xx. good morning, everyone. it's 11:00 on the east coast. i'm fredericka whitfield. dramatic pictures coming in from japan. heavy rains and winds are making rescue efforts very difficult and powerful tremors continue to rock the region. also pope francis meeting with migrants from greece, in a

surprise move, the pope takes three families back with him to the vatican. >> and the battle is on in new york. three days to go before voters hid the polls in what could be a make-or-break primary. let's talk now about the three migrant families who are with the pope on their way back to the vatican. atika shubert was with the pope on this trip to greece and cnn vatican correspondent delia g gallagher joins us from rome. we saw incredible pictures all morning long with the pope meeting with migrants and then we get this news that three families, including six children, get a chance to go with him boarding that plane back to rome. how does this customarily happen? we know the vatican operates as a country in and of itself with

its on governing parties. but describe, if you could, how the pope managed to do this? >> i think he managed it because he's the pope. the a vatican were cle clear because there's also a question of legality of bringing these people back to italy. but the day in itself was quite a gesture for the pope to go to the island of lesbos but nobody expected he would bring back three families. and he said open your doors to refugee families and he did do that. and he brought a syrian refugee family to the vatican. of course he didn't go there and pick them up. we have had one family already

living in an apartment near van. they will tack care to help them in the first six months because the rules are for the first six months, you cannot work. so somebody needs to far pa pa pay whereas now the pope goes to lesbos and actually picks up these three but would you be able to describe the process? would it be the kate a would have mid the families in the course hours he was there, and they were selected based on certain criteria? >> my feeling on that is that the pope just said i want this to be done and however many we

can take and whom ever they are, it doesn't matter. the fact is that there are three muslim families. the family last year was a catholic syrian family, but i don't know that was a request from the pope in particular. clearly it had to be cleared ahead of time and presumably the pope, as is his way, leaves it to the people on the ground, leaves it to the ngos and people working with the families on the ground to decide who would be the best family to be able to come and be lucky enough, of course, to come and be chosen by the vatican. >> wow. all right, delia, thanks so much. stick around now. atika, sorry, getting my vowels all mixed up. atika shubert, you are traveling there would be pope. describe for us, with the pope

meeting with a little girl who was kneeling at his feet. is there any indication that the pope was particularly moved by this moment or clear that he was vouched and he this isn't any camp, this is a refugee and detention center here on le esbos island. nobody can leave without permission. so being by coming this opinion ffrm and numerous people are coming to kiss his hand and to give him messages. it was really about being able to communicate directly with the

pope exexpressing those frustrations and asking request european isn't opening the doors. and by taking these families back to the experience, approximately he said take in more refugees, theyextraordinary imagery there. >> and then also quite the moment, particularly as it pertains to american politics. before the pope took off for greece, he had an impromptu meeting with presidential candidate bernie sanders. sanders was attending an economic conference on social and economic justice at the vatican and was he said was "a

great honor to meet the pontiff" claim at change but when it comes to other issues like same-slk serg. >> and did you express that to him? >> no, i don't think -- it is no secret that my views on women's rights, gay rates, and and i think we have too work with people you can do when you work with them. and the need to make sure that we transform our energy system so as to prevent climate charng hon pass stfd pfrm and let work.

meantime, bernie sanders will also be live tomorrow morning on snooun with jake tapper at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. >> coming up, we're going to talk more. the nextry up next. >> all right, also this breaking news now we're following out of southwestern japan. crews there are still scrambling to reach survivors who may be trapped after a 7.0 earthquake toppled buildings, collapsed bridges and left many homes in ruins. more than 30 people are reported dead. today's, -- matt is there and

give us an update. >> reporter: rescuers face an uphill battle. this area has been absolutely devastated over the past two to three dpas and right now rescuers are facing lots of rubble, an unknown amount of people who might be still trapped, as well as heavy rainfall and a lack of electricity. the power is out in the majority of the area. they're having to grunge in their own power sources and having to deal with a very heavy, steady rain that has fall i don't know here over the last several hours. so a very difficult situation for the tens of thousands of rescuers here, between police and firefighter personnel.

as you mentioned, so far we know just from saturday's health care alone, 32 people have lost their lives and on thursday's earthquake, over 40 people there lost their lives as a result of just a terrible couple days here in japan. >> all right, matt rivers, keep us posted. thank you so much. appreciate that. >> meantime, we are just three days away from the new york primary and the state's governor andrew cuomo weighing in on the race coming up next. wiback like it could used to?

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the stakes are particularly high for the democrats. we're talking about the race for the white house now with a whopping 247 delegates up for

grabs in new york, significantly trailing hillary clinton. some say new york is bernie sanders' last chance. let's talk about this crucial primary race with new york governor andrew cuomo. good to see you. >> good to see you, fred. >> everybody knows by now but we have to at least share with those who don't know that governor cuomo is the big brother of cnn's chris cuomo. governor, you have endorsed hillary clinton. the debate in brooklyn was the most aggressive. how would you assess what unfolded? >> i think hillary clinton is going to do well in new york. new yorkers know hillary clinton. she was here for senator, we've seen her work, we've seen her performance. we know that she's effective at making change, which is what,

you listen to bernie, listen to hillary, they're both saying e sensely the same thing, the same goals. the question is who can actually get it done. i think hillary has proven, especially to new yorkers, that she can make change you have to get legislation passed, get agencies to run programs and that's an to. >> it interesting because even the closing remarks that debate, hillary clinton, she laid out these are the things that i've done. are they more inspired by seeing someone present these are the results, i want a continuation of or the did an event with

president bill clinton rallying for hillary. and i quoted my father who we lost last year, former governor of new york mario cuomo, who said that we need ideas that are good and end in we don't want just 12-second sound bites. we need ideas that are actually going to happen, that you can we need the ideas that are actually going to work in people's lives. so it not a simple as nfrpgs and

that's what hillary's strength is. do i understand that sometimes the details can become boring and people just want it hear the big picture? yes. but primary voters are smart, especially here in new york. these are seasoned primary voters. they pay very close attention, and you're not going to fool them with just a broad brush approach. you know, the old expression if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is? that is especially true with new yorkers, who can be a little cynical am -- we're seeing -- i think most would agree we're seeing the tenor and the tone changing quite a bit between bernie sanders and hillary clinton. is that apag, if versus new york

state voters. do they see a difference in the chang of tlf. and i think youy candidates getting more energized, more aggressive. i think especially true frankly with the sanders campaign. they need delegates. they're seei and the pool dryin up literally is generating anxiety. and i think you harr that forecast by the sanders commonwealth pain. i don't think hillary's tone has really changed over the past few weeks. new york tends to be a little more intense, a little more combative. debase and the crowd was louder

and they vocalized positive and negative. i don't think it makes a difference, fredricka, from new york's point of view because we're accustomed to it. i don't know if there's a discernible ton outside of new york. >> let talk about the idea of policies. you just signed a $15 minimum wage plan and this happened to be a toll durn so is it your view that the rest of the nation should go as new york has gone? >> yeah. this is a perfect example of what we were talking about. you can talk in a broad stroke or you can actually be a little more specific and factual.

there are two minimum wages. there is a federal minimum wage and then state by state you seat minimum wage. what mr. sanders is saying, i believe, is the federal minimum wage should go if you go from service potentially that could have a negative nekt on some economies because this is a very big jump. and you're saying to businesses that employ a large number of major work that could have a some states are doing better than others. some states naturally have strong eeconomies.

what we do here in new york is we get to 15 but at different rates in different parts of the state because different parts of the state, fred, we have different economy. new york city, we're going to get to in three years. why? their economy is strong and can absorb that. upstate new york is more rural, one of the smallest economies in the country. so we get to 15 but over a longer period of time. we have racebuilt in a calibration mechanism. what happens if the economy slows in, two, tree, fourees and it be so these policies are important. it's not as simple as saying let's go to 15. if you do it wrong, you can hurt the very people you're trying to help. so i think hillary's response and hillary's policy is actually

smarter and more judicious and more sof if i leg, i get, it but it also is the truth. >> now just days away from the new york primary, how exciting of it is if. >> it is exciting. it awhen you come to new york, the bright lights are there. you've seen some of the candidates get in before.

when you go ahead of the new york media, you've got three morkers in the race. >> well, yeah. some of them aren't could. a long, long f. >> and good luck. >> thanks for having me. >> all right. still ahead, the story behind bernie sanders's impromptu meeting in the this invitation from the van can b-- vatican.

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♪ yeah, you'll just have to miss it! ♪ ♪ we can't let you download... uh, no thanks. i have x1 from xfinity so... don't fall for directv. xfinity lets you download your shows from anywhere. i used to like that song. welcome back. it's back to new york today for bernie sanders following a spontaneous meet up at 4 a.m. with the pope. sanders spent the last 24 hours in rome at an economic meeting with the vatican. and miraculously the two had about five minutes of face time just as the pope was leaving for lesbos, greece, to meet with

refugees. ben wedeman caught up with bernie sanders about his chat and time with the pope. >> it is no secret that my view on women's rights, on gay rights, on contraception is different than the church's, but i think in this world what we have to do is work with people when we can work with them. and his leadership in terms of the need to create a moral economy, the need to make sure that we transform our energy system so as to prevent climate change from wreaking havoc on this planet has been extraordinary. you work with people on those areas where you can, and where you disagree, everybody knows what the disagreements are and let's work together where we can. >> and leading up to the conference yesterday, there was an indication that there's an element within the vatican that has felt the bern so to speak. >> that may be the case. if so i am honored.

the truth is, there have been few moments of the senate, if any, who have been more outspoken of the role that the pope is playing in the fight for justice. but talking about the need to create a moral economy. what we have now, where so many have so little, in my view, it's not only immoral but certainly in terms of climate change, i worry about the kind of planet we'll be leaving our kid and grandchildren. >> and do you suppose none of the other candidates leading up to the election were invited, hillary clinton, ted cruz, donald trump? >> you'll have to ask them and you'll have to ask the vatican. >> now, there has been some talk

over here. >> the talk about abandoning anything, we've been doing rally after rally after rally with people at washington square rally. we're going back in a few days approximately we'll have talked to over 100,000 people in upstate new york, in almost every borough in the city of new york. we have been working very, very hard. but i did feel that getting this invitation from the vatican, given my enormous respect for the pope, is something i just could not refuse. >> all right. who would refuse an invitation like that? >> hello, i'm in the dark here. now i'm in the line, i met the pope. what about this meeting?

>> we understand that they asked to meet with senator sanders and they didn't sit down but they met in the hallway, it was an encounter and according to the rules, no photographs were taken of the meeting. i will tell you, the last thing i did before going to bed last night, i contacted the people in the campaign, the sanders

campaign, to find out what was going on. they are very tight lipped. first thing in the morning i contacted them again. when i saw them before the interview, they were giving some very sly winks to me, although not actually admitting that that meeting took place, until we actually spoke to senator sanders. >> they didn't want to let the cat out of the bag so to speak until it was a done deal. wow, what a story to be able to tell. ben wedeman, thanks so much. . we know you were all overt. appreciate it. let's talk more with cnn's original editor daniel burke and lar larry sabato. is this the first, for a candidate to meet with the pope during a campaign? >> i've never seen anything like it. when you look at pope francis and bernie sanders, it kind of

makes sense. ben wedeman said people at the vatican felt the bern. bernie sanders is not catholic, he's jewish but he talks about the pope as a hero. we put up a quiz, who said it, bernie sanders or the pope and a lot of people couldn't tell the difference. they mixed up the two. >> really? >> yeah. it just goes to show how closely these two men are aligned on economic inequality and the environment. >> south carolina larry, what potentially does this mean for a presidential candidate, while the pope has said before that he tries to stay out of politics, in a way he injects himself into things that are of the political nature. so this visit in your view, how does bernie sanders use this to

his advantage, particularly so close to a very pivotal, potentially pivotal race in new york? >> reporter: well, fred, it's a media coup for sanders, first of all, who is dominating the news on the saturday before the tuesday new york primary? i haven't seen hillary clinton for three seconds. i've seen bernie sanders everywhere because of this meeting with the pope. so that's a plus. and think about the vote in new york. i'm a voting analyst so i have to go to the votes. even though sanders would be the first jewish president, he's doing very poorly among jewish voters in new york. he's losing to hillary clinton by 20 or more percentage points but -- >> why would that be? >> well he was losing even before the cnn debate and i think sanders hurt himself, probably with older voters, with his comments on israel. but think about the voters in new york. it's 6% jewish.

and in the democratic primary, it can be a lot higher than that. new york city, it's often 20%. but catholics in new york are 39% of the population. so what sanders may have lost among jewish voters, he potentially could make up with catholic voters. >> that's a fantastic and interesting observation in deed. we will be right back. that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. it'sand your doctor at yoto maintain your health.a because in 5 days, 10 hours and 2 minutes

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both hillary clinton and bernie sanders are hoping for homefield advantage, appealing to new yorkers at the cnn democratic debate. >> i was so honored to serve as a senator for new york for eight years. we worked hard to really keep new york values at the center of who we are and what we do together. i love being in brooklyn, this is great. >> you grew up in brooklyn, new york, the son of an immigrant who came to this country from poland. and with your help we're going to win here in new york. thank you. >> let's talk more about this with the new york city first lady, good to see you. the wife of new york mayor bill de blasio and a hillary clinton supporter. all right. so bernie sanders you know has been pulling major support at rallies in new york, you remember seeing so many thousands of people there

outside of greenwich village. his campaign says there were 27,000 people at the rally at washington square park. is there an enthusiasm gap when it comes to hillary clinton's campaign? >> oh, clearly no. there is no enthusiasm gap. bernie is a good campaigner. i don't know how many of those people were registered voters but hillary's got a double-digit lead here in new york and she's excelling during this campaign. i'm so happy to see her doing so well here in new york. >> so when you see crowds like that, do you worry for your candidate, hillary clinton, that perhaps while the polling may show her out front, do you wore she might or her supporters might feel too comfortable and potentially be surprised come primary day? >> no. again, there's a lot of enthusiasm among the peoplie i m know and events i've attended. it's been electric.

there's been young women, older women turning out for hillary. i was in iowa, too. the support is very strong, maybe style i clis different, i don't know. >> earlier in the week you classified bernie sanders's campaign to be relatively desperate. >> i think the tone will be respectful but i think that bernie is getting a little desperate. i expect we'll hear the volume be pumped up a little bit. >> do you still feel that way? >> i do, i do. i think that bernie has shown that he can go wide with issues, he can get the spotlight but he doesn't have the details. he's turning to accusations now, doing things that he said he wouldn't do in the beginning of the campaign with hillary. >> and then he and his camp might say is it really desperate or is it determined? because folks seem to be

fighting very hard in very different ways. it's a different tone, is it not, between these democrats. >> there is a different tone. hillary is clearly the most qualified candidate that we've ever had for president. i hope that voters are really paying attention to the, first of all, she's qualified, she's progressive, she has plans, but also she has been so deeply involved with children and families throughout her career. this is a woman who moved through life as a daughter, a spouse, a mother, a grandmother and who can tackle inequality for more than half the population, right, from a different perspective, a much needed perspective. she is someone who pass paid attention to pay equity, domestic violence, universal pre-k. i hope voters are paying attention because families are

the foundation of our society and hill rich gets that when women do better, our families do better economically, they're more healthy. she really gets that. >> and speaking of families, you know what it like to be on the campaign trail, you know, as a spouse, as a mother. the leader of your family. give us an idea what it is like for all of these families, you know, and spouses who are campaigning for their loved one, you know, leading into new york and with hopes, you know, of ending up in the white house. >> well, i can tell you it's really hard work but it's also gratifying to meet so many different kinds of people from all over the country. it's a lot of work but it's also tremendously fulfilling. to see so many people involved in the democratic process. >> chirlane mccray, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> and we'll be right back.

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handler. officials say it happened at a contained area called the night house where the big cats are fed and sleep. 38-year-old stacey konwiser was preparing for a tiger talk, an informational event for zoo visitors when something went wrong. >> this was a tiger that was very familiar with stacey and she was familiar with the tiger. >> the zoo was evacuated. getting to the victim was not easy. the animal was tranquilized and they had to wait for the drugs to take effect before reaching konwiser, who was later taken to the hospital. officials at the zoo, where her husband also works as a trainer, said konwiser had lots of experience handling the tigers and did not do anything unusual as she worked in the enclosure. >> the love that they have for these animals, you don't get into this business without the

love for these animals and understanding the dangers that's involved even more. >> reporter: officials have not identified which of the four endangered tigers attacked konwiser, but they say it's a 13-year-old male. >> that's a powerful animal. if they get ahold of you, there's nothing you can do to let them go. i don't care how strong you, how big you are. >> attacks by zoo animals in the u.s. are relatively rare. in 2007 a siberian tiger named tatiana had and attacked three people. one, 17-year-old boy was killed. the tiger shot dead by police after the mauling. in 2003, the entertainers significant freed and roy were performing in las vegas with their white tiger. halfway through the show, it lunged and bit roy on the neck, dragging him around in front of a horrified audience. he was subdued. and he survived the attack.

>> fred, this is a sad story. we heard from a zoo spokesperson that said she knew her life was at risk but she was doing it to save these endangered animals. the tiger that mauled her is recovering from being tranquilized, aren't being given indication of the zoo's future plans with the animal. >> boris sanchez, thank you so much. coming up, donald trump doubled down on his fight with the rnc. >> i'm not one of these politicians that say it doesn't matter if you vote for me or my opponent, it's so important -- let me give you a hint, you want to vote for somebody else, don't vote. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena t-mobile does data differently.

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we have a rigged system. the republican system is rigged. they change the system. they say they didn't change the system. they changed the system and went to a deal where the bosses pick the delegates and the people never got to vote. >> donald trump's feud with the republican national committee heating up this week with the frontrunner railing against what he calls a rigged system. despite centers around colorado that decided to skip the open primary and have the party select delegates at the state's convention, and in a "the wall

street journal" op-ed published friday, trump writes what we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules but a flagrant abuse of the rules. delegates are supposed to reflect decisions of the voters but the system is being rigged by party operatives with double agent delegates who reject the decision of voters. joining me now to talk about this, cnn political commentator jeffrey lord and ford o'connell. good to see you both. rnc chair reince priebus pushed back against donald trump's claims this way. listen. >> this is the way that the parties and the democrats do it in a similar way, choose their nominees. the delegates are empowered by the voters, but the delegates on the floor choose the nominee of the party after being empowered by the voters. this is a very normal system that we have been using for many years. >> all right so ford, you first. normal system. you know, the divide between

trump and the rnc is widening. what is this fight setting up. trump wins the nomination, the rnc has to deal with him and trump has to deal with the rnc. i mean, they have to somehow get along, right? >> let's understand the first thing, the facts don't support donald trump's argument. i have been bullish on him. the system is not rigged against him because no other candidate has a competitive advantage. the argument he makes which is almost a fair point, it is undemocratic. but you have to understand it is not undemocratic, it is less democratic and undemocratic in his favor in the sense he got 37% of the vote and 46% of the delegates. i don't know what he is talking about. he has benefitted more handsomely than any other candidate. >> it is simply because he hasn't been able to win particularly colorado recently. >> that's because of the fact he cam panld on the chief and didn't pay attention to nuts and bolts and campaign rules, it came back to bite him in the

back side in certain contests. for every colorado, i can point to a south carolina or florida where the rules disenfranchised voters. >> so what about donald trump and his argument when it sounds as though it is just, you know, being disappointed, angry, mad it hasn't gone in his favor. >> let me read you a couple of sentences, a direct quote. i went before the people and i won. now the national committee which made a majority only by the aid of delegates not elected but chosen by the national committee are trying to cheat me out of the nomination. they can't do it, as far as i am concerned, it makes no difference, it is not me they're cheating, it is the people of the rank and file of the republican party. that's theodore roosevelt in 1912. my point is the system can indeed be rigged. you can get people chosen as delegates in districts that

donald trump won and yet they're put there by party officials that know they have allegiance to other candidates. for example, if there's a second ballot, they're not trump delegates at all, if they're committed by law, then they can switch freely. they can vote based on rules and credentials. >> i agree the system can be rigged, but under current rules, donald trump is benefitting more than anyone else. if you notice in "the wall street journal," the reason he didn't give you a solution to what a fairer process would be is because if he proffered that, which would be a closed primary with delegates allocated by congressional district with proportion weighted for actual republicans in said district, he would be further behind the 1237 number. and understand something about the notion of democracy, okay, that is democracy is power vested in the people, exercised through indirect or direct representation. i don't like state conventions in colorado any more than trump does, but it is still a form of democracy, and that's something we all have to understand.

>> in other words, jeffrey, does it mean this is incentive that donald trump has to change the way he is campaigning because clearly districts do matter, and if he doesn't have his support on the ground to try to give a persuasive argument as to whether they need to support him like you've seen in ted cruz's campaign, then it's going to be more of the same? >> i think he is adapting here, no question of that. the appointment of paul manafort says a great deal. i know paul from reagan days. this is exactly the kind of person, did it for gerald ford, for ronald reagan, this is exactly the person you want. i tried to say over the months when people would say where is donald trump's position papers, where is this or that, that as the campaign goes along, it morphs into a full scale presidential campaign. >> but the time -- >> absolutely there's time. to jeffrey's point, you have to understand, this is misdirection on trump's part but political

bowl. it makes ted cruz look like establishment goon. he will do well going forward and takes away from the spotlight from the fact he had two terrible weeks of campaigning. >> we will leave it there. ford o'connell, jeffrey lord. thanks, gentlemen. >> thanks. there's more, stay with us. coming up at the top of the hour, donald trump is holding a live rally in syracuse, new york. we will bring you that event as it happens. welcome again. this is cnn newsroom. i am fredricka whitfield. the battle for delegates taking place in two states on opposite sides of the country. in new york, donald trump is holding a rally at any moment, speaking to the crowd there. he is expected to win big in his home state, that's what his camp is hoping when new yorkers go to the polls in three