[Rosemary Church, Cnn Anchor:] And thanks to everyone across the globe for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.
[Errol Barnett, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Errol Barnett. We are your anchor team for the next two hours. This is
[Cnn Newsroom. Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Church:] Breaking news at this hour, in Afghanistan government officials say a suicide car bomber was behind a deadly explosion in central Kabul. The Afghan president says a number of people were killed and injured in that blast. A U.S. embassy spokeswoman told CNN it was heard near the embassy compound.
[Barnett:] Now, this compound is also home to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Journalist Sune Engall Rasmussen joins us from Kabul with the latest on all of this. This explosion took place just in the past hour. Tell us what you know about how it unfolded and what took place.
[Sune Engall Rasmussen, Journalist:] The explosion took place more or less an hour and a half ago. This is in an area, like you said, a kilometer away from the American embassy. It took place in an area which is home to government ministries and some intelligence headquarters. But we don't know yet what the exact target was. The authorities here are being very scarce in details when they tell us about this attack. The presidential palace has put out a statement saying that a number of civilians were injured. We don't know what that exact number is. We don't know how many civilians or casualties or how many security forces. But there is a fear that casualties might be quite high as this area is crowded around 9:00 in the morning local time on a Tuesday. That's the fear.
[Barnett:] As you're speaking to us, we're seeing some footage of Kabul, our first glimpse of the scene and some of the activity there. Is there still ongoing gunfire or do you get the sense that the situation has ended?
[Rasmussen:] The latest I heard was that there was still gunfire in the area. But I have to say it's difficult to confirm this because the security forces have cordoned off a very large area around the site, so it's difficult for journalists to come close to the area. This is something security forces tend to do when there's an attack like this in Kabul, both to have the peace to work but also to prevent other attacks from making a follow-up attack. But from what I heard most recently there, was still some gunfire in the area that also corresponds with the fact that the ministry of interior, the ministry of defense, the normal sources on this are not really issuing any statements at the moment.
[Barnett:] One witness has been sharing some images on social media he saying the windows of his room were blown out from the blast. There have been attacks like this in Kabul in the past. Typically the Afghan Taliban claims responsibility. If we pursue that theory of who may be behind this, could it be connected in any way to the government's springtime offensive in the West of the country?
[Rasmussen:] The springtime offensive is a Taliban offensive. It was announced last week. This is an annual occurrence. The Taliban always announce an annual spring offensive where they're going to increase attacks across the country. So yes, this could be part of the spring offensive which the Taliban claim responsibility. That's what they're going to say. But attacks in Kabul have happened independent of the spring offensive. Attacks over Christmas season or in December close to Christmas, which were also quite serious. So we'll have to wait and see if the Taliban claim attacks among militant groups that conduct attacks from time to time.
[Barnett:] We could be witnessing the Taliban's spring offensive under way or could be another militant group. All of this still unfolding. Sune Engall Rasmussen joining us from Kabul. We will reconnect with you in the hours ahead as we get more information. Thanks very much.
[Rasmussen:] You're welcome.
[Church:] We turn to Ecuador, and it's reeling from Saturday's earthquake. The death toll has soared to 413. Another big jump as more bodies are pulled from the debris.
[Barnett:] Damaged roads, heavy rain and power outages are slowing the rescue and relief efforts, but there are some signs of hope. Three people were saved in Manta when firefighters cut a hole in the ceiling of a collapsed building to get people out. You see it unfold there.
[Church:] And more police are being deployed to the hardest-hit areas along the coast. But it's time, of course, that poses the biggest threat right now. Our Rafael Romo has the very latest.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Latin American Editor:] In the city of Pedernales a ray of hope. Rescuers pull a 7-year-old girl from the rubble. Nearly 27 hours after the earthquake hit. In the coastal city of Porto Viejo, one of the hardest-hit areas, relatives of the victims pleaded with the Ecuadorian vice president. "They are still alive," this man said, pointing to the mounds of rubble all around his neighborhood. Moments later, a woman breaks into tears, saying "She badly needs help." In Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest and most-populous city, rescue crews and passersby join efforts to pull out people in a car under a collapsed bridge. "The situation is very serious, but we will recover from this," the president said. "The only things we can't recover are the lives that have been lost. The sorrow is immense."
[Unidentified Male:] The situation is grave. Six provinces have been declared as an emergency. Two of the provinces most hit are Esmeraldas Marabi along the coast. These are poor and vulnerable areas of Ecuador.
[Romo:] The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Saturday just before 7: 00 in the evening. People were shopping at a busy supermarket in Guayaquil when the floor began shaking and they had to run for their lives with merchandise falling off the shelves and lights going off. This is Ecuador's deadliest earthquake since 18987 when a 7.2 magnitude temblor killed about 1,000 people. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
[Barnett:] Japan is also struggling with the aftermath of earthquakes. In fact, we have this drone footage we can show you revealing the long cracks in the ground caused by landslides. At least 44 people have been killed in the two earthquakes there which struck Kyushu Island Thursday and on Saturday.
[Church:] And more than 1,000 injured rescuers are battling aftershocks as they search for survivors. Officials warn of more building collapses and landslides. About 180,000 people have fled their homes.
[Barnett:] Consider this. In less than four months, Brazil will host the Summer Olympics. Local officials and the International Olympic Committee are happy with the preparations.
[Church:] But there's some uncertainty in the air, of course. Brazil's president may soon have to step down to defend herself in an impeachment trial. President Dilma Rousseff describes the situation as a coup. Shasta Darlington has more.
[Shasta Darlington, Cnn Correspondent:] Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaking out for the first time since a crushing defeat in the lower house of Congress where lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to push forward with her impeachment. They accuse her of breaking budgetary laws to hide a budget deficit. Rousseff told journalists at the presidential palace on Monday that she hadn't committed any crimes or broken any laws.
[Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian President:] The acts that they accuse me of, they were practiced by other presidents in the republic before me, and it wasn't characterized as being illegal acts or criminal acts. They were considered legal. Therefore, when I feel injustice, it's because with me I was treated like no one else was treated.
[Darlington:] Now, there's no doubt that Rousseff is a very unpopular leader. She's got an approval rating down near 10 percent, thanks in large part to a prolonged recession, to a corruption scandal that has implicated many in her own party. But when speaking to journalists, Rousseff pointed out that she herself hasn't been implicated in the corruption scandal or accused of socking away money in Swiss bank accounts. She accused those driving the impeachment effort of really carrying out a coup d'etat, especially since so many of the lawmakers behind this effort have been accused of the very same crimes. And she said she's going to fight it's same way she fought the military dictatorship back when she was a young guerrilla.
[Rousseff:] In my youth, I faced the dictatorship with conviction, and now I face with conviction a coup, a coup that is not only a traditional coup from when I was young but, unfortunately, this is a coup that is traditional of my maturity.
[Darlington:] In the meantime, the impeachment motion moved on to the Senate on Monday. The opposition only needs a simple majority for it to be approved there, in which case an impeachment trial to be launched. Rousseff would be forced to step down for 180 days to defend herself. All this could happen as early May while Brazil gears up to host the Summer Olympics in August. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Brasilia.
[Barnett:] All right, Rosie, check your watch. Are you wearing a watch?
[Church:] Check, check.
[Barnett:] OK. The polls open in less than four hours in New York, where Democrats and Republicans will cast their votes in that state's presidential primaries. Now, for the Republicans 95 delegates are at stake, and for the Democrats, 247 delegates, plus 44 of those super delegates.
[Church:] It's worth noting the state has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1988. Donald Trump, though, is a heavy favorite to win the Republican contest.
[Donald Trump , Presidential Candidate:] Tomorrow, we're going to show Ted Cruz, who hates New York. Hates New York. When you look at that debate and you see the way he talked about us and New York values, no New Yorker can vote for Ted Cruz.
[Barnett:] And on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has consistently topped Bernie Sanders in the polls in New York. But Sanders has a message for his supporters that he says could lead to an upset.
[Sen. Bernie Sanders , Democratic Presidential Candidate:] We win when the turnout is high. We lose when the turnout is low. Tomorrow, let us all do everything we can to make sure that New York State has the largest turnout in a Democratic primary in its history.
[Barnett:] Joining me now from New York is CNN political commentator, Angela Rye. She's a Democratic strategist and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. Angela, thanks for joining us today. What do you make of this new national poll taken by "NBC News" and the "Wall Street Journal," which finds Hillary Clinton is only two percentage points ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders nationally, 50 percent to 48 percent, essentially a statistical tie? What do you make of that?
[Angela Rye, Cnn Political Commentator:] Well, I think it's very interesting given the fact that so far Hillary Clinton's math is not aligning with what folks are calling Bernie Sanders' momentum. So while Bernie Sanders has done very well in the last eight states, of course he's won eight of the last nine contests, these numbers would be on par with that. However, the trouble is the mathematics when it comes to delegate count and of course the super delegate count, it's not in alignment at all.
[Barnett:] Should Bernie Sanders still have his eyes set on the nomination or should he now be looking for a second best option, perhaps a change in caucusing rules, some more independents can participate in the nomination process, something more long-standing like his legacy? Or is that too soon?
[Rye:] Well, I think a couple things. One is I think that to Bernie Sanders' campaign to decide. I'm certainly glad that he continues to be in the race. It makes our side of the equation a little more exciting. Nothing can beat the reality show of the Republican Party right now. But I would certainly say I'm glad he's in the race. He's made his imprint already. His legacy is clear. Wall Street has become a key focal point of this particular election. Middle class and low-income voters have become a key focal point of this election. And that would not be the case if Bernie Sanders was not in the race talking about citizens united and its impact on campaign financing and the election. What wages should be, he's talking about $15 an hour. What the impact on Wall Street has been, and of course again talking about black voters and other people of color, we were hit the hardest with that particular crisis, with the mortgage crisis. So he's been speaking to issues that a lot of folks in this country wouldn't be hearing if he hadn't been in the race thus far. So it's very important that he's here.
[Barnett:] And some people complain that oh, he's only been striking this one note. But it resonates and it continues to resonate nationally. Who knows? New York may have another surprise in store for us. We shall see. Angela Rye, CNN political commentator. Thanks for joining us today from New York. Appreciate it.
[Rye:] Thank you.
[Church:] Israeli police are investigating an explosion that engulfed a bus in flames during Jerusalem's evening rush hour.
[Barnett:] They say at least 21 people were injured when a device went off, setting this bus and other vehicles there on fire. [2:14:44]
[Church:] Investigators have not ruled out terrorism but are calling this attack deliberate. Even so, the Israeli president and prime minister are calling the blast a terrorist attack.
[Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:] We will locate those who prepared this terrorist bomb. We will reach those who dispatched them. We will also reach those who stand behind them.
[Barnett:] This incident comes amid a seven-month-long wave of violence between Palestinians and Israelis throughout Israel and the West Bank. Now, a town in Iraq has suffered chemical attacks from ISIS. We'll look at the aftermath and see what it means about the group's growing capabilities.
[Church:] And the latest strain on U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia as President Obama heads there.
[Barnett:] Plus, another big-time rock band raises its voice against a new law in North Carolina. We will tell you who.