>> reporter: that's right, fredricka.utside the vatican residence with many people lining up holding signs like this. "i love pacito" thrilled because the pope just drove by here at his residence. a lot of cheering going on. organizers expect up to a million people to turn out along the papal route during today. a lot on his place. coming from a meeting with bishops and first had some tough words for the president where he talked about how a society which benefits a few can really lay the ground for things like drug trafficking. when he talked to the bishops, he also told them, they had to be courageous in the face of these dangers. take a listen. >> translator: i urge you not to underestimate the moral and antisocial challenge which the drug trade represents for mexican society as a whole, including the church. >> reporter: now, he's going to have a lot of this sort of tough love for mexico's establishment over the coming days, and a lot of love and faith and outpourings of these popular supporters as well. from here he

i'm fredricka fredricka, in manchester, new hampshire.ing with me today. >>> ted cruz surprised some by pulling out a comfortable victory in the iowa caucuses and now a week later he is here in new hampshire battling donald trump, marco rubio, again, this time for delegates in new hampshire. with me now, ted cr ted cruzzal advisor. how are you holding up? >> excellent. very nice to be here. >> is ted cruz feeling the heat or momentum? >> feeling both, i think. exciting time in the primary. we were thrilled with iowa. historic victory. more people came out to vote than ever before and as a historian of democracy, this is a wonderful moment to participate. >> how does ted cruz feel particularly the foreign policy advisor. how does he counter a hillary clinton who right now crisscrossing the state of new hampshire, right now holding an event in concord just up the street, you know, with the likes of the former secretary of state, madeleine albright in her corner, and as the former secretary of state herself, hillary clinton, how does ted cru

i'm fredricka whitfield.ublicans going to the polls in droves in this first presidential primary in the south. this vote is huge. since 1980, the winner of south carolina's gop primary has always gone on to become the nominee for president, with one exception. 2012, last election season, when mitt romney came in second place but went on to become the eventual nominee. joining me right now to offer perspective on today's big vote, republican strategist joel sawyer, a longtime gop consultant. in 2012 was a part of johns huntsman presidential campaign right here in the palmetto state. history shows south carolina has chosen the gop nominee. eight out of the nine past elections. so will tradition continue, or is this going to be a very unique year? >> i think it might be another unique year. >> yeah. >> if it keeps happening, less and less unique over time. trump seems poised to win but not at much as early polls anticipated. so i think it's going to be closer than people are thinking coming into today. if you lo

i am fredricka whitfield. candidates are fanning across the stage, counting down the minutes and hours to the tuesday primary here. a lot at stake. traditionally some may believe it is a red state, i talked to a lot of states that feel it is purple, people are independent in their thinking. may be affiliated with a republican or democratic party, but anything goes come tuesday on primary day or general election. among candidates that are fanning out across the state, new jersey governor chris christie who joins us now in bedford, new hampshire after leading a rally there. good to see you, mr. governor. how does it feel right now. >> thanks for having me. >> just a few hours or days away from the primary, how are you feeling today? >> feel great. you know, the reaction here in new hampshire has been great. we're looking forward to the debate tonight. feel like i have done well in the debates so far, we will do well tonight, run through the tape tuesday, get ready to go to south carolina wednesday morning. >> di

i'm fredricka whitfield.ong words this morning from russia's prime minister saying the strained relationship between russia and the west could be described as a new cold war. >> nato's policy about russia is opaque. could be said we sled back to a cold war, one of the most terrible threats to nato as a whole or to europe or to the united states, sometimes i wonder whether it is 2016 we live in or 1962. >> nato supreme allied commander in europe since told cnn he does not agree with russia's assessment that nato and russia slid into a new cold war. >>> large adoring crowds greet pope francis on his first full day in mexico. always a great scene when he's kissing the little babies. he is there for five days to address key issues. top on his agenda, warring cartels that devastated the country. in the past nine years in mexico, a staggering 80,000 murderers have been attributed to organized crime. shasta darlington is in mexico city for us. shasta, people are clearly excited to see the pope. what about his messag

i'm fredricka whitfield. i'm joining you with live special coverage from new hampshire. the candidates are canvassing the granite state from small-town diners to packed auditoriums. the number of rallies today show how just vigorously these candidates are pushing for posts. we'll hear from the candidates as they present their final arguments to the people of new hampshire. there are events for john kasich, marco rubio, donald trump and hillary clinton. clinton is actually going to be coming to us from flint, michigan, today to address the water crisis there. the candidates are very busy today and so is our team of reporters. take a look. cnn's chief political correspondent dana bash is following the trump campaign in plymouth. athena jones is at the jeb bush event and jeff zeleny is following the bernie sanders campaign in portsmouth. dana, let's begin with you at the donald trump rally. you just spoke to trump. what is he saying about last night's debate and how he feels he did? >> reporter: good afternoon,

i'm fredricka whitfield here in columbia, south carolina. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins after this short break. >>> hi everyone.

i am fredricka whitfield. democrat hillary clinton is making her last minute push for new hampshire voters right now. clinton is about to hold the first of three events. but she will not be campaigning in the granite state tomorrow. why? she is instead headed to flint, michigan to highlight that city's contaminated water crisis. a congressional delegation is about to hold a news conference on the situation there in michigan. let's talk about clinton's decision to leave new hampshire so close to the primary on tuesday. let's talk about that with cnn political reporter nia malika-henderson. she's on the phone with us. you spent time in new hampshire covering clinton. now you're off to another place where you'll be covering clinton, at least from new york. help us understand the psychology here that the camp is really embracing, why it is important for hillary clinton to be in flint, michigan, dealing with this horrible poisoned water crisis while on the campaign trail, highlighting national issues, at the same t

i am fredricka whitfield.our panel on the democratic fight for the african-american vote, in particular the minority youth vote now. we are back with our panel of donna brazile and jason johnson. we mentioned earlier, both hillary clinton and bernie sanders are going hard after the black vote in south carolina. bernie sanders in fact releasing an ad, featuring the daughter of eric garner, you may remember garner died in 2014 after a new york police officer put him in a chokehold. listen to the ad. >> when a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable. >> he is not scared to go up against the criminal justice system, he's not scared. >> i want to see an america where when young black men walk down the street they will not be harassed by police officers, they will not be killed, they will not be shot. >> and that's why i'm for bernie. >> let's talk about this ad and the bigger picture here, jason, i want to begin with you because you wrote an article on theroot.com from both candidates w

i guess the campaign decided well, you better do it now, now or never, fredricka. >> all right. we're going to find out if now could indeed make an impact as donald trump has done so well in the first context of this race. jim acosta. thank you so much, we'll check back with you as trump force one comes in for a landing. i kind of felt the music was getting louder and louder the more you and i were talking. now there's a bit of an impasse. so donald trump's views on immigration may have helped him become the republic front-runner. particularly with the hispanic community. fox comparing him to hitler. >> he reminds me of hitler. we saw it like in the beginning. he's going to use the power to do what he likes, without considering that with the republicans and democrats but he knows that he's had that, but should be for the rest of the world so he's behaving very, very, very poorly. >> all right. former mexican president vicente fox there, as you also see, to the right of the screen, trump force one, as he likes to call it, making a landing there in bentonville, arkansas. before ad

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> nato is pushing back. an international security conference this morning, dmitri m medyevev -- >> remains unfriendly and opaque. one could go as far as to say we have slid back to a new cold war, almost an everyday basis we ae called one of the most terrible threats either 0 nato as a whole or to europe or to the united states. sometimes i wonder whether it is 2016 we live in, or 1962. >> let's bring in cnn international diplomatic editor nick robinson joining me from munich. tell us more about nato's response and should the west see the prime minister's comments as more of a threat rather than a complaint? >>. >> reporter: viewed as russia's interpretation how it sees the

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> all right, so when candidates register for the primary they first have to sign up in person at secretary of state's office in concorde, just a little bit up the street from here. and after filing, they are just steps away from a place where most candidates go. >> good-bye, everybody. >> in the final push across the granite state, candidates are energizing big crowds and getting personal. new hampshire voters are tough, traditionally setting the bar high, expecting face time and demanding candidates understand what they mean. >> i don't think they want to hear a different message. they want sincerity and consistency and expect candidates running for the highest office in the land it understand concerns locally as well. >> do you think the candidates are put to a test in a different way here? >> absolutely. really significantly. because as president of of the state chair association, i get to go to state party events where often time presidential

cnn's fredricka whitfield reports. "in the final push across the granite state, candidates are energizing big crowds and getting personal. (nat sound) new hampshire voters are tough, traditionally setting the bar high, expecting face time and demanding candidates understand what they need. jennifer horn/chairman of the new hampshire republican party want to hehe a different message they want sinceritit and consistencncbut they do alsoect these candidates who are running for highest office of the land to understand their concerns locally as well." (reporter question) "do you think candidates are put to a test in a different way here?" ray buckley/chairman of the new hampshire democratic party "oh absolutely, really significantly, because as president of state chair association, i get to go to all the state party event, and its like madonna is showing up or lady gaga likme rock star and that there's so amazed people are in the same room as them, people in new hampshirirare like 'yeah, whatever, at is your position on nuc

i'm fredricka wlhitfield.starting with poppy harlow right after this. >>> hi, everyone. i'm poppy harlow in new york. so glad you're with us. it is 5:00 p.m. eastern and when you win it is beautiful. those words from donald trump after he pulled off a towering victory in the south carolina primary yesterday. sweeping up all of the state's 50 delegates. right now trump is in atlanta holding a rally in front of enthusiastic supporters, bernie sanders also expected to speak this hour in south carolina. we do begin with donald trump, the front-runner, telling the crowd to get ready. because he says it is crunch time.

with just two days to go until the nation's first presidential primary, hello again, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield and we are live here. the locals say manchester, so i'm going with that. events are held this hour for john kasich and hillary clinton. clinton's husband, former president bill clinton, is actually holding the ra rally on her we half while she addresses the flint, michigan and water crisis there. moments ago, chris christie said he has no regrets. >> plan was to go and talk about the thing i've been talking about all week. that there's a big difference between me and marco rubio, between my experience and his p who is willing to take on hillary clinton, who is ready to run the country. i'm ready for the job, senator rubio is not. that's the point i was trying to make last night, and i think it went okay. >> in your experience in taking him on, do you think it's having gone over 180 town halls, the experience of the public forum, and -- new jersey, and federal prosecutor -- >> yes. listen, everything you bring to the table from your life is what matters. i was trying it make

i'm fredricka whitaker in manchester, new hampshire. the presidents are canvassing the presidential state the candidates are pushing for votes vigorously. we'll hear from the candidates as they present their closing arguments to the people of new hampshire. take a look at the events for john kasich, bernie sanders, chris christie, hillary clinton -- okay. don't take a look at the live pictures. take my word for it. they are out there. bill clinton is holding a rally on hillary clinton's behalf. he's here in the granit state. senator marco rubio is right here in this state just hours now after the grueling debate. he's at a town hall and it's a much friendlier environment than what the junior candidate. there was a raucous showdown last night. >> florida governor jeb bush. >> reporter: a pile on among the candidates. it took all of ten minutes for the new reality of the gop race to show through. >> this is going to be -- >> reporter: marco rubio is the target. a target for chris christie that he has the experience that marco rubio does n

i'm fredricka whitfield. the search for clarity over who supports donald trump is intensifying this hour. we are talking about donald trump and the kkk. trump tweeting an hour ago he disavows david duke, the white supremacist. he said as i state on friday regarding david duke i disavow and he posted a clip thoof press conference. >> mr. trump, how do you feel about the endorsement from david duke? >> i didn't know he endorsed me. david duke endorsed me? i disavow, okay. >> this on the heels of his interview this morning with jake tapper's state of the union where donald trump dodged questions about duke's support. >> i don't know anything about david duke. i don't know anything about what you are talking about with white supremacy or supremacists. i don't know. did he endorse me or what's going on? you know, i know nothing about david duke or white supremacists. so you are asking me a question i'm supposed to be talking about people that i know nothing about. >> the question from the anti-defamation league is

. >> reporter: i think, fredricka, down south he does.s one of those primary states that make up the backbone of ted cruz's campaign. if he fails, his campaign might as well. you heard some of the attacks on donald trump. those have come out in a sharpened form over the last couple days. the reason is simply this. donald trump in many of the southern states with double-digit leads. ted cruz needing to cut into that. oklahoma is a state where his team feels confident. the polling is pretty much in flux. he feels like in oklahoma, in places like georgia and possibly tennessee he can make a move and if he doesn't make a move, fredricka, there are big problems in his campaign. >> i wonder, and no candidate wants to talk about things not going their way. they want to stay positive. but one has to wonder whether ted cruz's camp reveals, what if i doesn't do good in texas and oklahoma. which he has felt good about but now two days from super tuesday, he may not feel as confident. >> reporter: there's been news over texas the last couple of weeks

. >>> let's toss it out to fredricka whitfield. >> good morning. in three days new hampshire voters cast their ballots in the first primary 2016 presidential race. today candidates are making their last stops rallying their supporters, counting down until tuesday's critical vote. good morning again, i am fredricka whitfield with cnn's special coverage live from manchester, new hampshire. this hour we've got a lot for you. the candidates are fanned out across new hampshire in a last-minute push to get voters to the polls. there are several live events going on. chris christie is about to speak to voters in the town of bedford. jeb bush is also having a rally there. he has been campaigning with his mother, former first lady barbara bush this week. and bernie sanders fresh off the endorsement of the former head of the naacp is holding a rally in the city of ridge. this is all in the context of striking new poll numbers. in new hampshire, sanders tops hillary clinton by 30 points, 61% to 31%. this is from the cnn and wmur. this polling right here. for

hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield, we're live in columbia, south carolina.s in south carolina. up for grabs are 53 delegates in the democratic primary. there's a widely held expectation of a big win today

i'm fredricka whitfield. the leading ideological conservative, justice antonin scalia, is being remembered today. headlines calling him a force in the courtroom, a powerful force on the bench and memorializing the lasting legacy that he leaves behind. he skied in his visit to a hunting retreat in texas. his body is at a funeral home in el paso. officials say they have no reason to suspect anything other than natural causes. and the immediate question is what it will mean for the u.s. supreme court and the cases the justices for a liberal majority and democratic appointees have not held the majority in the high court for more than 40 years. let's talk about this more with cnn supreme court reporter arian devoe. there's a large number of cases before it this term on very controversial issues. let's discuss some of those cases right now and how the death of scalia just might affect the outcome. >> well, you know, this is a monumental shift in the court and we're halfway through this big term and there are big ca

. >>> let's toss it out to fredricka whitfield. >> good morning.ers cast their ballots in the first primary 2016 presidential race. today candidates are making their last stops rallying their supporters, counting down until tuesday's critical vote. good morning again, i am fredricka whitfield with cnn's special coverage live from manchester, new hampshire. this hour we've got a lot for you. the candidates are fanned out across new hampshire in a last-minute push to get voters

fredricka wilson founded the project. now she is lending a helping hand to show what's possible here in south florida. >> we've got to say you will not traumatize our commmmity. we're taking our community back. >> reporter: it's just the beginning for this call to action, education, and mentor mentorsh mentorship. >> i hope with gain a bigger brotherhood and a strong foundation. something we can continue on for years a years and generations and generations. >> as part of m brother's keeper program, miami-dade is pairing up with the white house to curb the amount of kids who skip school. the obama administrationn announcing plans today to connect more than 1 million students who miss a lotot of school with mentors in hopes of turning that around. the program will target students in sixth through ninth grade who come from low-incomefamilies. >>> a new warning about hover ards tonight. >> airlines think they're for the first time, the government is weighing in and cracking down oppositen the popular toy. >>> and a shakeup at

he was joined by us representative, fredricka wilson among others. he said he lost his voice cheering for his wife's victory on saturday. he told the crowd her republican rivals don't want her to win the democratic nomination, because she will beat them. >>everything hillary has accomplished as secretary of the state and the senator in the white house, she actually had good republican supporting her. they only started being mean to hurt when she left the secretary of state office could the said oh my goodness, we have to run against her, what will we say? >> he also addressed the recent shooting death of 16-year-old he honored mothers who lost children against gun violence. >>> the democratic national committee vice chair announced she is stepping down to throw her weight behind bernie sanders. she is one of the first 2 female combat veterans to ever serve in congress. she stressed the importance of having a commander in chief who has foresight and exercises good judgment. the dnc chair, florida representative, has accepted her resignation. remember

i'm fredricka whitfield. a source tells cnn scalia's family decided not to perform an autopsy. he died in his sleep during a visit to a hunting retreat in the state of texas. he was 79. headlines across the country are calling are calling him a force in the courtroom, powerful voice on the bench and memorializing the lasting legacy he leaves behind. as the nation reacts to his unexpected death, the reaction has been what it will mean for the supreme court and the cases the justices are reviewing right now. it opens the opportunity for a liberal majority on the bench under president obama. democratic appointees have not held the majority in the high kofrt for more than 40 years. let's talk about this with cnn senior political reporter who is in washington. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell was quick to say he didn't think the president should nominate a replacement for scalia. president obama vowed he will nominate someone quickly. how long could the process drag out? >> quite sometime if you look at histor historical, typically they take 67 days on average. the longest whe

this is a red state, though. >> purple state, fredricka.ate. >> reporter: anything goes, is that your feeling? >> we have 43% of the electorate independents, plus those who are unregistered to vote can register that morning and vote. >> new hampshire is notoriously independent in their decisionmaking. and i say all the time whether they're a registered republican or democrat or an independent, they consider themselves to be independent. any candidate wanting to be chosen must first register at the state capitol. mr. house speaker, sean jasper. any presidential candidate has to begin right here at the state house. >> absolutely. >> reporter: before their name ends occupy up -- ends occupy a ballot for primary. >> only $1,000 to get on the ballot. >> reporter: what makes new hampshire unique in the presidential race? >> i think we're unique because we're a small state geographically. we have a great diversity of ideas and thoughts within our population. >> reporter: after filing here, candidates are steps away there another concorde tradition

. >> i think, fredricka, finding the gunmen is priority number one because it may not be a truthful report, it could be a hoax, it could be someone spotting plain-cloths police officers. we don't know if there are two armed men on this campus. so that's a problem. secondly, i wonder what is going on on that campus that needs to be locked down on a sunday afternoon. are they having a basketball game, a sports event, a conference? who would be on that campus right now compared to a normal school day or school evening? but i think that trying to verify the story and trying to find the source of the report would be probably the very first priority. >> and parents who are hearing this, of course, their kids attend that school, some of them living on campus, what do they need to do with this kind of information given that it's very vague information and when you look at the website it says two men with weapons but then if you look at what they have sent out via twitter and then other reports, it goes so far as saying guns or weapon. so how do parents process this kind of information? >> i think

i'm fredricka whitfield. who supports donald trump is intensifying this hour. we are talking about donald trump and the kkk.

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> fresh off a pivotal primary win in south carolina.g no time on the campaign trail. take a look at people lining up for trump's rally in atlanta. he is expected to address a crowd of thousands at any moment. those are the lines outside, inside, there are thousands of people who have already gathered and as it takes place, as donald trump steps out, we will bring that to you live as it happens. first, new developments in the south carolina results. donald trump taking all 50 delegates in south carolina a decisive victory. this is important because since 1980, south carolina has an almost perfect record of predicting who will win the republican nomination.

the head of the apt eye defamation league, jonathan greenblat and what he said to my colleague, fredrickatfield, let's play it. >> let me be clear, it is profoundly disappointing and somewhat puzzling when a candidate for the highest office in our nation claims not to be aware of or clear about who david duke is on the head of the kkk is. it is time for don add trump to be as forthright with us as he is at his rallies and his -- on the debates. does he support him or not? >> so carl bernstein, let me go to you first on this. how trump handles this controversy on stage tonight et cetera after his tweet saying he does denounce david duke, how will that affect him in super tuesday? six of which states have major american populations. i understand, you know, going into souper tuesday. it is not a general, completely different, but what does this do to him going into soup are tuesday? >> first of all, he won't win many african-american votes, nor was he ever. he has been saying the most outrageous things, then muddy waters, then take them back a little bit. but he gets what he's after. his ide

and let's be honest, fredricka, it is not a mystery what kkk is all about. it is not really a mystery if you look at who is retweeting or issuing support, like david duke, probably the most prominent white supremacist in our country today. >> what do you say about a candidate, and i'm not talking specifically about donald trump, but any candidate who would say that they don't want to alienate anyone, they welcome the support of any and all-americans regardless of their point of view or per persuasion. >> it hard for me to understand mr. trump's opinion, and let me say it taints the entire affair. racism, bigotry, anti-semitism, homophoba, it has no place in our debate right now regarding our next president. >> thank you very much for your time. i appreciate it. let's talk more about the political fall-out. chris frate is following the trump campaign in alabama. a senior political analyst and jason johnson at root.com and sirius xm. good to see all of you. the sequence of events that has been most confusing and you just heard that from mr. greenblat. he said

hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield, we're live in columbia, south carolina. the polls are open for another seven hours in south carolina. up for grabs are 53 delegates in the democratic primary. there's a widely held expectation of a big win today for hillary clinton. this is a state that she lost to barack obama back in 2008 and it helped give him the momentum to become the democratic nominee. so what's going to happen this time? clinton is actually at a get out to vote event in fairfield, alabama, not here in south carolina. she will return to the palmetto state tonight for what is expected to be, her camp is hoping will be a victory party. our chris frates is in alabama where clinton will be. chris, what is to be expected there? >> reporter: hey, good morning -- good morning, actually, fred. hillary clinton in south carolina today. because it's the end of the road here in south carolina. the beginning of the sprint to super tuesday. super tuesday, of course, the biggest primary day of the year. 11 states going to the polls for democrats. 20% of the delegat

i'm fredricka whitfield. i'm joining you with live special coverage from new hampshire.ate from small-town diners to packed auditoriums. the number of rallies today show how just vigorously these candidates are pushing for posts. we'll hear from the candidates as they present their final arguments to the people of new mp