can't imagine what it was like to be in first ever missing woman formation, or to witness it in the crowd. tell us about your experience. >> so for our experience, you know, obviously the missing man formation is definitely very emotional thing, especially if you're on the ground witnessing it. when you're actually executing it, you're focused on the mission at hand. we wanted to make sure this was a perfect event to honor captain mariner. >> had you worked with these women pilots before?

did you all just come together to do this? did you know of one another? >> some of them i had worked with before and met where and some i actually met over the last couple of days as we did the planning for the event. >> how about that? i understand you were the lead pilot in the formation. tell us how that works. >> so i'm the weapons systems officer. i sat in the back seat of the lead aircraft. but we basically work all the timing to make sure everything worked out great, so that we -- everyone got the nice shot, the family was able to see the formation and everything like that and we also made sure that the lineup and everything was perfect for the missing man flyover. >> and was it perfect? >> that's what i'm told. >> your supporters say, yes, it was perfect. oh, my goodness. i can't imagine how emotional, because we lost rosemary too early and what a trailblazer she was. so i want to say that coming in to the navy, i want to also ask

this of jo ellen, did you know about rosemary, did you know about what she did to set the trail for the rest of you? >> yes, absolutely. rosemary and i were in officers school together in 1973. and we finished that in may of '73 and then we went on to flight training together and we did preflight together. and i received my wings in april of '74 and rosemary was very shortly after that in may of '74. so we have been friends and colleagues ever since. and kept in touch down through the years, and shared a lot of experiences along the way. >> jo ellen, you have to give us a little taste of what it was like to be a trailblazer. the 1970s, there weren't other women like you. >> there were six of us, exactly. and we were trailblazers, no doubt.

we kind of didn't realize our role at the time because when you're in the midst of those things, you don't really realize what your impact may or may not be at the time. so the six of us were -- we didn't spend a lot of time together. after we finished officer candidate school and preflight together, we basically did not see each other very much after that. and of course back in the '70s, way before the days of cell phones and e-mail and texting, it was very difficult to keep in touch with one another. but rosemary and i managed to do that and it has been very gratifying and it was absolutely the saddest thing ever to lose her this soon. >> absolutely. i totally understand, i can't imagine how emotional it was to fly planes at the same time you honor her. what did you know about rosemary? >> i didn't know much about captain mariner until recently. but i do know -- i remember in

1993 when the combat exclusion was lifted, i was 15 years old, and i didn't quite have an idea of how big of an impact that policy change would make, and obviously captain mariner and her contemporaries have a lot to do with that decision and if you look at the female aviators that took part in the flyover today, we all have multiple combat deployments and all because of women like captain mariner and joellen here and the other contemporaries that paved the way for us and broken down the barriers. >> joellen, i want to talk with you, i asked stacy about this, what was it like for you to witness this all female flyover there, to honor your comrade and your colleague in the navy? >> well, today could not have gone any more perfectly. the weather was perfect. the entire community turned out for this event. there were people from the community parked all alongside the road. they have been parked there for a couple of hours waiting for

the fly-by. the timing was perfect. and it was just a very emotional and moving moment when the missing woman formation pulled away. and disappeared up into the sun up above in the sky. i don't think there was a dry eye in the house. and couldn't have gone more perfectly. and to have this event was sort of the culmination of rosemary's work throughout her career. she challenged policies for 24 years that kept women out of tactical and fighter jets and out of combat and ships at sea. we never would have dreamed this would happen. >> one story, the headline was she was a bad ass. she absolutely was, wasn't she? what a trailblazer. you are too. thank you so much, we appreciate you giving us your time, we appreciate your colleagues

behind you, supporting you in this team spirit. so much. stacy uttecht and joelle joellen oslund, thank you for your service. >> that is awesome to see, excellent. >> really celebrating their friend that they lost. just a little side note, also speaking at the funeral was tammy joe schultz, you may remember that name, the pilot of the southwest plane that she had to make the emergency landing and she served under captain mariner in the navy. how about that? small world. still ahead, pope francis is about to make history with his trip to the uae. what that means for the region's christians and muslims ahead. stay with us.

pope francis is about to begin a historic trip to the united arab emirates, the first time a roman catholic pope visited the arabian peninsula. >> it is historic. the vatican wants more freedom for the region's christians and this will be a chance to discuss that with muslim leaders. becky anderson has more now from abu dhabi.

>> reporter: a message to the faithful ahead of his historic trip to the arabian peninsula, the birth place of islam and home of some of its holiest sites, attracting millions of pilgrims each year. but the gulf also has a christian past. >> we have evidence of christianity in eastern arabia, including the uae and oman well into the 8th and 9th centuries ad. >> reporter: abu dhabi is home to the ruins of an ancient monastery built around 600 ad. fragments of which can be found at the louvre abu dhabi. >> it was founded by a denomination called the church of the east, one of the eastern churches. still survives. so the visit by the pope actually has a local resonance in that there is a tradition here of christianity that is still related today to the catholic church.

>> reporter: he says history suggests that local followers of that church converted to islam, but it didn't mark the end of the christian presence on the arabian peninsula. while islam is the official religion of gulf states and leaving islam is illegal, in the uae alone it is believed there are over 1 million christians, majority of whom are catholic migrant workers. >> you can't be a trading nation on the shores of a great maritime trade route without learning to develop some kind of tolerance and understanding and acceptance. >> reporter: a champion of interfaith dialogue, pope francis will meet with the grand imam of egypt's mosque in abu dhabi during his trip. a cleric regarded as the highest authority in sunni islam. >> uae is already a role model, it is a trend setter for the whole region, whatever the uae does, others follow.

>> reporter: the uae is using this visit to shine a spotlight on its carefully cultivated image of tolerance on a world stage while maintaining a more -- foreign policy. tolerance stands in contrast to neighboring saudi arabia where churches are illegal and non-muslims can't worship in public. >> tolerance these days are in short supply, not only in this very troubled region, but all over the world, short supply in europe and america, wherever you go. so the uae wants to be a leading -- a leading global force for tolerance. and i think that's the kind of legacy we're hoping that the pope's visit will leave us. >> reporter: becky anderson, cnn, abu dhabi. the day's top stories are just ahead. thanks for watching this hour. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. more news right after the break. unpredictable crohn's symptoms following you? for adults with moderately to severely active

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a u.s. governor faces calls for a swift resignation after he delivers a news conference that just makes things worse. plus, in venezuela, thousands of people march the streets of caracas in support growing for venezuela's opposition. and later this hour, we're just hours away from the most watched game in american sports. right there. mercedes-benz stadium, next to us. we'll talk about the security taking to hold a super bowl game. with the super bowl upon us, we are live at cnn world headquarters in atlanta. and we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. "newsroom" starts right now.