[Church:] In the United States the New Hampshire primary kicked off with a stroke of midnight Tuesday. With the residents of three tiny towns casting the first ballots of the contest. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unexpectedly got the most votes, and perhaps the most famous of the three towns Dixville Notch. He's not even officially on the ballot in the state, but overall Senator Amy Klobuchar led the early voting for Democratic presidential candidates with eight votes followed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren with four votes each. The rest of New Hampshire will be voting in the coming hour, as the latest poll shows Senator Bernie Sanders is in the lead, both locally and nationwide, with 29 percent support in the CNNUniversity of New Hampshire tracking poll. And 25 percent in a new national poll from Quinnipiac University. And CNN's Ryan Nobles is on the campaign trail in New Hampshire and has the details.
[Ryan Nobles, Cnn Correspondent:] The voting already underway here in New Hampshire, the second big contest of the Democratic primary and the first actual primary contest, which means we're not expected to have some of the issues that we had in the Iowa caucuses last week. And this New Hampshire primary is very important, because this is when we can start to see the crowd of Democratic candidates really start to thin. And there is a lot at For instance, Senator Michael Bennett, we haven't heard that much about him, he sticks this entire campaign on New Hampshire. There's a good chance that after the vote on Tuesday he won't be a presidential candidate anymore. But it's not just him. Amy Klobuchar who is starting to see a rise in the polls. Can she have a surprise showing, shock some folks, and then maybe get on to some of these states further down the calendar. And then there is Elizabeth Warren who is from nearby Massachusetts. She was expected to be strong here in New Hampshire. But at this point she has yet to really gain any momentum. Now, Warren situation is also interesting because unlike some of our other candidates, she has taken the route of not attacking any of her fellow Democratic opponents. In fact, during her recent campaign stops here in New Hampshire she has said that she is going to stay above the fray because the most important thing is Democratic Party unity. And that gets us to the front runners. Because at this point, they have been attacking each other. Bernie Sanders attacking Pete Buttigieg's wealthy donor base. Pete Buttigieg attacking Joe Biden and attacking Bernie Sanders saying they represent the extreme options in this race while he is a sensible choice. And then there is Joe Biden, who is expected to be much stronger at this stage of the campaign. Instead, he is battling low poll numbers and attacks from both sides. So, he is now gone on the attack, accusing Sanders of being too extreme and accusing Pete Buttigieg of not having enough experience. Right now, polls tell us that Bernie Sanders has the lead. It will be important for him to win here because like Warren this is a neighboring state and it's also a state he won by a big margin four years ago. If Sanders is able to pull up this win it could be a key piece of momentum for him as we head into these states further down the calendar including Nevada, South Carolina, and then of course, Super Tuesday. Ryan Nobles, CNN, Durham, New Hampshire.
[Church:] And be sure to stay with CNN for the latest updates on the New Hampshire primary. Our special coverage begins at 4 p.m. on the U.S. East Coast. That is 9 p.m. Tuesday in London right here on CNN. Don't miss it. Well, a political shocker out of Germany. Angela Merkel succession plan has collapsed now that her handpicked heir apparent says she will not be the next chancellor. The decision by Annegret Kramp- Karrenbauer, often referred to as AKK, could impact Mrs. Merkel's legacy. CNN's Melissa Bell looks at the complex political background that led up to Monday's stunning announcement.
[Melissa Bell, Cnn Correspondent:] AKK's decision to stand down came as something of a surprise in its sadness. Indeed, Angela Merkel confirmed that she hadn't even been informed of it before it was announced. But in many respects, it had been a long time coming. Only last autumn she urged her party to back her or sack her so weak was she considered and her party so divided. The chosen successor to Angela Merkel who is due to take over as chancellor at the end of 2021 when Angela Merkel will stand down had been contested in her role as the successor for many months. With the right wing of the CDU wanting to take the party further to the right than she was willing to take it in order better to take on the far-right AfD in the polls. The latest scandal and the one that no doubt really put a nail in the coffin or for future as the potential chancellor came last week when it emerges in [Inaudible] that CDU Party members had voted with the AfD to keep the far left out of the local government there. Now there is a long-standing agreement within German politics that the mainstream parties do not enter into any kind of political alliance formal or informal with the extremes on either wing of the German political spectrum. And so, the announcement came, this is what AKK herself had to say about her decision.
[Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer, German Cdu Leader:] Almost two years ago, the CDU Party conference in Germany elected me as its general secretary. And to that time, I gave up my heart one state office of prime minister of Saarland to serve the party. That was then and still my motto today. Because like many others, I have a lot to thank the CDU for. I knew back then that this was going to be a difficult time and the past two years have confirmed that. For all these reasons and with the intention of strengthening the CDU, I have therefore informed the presidium and the federal executive board of my following decision today, I will not apply for candidacy as chancellor.
[Bell:] The announcement no doubt opens a new period of instability in a country where for the last two years and for all of Angela Merkel's terms stability has been the norm. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
[Church:] In the United Kingdom lawmakers are considering an emergency law which would prevent convicted terrorists from being released halfway through their sentences. Right now, they are set free without ever seeing a parole board. Our Nic Robertson has more.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn International Diplomatic Editor:] To avoid this, newly released convicts committing frenzied knife attacks then shot dead by police. The government is doing this. New legislation keeping terror conflicts in jail longer.
[Robert Buckland, British Justice Secretary:] Introducing longer and tougher sentences for serious terrorist offenders, ending released for them before the end of their custodial term.
[Robertson:] Reaction has been swift pointing out problems. The government's own former reviewer of terror legislation says the new law keeping convicts longer than they, or the judge expected, may prove illegal.
[Alex Carlile, Reviewed Terror Legislation For U.k. Government:] What's proposed will definitely be attacked in the courts or declare that there will be litigation. And I couldn't possibly predict that the outcome will be favorable to the government.
[Robertson:] And not just illegal, missing a fundamental issue. Jails have become hot houses for radicalization, says former politician and counterradical organizer, Fiyaz Moghul.
[Fiyaz Moghul, Founder, Faith Matters:] The fact is these prisoners are allowed to come together around some of the most charismatic Islamist extremist you have. That's got to stop.
[Robertson:] Terror convict Mohammed Wahabi was one of those charismatic prisoners, got deradicalized in jail. In this interview conducted 10 days before the most recent terror attack, he warned of dangers to come because government deradicalization in jails is failing.
[Mohammed Wahabi, Deradicalized Terror Convict:] Unfortunately, they haven't produced the results that you want because it's just turning everything into a machine conveyer belt.
[Robertson:] Usman Roger [Ph] who counselled and helped deradicalized Wahabi Mohammed also interviewed 10 days before the most recent attack had the same somber prediction. Is their radicalization taking place in jails?
[Unidentified Male:] There is definitely radicalization taking place in jails. It's a massive phenomenon.
[Robertson:] So, if we don't tackle this phenomenon, then there is going to be more cases like the Usman Khan getting out of jail and killing people.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, there is going to be more cases.
[Robertson:] Over the past year, successive governments have failed to successfully tackle radicalization in jails. The government's most recent reports in 2016 called for 69 changes. Only a fraction of those have been fully implemented. And the problem is getting worse. A recent U.N. report predicts as many as a 1,000 terror convicts could be released across Europe this year. Not enough is being done to figure out what works, according to Lord Carlile.
[Carlile:] We don't know whether it's fit for purpose.
[Robertson:] Why not?
[Carlile:] Because there has not been the quality analysis that is needed to tell us whether it's fit for purpose. It certainly needs to be examined.
[Robertson:] Bottom line, until new legislation is backed up by new deradicalization initiatives, experts say the public are still in danger. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
[Church:] And still to come, artificial intelligence that can find you almost anywhere on the web with just your picture. More on the debate and concern over how that technology is used. We're back with that in a moment.