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Arizona, Utah Republicans Vote Tuesday; Paris Terror Suspect Charged, Fights Extradition; Report: FlyDubai's Flight Recorders Found At Crash Site; Obama Says He's "Dismayed" By Republican Race; Does Clinton Have Nomination Locked Up?; Fox News Hits Trump For "Sexist" Remarks; Restaurant Operates With No Waiters; Georgia Passes Controversial Bill. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 19, 2016 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[12:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: How the Paris attack suspect could provide a treasure trove of terror secrets.

Then a crash landing at an airport in Russia. All 62 passengers on board are dead. What the black boxes could tell us?

And a new salvo in the presidential race, Donald Trump hits Mitt Romney over his faith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a choke artist. I can't believe -- are you sure he's a Mormon? Are we sure?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks so much for being with me.

Happening this hour, presidential candidate, Ted Cruz holding a rally with Utah Senator Mike Lee. You're looking at the live images of the event. We'll keep an eye on it and bring it to you live as Cruz takes to the stage. He has also gotten an endorsement from Mitt Romney in Utah.

The Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump is getting ready to hold a rally of his own in Phoenix this afternoon. It's one of his two stops in the state. Immigration is a big issue in that state of Arizona and of course it's a big issue for the Trump campaign.

CNN Politics reporter, Jeremy Diamond joining us now from Phoenix. The stage is set there behind you and earlier we saw the long line of people waiting to get in. So how far away are we from this getting underway?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, we're a few hours away from things starting over here. You already have thousands of people lining up to try and get into this event. It's an outdoor event and Donald Trump is sure to be hitting his key talking points on immigration particularly here in Arizona.

We don't know what news he'll make here today, but already last night he had some comments to make about former Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We never want to take on the pope, right? We don't want to take him on. So anyway, so the Evangelicals have been so amazing, everybody's so amazing and do I love the Mormons. OK? Do I love the Mormons?

I have many friends that live in Salt Lake. I have a lot of friends. No, I have a lot of friends, by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? Did this guy choke?

He's a choke artist. I can't believe. Are you sure he's a Mormon? Are we sure? He choked. He choked. It was so sad. He should have beaten Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: So that was Donald Trump last night in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah, one of the two states in addition to Arizona that will be voting on Tuesday. Donald Trump is holding a big lead in Arizona so that's where he's making his play with the two events today. He's expecting to stop by Utah before that caucus on Tuesday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Just a few hours away from that event getting underway. Appreciate it.

Meantime, as we await Ted Cruz to take the stage out of Utah, let's bring in Larry Sabato, and talk a little bit about these dynamics. What's happening in Arizona, what's happening in Utah? Larry is the director at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. All right, good to see you.

OK, so I think there were many who kind of gasped when they heard, you know, Donald Trump when he's talking about Mitt Romney, the endorsement of Ted Cruz and saying, you know, Mitt Romney choked.

And then saying, you know are you sure he's a Mormon, are you sure? Is this a great risk that Donald Trump would do this just ahead of the caucuses in Utah?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Yes. In a word, Fred, yes. Look, obviously he's having -- Trump is having a dispute with Mitt Romney. I've lost track of the number of disputes that Donald Trump has had with various people, but my guess is and I'm guessing.

It's Tuesday, but there are two key primaries on Tuesday. One is a primary in Arizona, one is a caucus in Utah. I think Trump has a very good chance to win in Arizona, a lot of things moving in this direction. But I think these comments about Romney have iced Utah for him, and probably Ted Cruz will be winning the Utah caucuses. Maybe he would have anyway, but I think now he's likely to do so.

WHITFIELD: And then how do you kind of assess what's going on with Mitt Romney and at this point involving himself in, you know, representing the establishment, the party of the GOP on this campaign to save the GOP. At the same time say you know, there has to be a Republican in the White House and the one that I'm choosing right now is Ted Cruz?

SABATO: Fred, that's his privilege. He is after all the leader of the Republican Party having been the previous presidential nominee and it's been obvious for a long time that he has been anti-Trump. So I don't think there's any great surprise here.

WHITFIELD: I guess, I wonder, what's the leverage that he has? Given, yes, he was the nominee, he didn't win. He kind of disappeared for a while.

[12:05:01]And then at this very late stage in the game seemingly late stage of the game of the primary race, he would emerge with so much to say against Donald Trump and for any other Republican.

SABATO: Yes, and of course, one of the key questions after this year is over is going to be why did it take Romney and all of the other establishment Republicans so long to take a stand? But remember, Fred, I think Romney, you know is a double edged sword.

He probably is helping Cruz in Utah, but for the Trump backers and people who might be inclined to support Trump, Romney's support of someone else is just more proof that the establishment is out to get them.

WHITFIELD: And then I wonder if I can ask you about President Obama, who also is kind of on that bandwagon now, you know, he's got less than a year left in his presidency and he now is weighing in quite frequently why Donald Trump shouldn't win, can't win.

And you know, one has to wonder, why he would be doing this and does this kind of underscore what some would say this laying duck philosophy in this time or is it about saving his legacy from any Republican, particularly the frontrunner Donald Trump?

SABATO: Well, Fred, my guess is the president has very strong feelings about Donald Trump and they aren't positive and just as Trump's feelings toward Obama are not positive. So he's expressing what he really believes about Trump and plow the ground a bit for the eventual Democratic nominee.

WHITFIELD: Does he end up helping though, Donald Trump?

SABATO: Within the Republican Party, yes, but Fred, the more you talk to Democrats privately even though publicly they're saying, God, we don't want to run against Trump, he'll be so strong, he'll win this group in a landslide. The truth is privately they're hoping it is Donald Trump although they don't fear Ted Cruz particularly either.

WHITFIELD: All right. Larry Sabato, thank you so much. Stick around. As mentioned we will be keeping an eye on the Ted Cruz rally this hour. There it is, live pictures out of Utah and when that happens we'll take you there.

Also, you'll get the chance to hear from all five presidential candidates live during one huge event right here on CNN. They will make their cases to the voters live Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern both Republicans and the Democrats.

And Europe's most wanted man, Paris terror suspect, Saleh Abdeslam has just been charged with participating in quote, "terrorist murder." Belgian police captured him on Friday in daring raids.

He has been the focus of an intense manhunt since November's Paris attacks that killed 130 people. He was released from the hospital today after suffering a minor leg injury.

His attorneys say he is cooperating with investigators, but the fighting to have him extradited to France to face trial. We have this story covered from all angles.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir is in Belgium for us. Juliette Kayyem is a CNN national security analyst. Let's begin with Nima who is in Molenbeek, Belgium, a suburb of Brussels with the very latest. What's happening there, Nima?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, they have now charged Abdeslam and the man hiding with him who's also believed to have been involved in the attack plot.

They are charged with participating in terrorist murder and terrorist activities. The hope for the French authorities, of course, was that this charge would bring them one step closer to seeing him face justice in a French court.

His lawyer has said that's not going to be as easy as the French president is hoping. They're going to fight these charges and fight them hard only acknowledging that his client admits to being in Paris and no more than that, Fredricka.

The worry here is that in all this jubilation and celebration that he's quite lost sight of the procedures. If there is an arrest warrant it takes some time for that European arrest warrant is contested.

And of course, the Belgian authorities are going to see what they can get out of Abdeslam first because there are some key figures that were part of this conspiracy that is still at large. So we could be looking at days or weeks before Abdeslam is in Paris.

WHITFIELD: And Juliette, your thoughts on the significance of this arrest and what could potentially be next?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's exceptionally significant. He was found alive, which will then lead to not only the prosecution as just was described whether -- even if there's extradition fights.

But also he may speak and then that's when things start to unfold because you will learn, we will learn about both the Paris attacks, but also how he was able to stay in Belgium for so many months.

He must have had an extensive network that Belgium is very interested in. But even if he doesn't speak, and this is the part we need to concentrate on.

[12:10:07]Even if he, quote/unquote "lawyers up," it is still significant because the terrorists around him are now nervous. He has been captured. This is a man who never used the suicide vest, who never got himself killed.

He may be viewed as a weak link and so now they are nervous about what he may be saying or not saying. And so they're likely to move, they're likely to do things they didn't plan on doing and that is when law enforcement will come in and try to capture them.

So he's disrupted a network that's going to respond that is good for European intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try to capture others. So this was a good day yesterday.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Juliette, you wrote this in a piece today. Let me read a portion of it. Saying even if Abdeslam never utters a word again, they will have no idea that is the case.

They do not know if Abdeslam who kept running and hiding rather than sacrificing his own life for a cause that he seemed more than willing to have others sacrifice theirs for will be weak or strong in the face of his upcoming isolation and interrogation. You want to elaborate on that?

KAYYEM: Yes. So, I mean, basically any good law enforcement agency and we actually just heard it. They said he's cooperating. They will probably begin to suggest that Abdeslam is talking, he's cooperating, he's willing to speak, and that will make a terrorist organization very nervous.

Whether it's in Belgium, France, or in Syria and Iraq. They will then start to do things that they did not plan on. They will start to run. They will start to hide. They will -- and that -- and those kinds of moves make them susceptible to capture.

So in the old cold war days this was called black propaganda. It was used to make or disrupt Russian organizations nervous about what we knew about them and this is sort of good old fashioned intelligence work that we are going to see.

So whether he speaks or he doesn't speak, this will disrupt the apparatus that was supporting him and that is when law enforcement goes in for further captures.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then Nima, I wonder what is Belgium prepared to do if indeed he is successfully able to fight extradition to France?

ELBAGIR: Well, we could be looking at a situation where this is in the courts for weeks, possibly months, because there is an overseeing structure that governs the entire European Union in terms of extradition.

But for now I think it's a very interesting point to really focus on the terminology that they used when describing his cooperation. They said he's collaborating, which obviously brings with it shades of traitorist behavior.

And their hope is that even while the French and the Belgian authorities are finally waiting to see him in the docks somewhere, the benefit of that is flushing out these networks, but that of course, also brings with it a real danger.

What do terrorists do when they're starting to feel desperate and that's what authorities are having to prepare themselves for even while they're looking at the legalities of this -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Nima Elbagir and Juliette Kayyem. Appreciate it, ladies.

All right, coming up, a plane heading from Dubai crashes at an airport in Russia. Officials say weather could be the to blame. We'll have the latest on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:04]

WHITFIELD: In just a few hours, the NTSB investigators will be heading to the scene of that terrifying plane crash in Russia. According to Russian state media, this video shows the moment the plane went down this morning killing all 62 people on board. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video.

The FlyDubai Boeing 737 jet circled the airport for more than two hours because of bad weather before crashing at the Rostov-on-Don Airport. Russian media reports workers at the scene have found both flight data recorders and one of the flight's voice recorders.

Joining me right now is CNN aviation analyst, Mary Schiavo. So Mary, good to see you.

So they've got the two black boxes. Because there have been reports of bad weather, do investigators go into this investigation a little differently, particularly since there have been so many other plane, you know -- plane crashes in recent months that have, you know, just heightened people's concerns?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, you know, the NTSB at least and it's good they're on their way. They approach them all the same. They don't go with any pre-conceived notions, but they have a lot of clues already. And I think the biggest clue was, of course, the weather and the radar flight pattern this plane made in the two hours between its first attempt and its waiting for the weather to clear.

That's a long time to wait and they have clues from other aircraft who were also approaching the airport and going to land, and they decided to divert. Most planes went to other airports.

So if this pilot had made that decision initially, he would or she would have had fuel to get to the alternative airport. So those are things that the NTSB and other investigators already know. And of course, the NTSB is there because it's a Boeing aircraft.

WHITFIELD: I see. I was going to ask you, why would NTSB be involved? OK. So that explains that, the Boeing connection. So then what kind of information might investigators be able to extrapolate from those black boxes in the short term?

SCHIAVO: In the short term, well, actually even in the long-term, I think they will have the answer very, very quickly. First and foremost they'll be looking to see if there was any fire on that plane as that video suggests.

[12:20:11]And again, I think not, but they will be able to check the air speed and of course, what the pilots were saying in the cockpit on the cockpit voice recorder will really give an indication.

And if at the very end they thought they had the runway in sight because this runway does have runway lighting, category 1 and category 2 lighting depending on what the approach route was.

They may have said well, we got the runway in sight and then let's just take it from here, hand flying it and a lot of mistakes are made that way.

The pilots think they see the runway, think they have it lined up and of course, the weather could have dealt them a blow at the very last minute. So I think they'll have their answers off those black boxes as soon as they download it.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned other planes diverted and landed at other, you know, nearby airports. What would be the circumstances that this particular plane would either insist upon landing at that time or be instructed to land at that time?

SCHIAVO: Fred, you know, sadly I've seen it so many times in so many crashes. We even have a name for it. We call it get there-itis. I can't tell you how many crashes I work where the last thing you hear on the cockpit voice recording is "I think we can make it."

And when you had any doubt whatsoever and you need to divert, divert, divert, but a lot of times you just want to get the thing on the ground and I'm sure it was a horrible ride.

It must have been extremely bumpy and rough and finally they just say let's get it on the ground and sadly this is sometimes the outcome. WHITFIELD: Sad. All right, Mary Schiavo, thank you so much.

All right, back to politics now. The race for the White House with MARCO Rubio out of the race, where do his followers go? Will they support the Trump campaign, Kasich or Cruz? We'll hear from one Rubio supporter next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:42]

WHITFIELD: All right. Marco Rubio may be out of the presidential race, but he hasn't stopped fighting in an effort to stop Donald Trump. Arizona holds its primary on Tuesday with 40 delegates up for grabs on the Republican side. And Rubio's former supporters there are gearing up for the fight. CNN's Kyung Lah has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of the race, but not out of words. Marco Rubio urging his supporters to fight frontrunner, Donald Trump.

RUBIO: Hopefully, there's time to still prevent a Trump nomination, which I think would fracture the party.

LAH: Rubio's supporters in Arizona are listening, clutching her now by gone Rubio bumper sticker. Arizona For Rubio social media director, Lilia Dashevsky is mobilizing for a new cause ahead of her state's primary just days away.

(on camera): Are you telling them to go vote for Ted Cruz?

LILIA DASHEVSKY, RUBIO SUPPORTER: At this point, I am. Yes, I think he's probably the best shot to take on Donald Trump. I think Cruz has a really strong case to make here in the state. I think he definitely has a very good shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My son, Grant, was killed working an overnight shift at his job by an illegal immigrant.

LAH (voice-over): That good shot in Arizona begins his position on immigration. The Cruz campaign stealing a page from the Trump play book launched this new ad in Arizona featuring a father whose son was reported killed by an undocumented immigrant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I trust Ted Cruz.

LAH: Cruz trailing Trump in the polls now renewing a challenge in this GOP winner take all state by hitting hard on immigration, the issue in this border state.

Six years ago, Arizona passed the broadest and strictest immigration law in generations giving police the power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally and making it a crime if immigrants didn't carry their papers.

Protesters called the law state sponsored racism. Eventually the Supreme Court gutted portions of Arizona's law so Trump's anti- immigration rallying cry --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall.

LAH: It's a second chance for Arizona to see immigration reform says Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio, a vocal illegal immigration foe endorses Trump calling him a savior.

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: It was dying until Trump brought it up when he was here. He started talking about it again.

LAH (on camera): Do you think that's why he's resonating so much with people in Arizona?

ARPAIO: They were waiting for somebody like him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: There's not a lot of polling in Arizona, but of the polls that have been done the latest one showed Rubio hovering right around 10 percent. If all of those supporters go to the Cruz camp then Ted Cruz could be competitive here in this state.

Here's something important to note though. Early absentee voting rates in Arizona are quite high. It is possible that many of those Rubio supporters already mailed their ballots in before Marco Rubio dropped out of the race. Kyung Lah, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.

WHITFIELD: All right. So with Marco Rubio out of the race, what does happen to the delegates? Let's talk more about this with Larry Sabato, who's the director for the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia.

So Larry, you heard Kyung who said many of them are absentee voters, who already voted for Marco Rubio, but then what would potentially happen to any of those delegates?

SABATO: Fred, that's -- that's a great question, because there are two different matters here. The first is voters. Of the Rubio voters or the people who would have voted for him had he stayed in the race, I think the largest share would in fact go to Ted Cruz.

Surprisingly, a minority would vote for Donald Trump in every survey I've seen and you also have another portion that simply drop out. He was their candidate, they don't want to support anybody else. So it's never as clean and neat as people like to make it.

But the delegates are another matter entirely. The actual Rubio delegates to the convention, there's where I think you would find the lion's share going to Ted Cruz rather than Donald Trump.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then on the Democratic side, you know, former presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis, weighing in on Donald Trump and actually calling him nuts. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:30:05] MICHAEL DUKAKIS, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN 1988: I think he's nuts. Look, he's the grandson of German immigrants. He ought to be ashamed of himself. It's very divisive. It's not the kind of America I believe in and I don't think it's the kind of America that most Americans should believe in. And I hope at some point he's going addressing real issues that face this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you addressed this a little bit earlier last time we spoke about President Obama also weighing in, you know, saying that people should not be voting for Donald Trump, but one has to wonder, you know, as people continue to talk about him whether it's on the Democratic side or the Republican side it only serves him because he continues to be in the headlines and his supporters continue to feel even more fur vent about their support for him.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: That's it exactly, Fred. Look, Mike Dukakis is in his 80s. He's expressing his real opinions. There's no special political motive there other than to support Democrats, but it's a bit early for Democrats to tear into Donald Trump. As I suggested, I think he's the candidate they really want to run against if you've got him off the record. They'll never say that on the record because you don't want to appear overconfident, but, you know, if end up helping some other candidate then that may regret it in the long run.

WHITFIELD: And Hillary Clinton perhaps taking a little bit of a respite. We haven't seen her campaigning as much in recent days after last weekend or last Tuesday's kind of Super Tuesday number three. How do you read the tea leaves on that? Does it mean anything?

SABATO: Well, look, Hillary Clinton's fund raising. She still needs to raise money. In fact, she was in my little town of Charlottesville last night raising money. John Grisham the novales was holding a fundraiser for her.

So, you know, she has other tasks to perform. I think she knows there's really no serious question that she'll be the Democratic nominee, you know, barring an indictment which is unlikely. So given that confidence, she is going to try to turn toward the general election and criticize Trump, but maybe also criticize Ted Cruz, the second most likely nominee.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

SABATO: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And of course everyone at home you'll get a chance to hear from all five presidential candidates in one big live event right here on CNN. They will make their cases to voters live Monday evening 8:00 p.m. eastern time.

All right. It isn't the first time, but Trump and Megan Kelly are at odds again. Trump calling her sick and overrated. Is this a fight between the Donald and Fox News or is this something else personal?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:1] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So Fox news is slamming Donald Trump over what it calls sexist verbal assault against it's anchor Megyn Kelly. The network labeling Trump's attack as extreme and sick obsession. The feud between the candidate and host began seven months ago at the first Republican debate and it's only intensifying. Trump tweeted this yesterday saying "Everybody should boycott the Megyn Kelly show. Never worth watching. Always a hit on Trump. She is sick and the most overrated person on T.V."

Who joining me right now on the phone is Brian Stelter CNN Senior Media correspondent and host of Reliable Source.

All right, Brian. This is getting kind of weird. How long does this go on?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This is now six months going. If we know one thing about Donald Trump it's that he's a fighter, but he's picking a strange fight here by going after one of the most prominent women in television news and by doing it for so many months. I've never seen a statement from Fox News quite as severe as the one they released last night defending Kelly.

They said in the statement that Donald Trump is using abusive language. They call his obsession with Megyn Kelly sick and extreme. It's basically saying he's unfit to be president and that's amazing coming from a conservative cable news channel.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, Trump consistently, you know, does attack reporters.

STELTER: Right.

WHITFIELD: Whether they be individuals or networks, newspapers, you know, saying especially if they're not nice to him that usually his kind of level, but this one, you know, it just seems to be never ending whether she makes a comment or not. I mean ...

STELTER: Yeah, he keeps coming back to it time and time again and I think you know, what we see here from Trump is loyalty. Right? He wants a certain kind of treatment. He is loyal to the people he believes are fair to him and the people he thinks are unfair he is outspoken about. That can be a positive quality and a lot of his supporters I think like to see him when he's in these feuds with various people.

It's risky though with Megyn Kelly because she is such a well-known female television star and of course, what all started this was the debate in August when Megyn Kelly asked him about various comments he's made in the past that sounded misogynistic or anti-women.

Sometimes Trump seems to be proving her point when Trump calls Megyn Kelly crazy. When he goes after Megyn Kelly in very harsh language, you know, we can debate whether he would call a male television anchor crazy or not, but this goes to something very important which is where he gets his information, right? Where any presidential candidate get their information is really important.

Where President Obama gets his information is important because they make decisions based on that information.

Donald Trumps tweets suggested he really doesn't like watching Megyn Kelly's show because she brings on guests critical of Donald Trump. Now, I don't know about you, but I want President Obama to watch Fox News and CNN and - to him hear criticism. And Donald Trump doesn't always seem to be able to listen to criticism.

WHITFIELD: All right. And, you know, you mentioned this is risky, but it seems that everything Donald Trump does is fairly calculated.

[12:40:06] WHITFIELD: And as he decides to kind of latch on to this. It seems as though a lot of his female supporters are excusing it. I mean, we've talked to many of them on the air, you read about many comments from a lot of women who say, but you know what, he still exemplifies being a fighter and he's going to fight for me.

So why is it that this doesn't seem to turn off people?

STELTER: To some degree, the appeal of Donald Trump is that he's always able to present himself as an underdog. Always fighting and winning with someone, even though he's a billionaire, even though he's one of the most famous people in the world. He presents himself as someone is who is always trying to fight and make deals and win.

So when he says he's boycotting Megyn Kelly show, he's trying to win yet another fight. But I got to tell you her ratings are very strong and I would be very surprised if any viewers stopped watching Ms. Kelly show as a result.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brian thank you so much. Appreciate it.

STELTER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: You can watch Brian Stelter's, a Reliable Sources Sunday's 11:00 a.m. eastern right on CNN.

All right, still ahead at story (ph) we got the nod from Georgia lawmakers. Now a controversial religious freedom bill is sitting on the governor's desk and critics claim if he signs it, it will attentional legalize discrimination in this state.

I'll talk it over with the legal panel. Next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it protects me from the government forcing me to do something that's against my will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:45:36] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a restaurant that could be from the T.V. show The Jetsons.

JANE JETSON, THE JETSONS, AMERICAN ANIMATED SITCOM: What would you like for breakfast?

ELROY JETSON, THE JETSONS, AMERICAN ANIMATAED SITCOM: The usual. Thanks mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At Eatsa, there are no servers, no cashiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being full automated, it makes it a lot easier for folks to place their orders and get in and out very fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's reinventing the way we eat fast food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You walk in. You can either use your mobile phone or the iPad-based orders (ph) that we have in the front. You place your order. And then usually that 90 seconds your food will come out one of the digital (inaudible) systems.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are cooks in the kitchen but you'll never see them. Instead of burgers and fries, Eatsa serves vegetarian quinoa bowls that are high in protein.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really set it out to build Eatsa the way to make healthy and sustainable foods more accessible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The business started in San Francisco and its expanding to other cities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only thing that could be better is if this happened in my kitchen where I opened the window and the food was there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's a hit with young people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, (inaudible) really require that their products and services are on demand and personalized and if we can do that and it happens to be healthy, it happens to be better for the environment, then I feel like we've won a victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons is denouncing a religious freedom bill passed by Georgia lawmakers this week. Arthur Blake released this statement saying the legislation would have a long lasting negative impact on the state and its people. Right now Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal is reviewing the bill and has until May to decide if he'll veto it or sign it. Here's Nic Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELVIN WILLIAMS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: This is 2016 and they've taken us back to the 1800s.

NIC VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kelvin Williams is angry. The small business owner says a proposed Georgia law, the so-called religious liberty bill will ruin opportunities for this telecommunications business and discriminate against many others like him. Williams is gay.

WILLIAMS: It's going to protect anybody who feels like discriminating but I don't see with where it's going to protect anybody from being discriminated against.

VALENCIA: After nearly a two-year battle House Bill 757 passed both chambers of the Georgia legislature. If signed into law by the governor, it will protect faith based organizations who do not hire or host gays and lesbians because of their religious believes.

As its written, the legislation will "provide a claim against persons whose religious exercise is substantially burdened by government."

SEN. MIKE CRANE, (R), GEORGIA: The only discrimination I see going forward as if the govern nor refuses to sign this bill.

VALENCIA: Senator Mike Crane is one of the bills most (inaudible) suporters. He too is a small business owner and is currently running for U.S. Congress.

CRANE: There's an undermining of religious freedom in this nation. The Christian community in particular is really the group that's going end be discriminated against if the states don't stand up and say this -- this liberty is important.

VALENCIA: If George's bill sounds familiar it's because it is. In 2014 Arizona legislatures made an attempt at a religious restoration act after intense pressure from athletic organizations, corporations and even some Republicans, it failed.

GOV. JAN BOWER: I have vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago.

VALENCIA: In 2015 it was Indiana's turn and after much debate, Governor Mike Pence signed it into law. Supporters like the small business owner were thrilled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it protects me from the government forcing me to do something that's against my will.

VALENCIA: The governor later signed a revised bill which seeks to prevent businesses from discriminating against anyone based on their sexual orientation. Back in Georgia, critics of the bill worry about the economic consequences to the state especially to Georgia's booming movie industry, tourism and sports.

Atlanta is currently bidding to host the 2019 super bowl. Opponents to the bill like Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO William Pate says H.B. 757 will limit the state's chances at attracting investors like the NFL.

WILLIAM PATE, CEO, ATLANTA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU: This legislation as it stands today, if it becomes law it's going to have a significant impact on our business. And I think it will have significant impact on other businesses in the state.

VALENCIA: How much money are you talking?

PATE: I think it could be as much as $6 billion and it might be $3 billion.

VALENCIA: Governor Deal has until May to decide if he'll sign the bill into law. If he does, for Kelvin Williams the answer of how to do deal with it is simple.

[12:50:07] And a symbolic gesture this week his business of 20 employees reincorporated in Delaware. Personally, he says he may be leaving the state too.

WILLIAMS: I'm actually in the process of talking to a realtor and, you know, looking at selling my house and packing up and leaving.

VALENCIA: Nic Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about this. Let's bring in Philip Holloway, our CNN legal analyst and attorney Avery Friedmann joining us from New York. Not Cleveland this weekend. Good to see both of you.

So, Philip, you first. You know, what is this restoring that was taken away?

PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What this bill seeks to do Fredericka is to return the state of the law as it pertains to government action against free exercise of religion. It seeks to restore the state of the law back to where it was in 1989.

And the reason I say that is because in 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion written by Justice Scalia having to do with native Americans using peote in religious rituals, he said basically that the lower standard which is called intermediate review is what is required and under intermediate review the government can interfere with your free exercise of religion if there's an important governmental interest that's furthered and it's substantially related to that important government interest.

What this bill wants to do is increase it back to the strict scrutiny level of judicial review which existed in free exercise cases prior to 1990. WHITFIELD: So Avery, do you see this as season issue of, you know, free exercise of religion?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: No, it's an absolute big bowl of confusion. No, the bill calls itself the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Nothing needs to be restored. It's protected under the 1st Amendment.

Look, this case involves Fredricka that battle that you remember in the news about the baker that wouldn't put the two little plastic guys on top of the cake.

WHITFIELD: Right.

FRIEDMAN: And everybody got excited about it because those states like Colorado and New Mexico prohibit that. Atlanta, Georgia, doesn't have a law like that. Georgia has no such law, so it means nothing. In other words, if you discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation right now in Georgia, it would neither violate federal law nor state law. It means nothing.

If Governor Deal signs the deal it will be a total waste of time, won't make any difference and they will lose millions of dollars in business. It's a great big bowl of nothing.

WHITIFIELD: So then what is the potential journey of this if the governor has until May in order to make a decision about it, but where's the campaigning for or against this be go?

HOLLOWAY: Well, first let me correct Avery in part. Georgia, he's correct, Georgia does not have any state laws that outlaw discrimination based on sexual preference. There are a number of cities though including Atlanta, Georgia, and other municipalities that do have local ordinances that would be impacted by this legislation.

Essentially, they would be heavily watered down and it would be much easier for an individual to say look, I -- I refuse to go service this wedding, I refuse to go service this...

WHITFIELD: But there are people that are interpreting that this bill would mean if it were passed this would make an allowance for that. People would be able to say because of my religious believes I should not serve these individuals.

HOLLOWAY: It makes it much more easy for that person to say my real religious objection prevents me from going and providing this service because it's a -- it violates the tenants of my religion.

But Justice Scalia in his 19 (inaudible) opinion that I mentioned while ago, he said, look if each individual person is allowed to say what their own religious believes are, then you can circumvent any law of general applicability just by simply saying, you know, this violates my religion . And if you do that Justice Scalia said basically religious tenants outweigh the law. And he said that's not a... FRIEDMAN: That case involves smoking dope essentially. I don't think it has anything to do with this case.

HOLLOWAY: Well, it lowered the standard of review.

FRIEDMAN: Under the 1st Amendment, no, the fact is, that if government interferes with religious freedom, there are constitutional provisions that can address it. On passing a law that will restore that, there's nothing to restore. Basically it's a political argument being made by certain elements within the legislature and frankly, it's going no where. I don't think your governor there will sign it. I think it winds up being a great big bowl of nothing.

WHITFIELD: All right, Philip Holloway, Avery Friedman, always good to see you, gentlemen, thank you so much.

UNDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTFIED MALE: Take care.

[12:55:00] WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have much more in the Newsroom right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Happening right now the Newsroom. Out of the hospital and heading to court one of our most wanted man will now have to answer for his allege role in the Paris attacks.

Plus, 62 people are killed as a passenger plane tried to land in Russia.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it pilot error? Was it technical failure?

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WHITFIELD: The fiery (ph) crash caught on surveillance video as investigators today comb through wreckage and look for answers from the flight data recorders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDETIAL CANDIDATE: Did this guy choke? He's a choke artist. I can't believe. Are you sure he's a Mormon?

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[13:00:03] WHITFIELD: Donald Trump attacking Mitt Romney, questioning his faith and who he really supports. Newsroom starts now.