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NTSB: Spacecraft Lever Moved Prematurely; Mitch McConnell's Next Political Challenge; Wall Street Money Backing GOP; Daredevil Nik Wallenda Walks Tightrope

Aired November 03, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me now for the latest on the investigation Christopher Hart, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board who's live near the crash site in the Mojave Desert. Welcome, sir.

CHRISTOPHER HART, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. New clues have emerged about what went wrong before Friday's disaster and they all involve the spacecraft's feathering. Can you describe what the feathering process is and what you believe went wrong? New clues have emerged about what went wrong before Friday's disaster and they all involve the spacecraft's feathering. Can you describe what the feathering process is and what you believe went wrong?

HART: The feathering process involves the -- what we call the tail feathers of this airplane which are normally in a straight back position. They move into the position you see in this model because when the spacecraft reaches its apogee and returns to the atmosphere these help keep it from accelerating more than it needs to.

COSTELLO: Do you believe it was pilot error that caused that feathering system to go wrong?

HART: Well, it's far too early to know that at this stage. We're investigating a number of aspects. There's a lot we don't know. Yesterday we revealed the fact that the lock/unlock lever as you mentioned before was moved to unlock prematurely and that the aerodynamic forces then deployed the feather and shortly thereafter the aircraft -- the space vehicle disintegrated. So we know that as a fact but that's just one of the facts in the several links to the chain of this event.

So we are exploring all of those links. It will take us a good period of time to explore all those links. One of the facts is that that lock/unlock lever was moved to unlock prematurely.

COSTELLO: Have investigators been able to talk to the surviving pilot?

HART: We have not. We're awaiting permission from his doctors to say that he's medically able to be interviewed.

COSTELLO: Why will the investigation take so long? Up to a year.

HART: Well, our on-scene part is going to be a week or so, but after we're finished with the on-scene part, then we do extensive investigation to look into a number of factors. For example, in this case we'll look at what it was that caused this deployment of the unlocked lever to unlock early. Was there a problem with training? Was there a problem with the design? Was there a problem with the procedures? Was fatigue an issue?

There's lots of issues. Was there a safety culture problem? Was there pressure to do testing? There's lots of issues that we're going to be looking at over the course of the investigation.

COSTELLO: The NTSB has done amazing things with past investigations, but this is the first time the NTSB has investigated a spacecraft investigation. Any unique challenges?

HART: Well, we're actively involved with the investigation with NASA of the Challenger and the Columbia launches but this is the first time we've been in charge of one. What we're finding is that since it was a test then it's rich with data and that's going to help tremendously with the investigation process because we have so much data from telemeter sources, we have it from on-board cameras, we have it from on-board non-volatile sources, we have ground cameras, we have lots of witnesses. We have quite a bit of information that we would not normally have in an operational accident that we have in a test accident.

COSTELLO: All right. Christopher Hart thanks for bringing us up to date. We appreciate it.

HART: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Mitch McConnell pulling away in Kentucky's Senate race, poised to become the next Senate majority leader. But will his biggest challenge be with members of his own party?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's been one of the toughest battles of Mitch McConnell's political life. After 30 years in the Senate, the Kentucky Republican is facing a fierce challenge from Democratic newcomer Alison Lundergan Grimes. But the latest poll shows McConnell is poised not only to hang on to his seat but possibly assume the title of Senate majority leader. He has a commanding nine-point lead over Grimes. But Lundergan Grimes says she is not willing to concede just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: And I do believe that you are the messenger that Mitch McConnell can't buy. He can buy the airwaves but he can not buy the hearts and minds of each and every one of you. You know that after 30 years, three decades of Mitch McConnell we deserve better.

We're coming down the home stretch. Let me tell you, this strong, independent Kentucky woman, I got kick left still in me. I'm not giving up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: She's got to overcome nine points, though. Here now CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen; and CNN political commentator and Republican consultant Margaret Hoover. Welcome to both of you.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. So Hilary, is it over?

ROSEN: I've given up.

COSTELLO: Is it over though?

ROSEN: I don't think it's over for this reason. You know, the odds are against Alison Grimes but here's the interesting thing for me about that race which is a lot of Republicans I talk to say that Republican senators are furious at Mitch McConnell. That his race has been so close, that he has cost so much money that if other Republicans lose their race the fact that McConnell had to take and divert millions and millions and millions of dollars of GOP Senate money to save his own race is not going to let him come charging into the Senate with any kind of great enthusiasm. So --

COSTELLO: Margaret -- what do you think about that, Margaret?

ROSEN: -- the fact that he is so unpopular is what's so interesting to me.

HOOVER: And it's not so much that he's unpopular as much as that there was this real Tea Party revolution in Kentucky which really set the table for his race a few years ago when Rand Paul was elected. I mean if anybody's to thank or to begrudge it's Senator Rand Paul rather than other Republicans.

But I think what's really interesting, too, I mean there's a lot of discontent for Harry Reid. There's a lot of Democrats saying that if for some reasons the Democrats hold on a teeny bit they wouldn't necessarily vote for Reid to return as majority leader. So I think there's discontent to go around but Mitch McConnell has a real opportunity here and the Republicans have a real opportunity to set the table going into 2016 because if they do have the Senate, finally there's this possibility that legislation can get out of the Senate and get to the President's desk. And we've seen historically that when one party has one branch of Congress and the other party has the presidency, these have historically been the times in our democracy when the most has actually gotten done. COSTELLO: Here's the problem, you know. You're right, Margaret, if

Mitch McConnell wins in Kentucky he'll probably become the majority leader and that would mean that Harry Reid is out and Republicans most likely would rejoice. But I don't think it's going to be that easy for McConnell because Senator Ted Cruz has already come out and said he would not pledge his support. Isn't that an ominous sign, Hilary?

ROSEN: Well, I think that the line the Republicans are using now is that they can shift the gridlock and if they get both Houses of Congress I think they have tow big problems. One is that they're going to have at least two probably three and maybe four Republican senators who are going to be running for president and they are not going to be in Mitch McConnell's back pocket.

So they are going to want to have their own independence. They're going to want to be anti-deal as it were. They're not going to want to negotiate with the President to get things done and have the President sign things so you have that problem.

Then the other problem is a huge amount of business money went into the Senate this time and those businesses are going to want to get their due having invested so much. The problem is that they all have competing interests. So when you look at issues like tax reform or infrastructure, you know, whether you're a corporation based mostly overseas or whether you're mostly based here, whether you're manufacturing versus services, I mean those are huge, complicated issues. So I'm just not that confident that things are going to move that quickly.

COSTELLO: I understand. I'm just saying that I don't even think voters will be that picky. They just want maybe one thing to get done because you remember Congress hasn't been doing squat, right?

ROSEN: Right. So you look at the big things on the table -- education, tax reform, immigration -- all of those things have politics associated with it. I think Mitch McConnell is not going to have any easier time of it than Harry Reid did.

COSTELLO: Margaret?

HOOVER: Look, if he has a majority it comes back to who can run the Senate more effectively. And Mitch McConnell has had some success in keeping his caucus together especially when there were barely 40 of them. I think it's time to give the Republicans a chance. If we want nothing to happen in Washington we can just keep with the status quo because we know that's how the table is set for the next two years.

If one element of this dynamic switches there actually is really a chance for it. You know, you raise a good point. A lot of these Republican senators -- three, four of them, may be running for president but it doesn't mean there's not at least a six-month sweet spot which is frankly all you have in terms of good will where you can really get something done, whether it's tax reform or entitlement reform, looking at immigration again.

John Boehner in addition has promised to get one of these five things through, whether it's tax reform, immigration, education, spending. So I think this bodes very well certainly in the first six months at the high watermark of the mandate from the voters. And so, look, I -- I think that things can only get better in Washington because I don't think you can go much further.

COSTELLO: Well, the election has to be over first and then we'll talk further about this topic. Thanks to both of you. Hilary Rosen, Margaret Hoover, I appreciate it.

ROSEN: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come, Wall Street is betting on the Republicans in the midterm. We'll look at why most of those in the banking and investment industry are donating to the GOP.

We'll talk more about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As you well know, it takes big bucks to run for office and this year's midterm election could set records. Chris Frates has the numbers for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are really important elections and the reason they're so important is that the Senate hangs in the balance. Right now Democrats control the Senate, Republicans want to control the Senate and that has made these very important elections very expensive. These things are going to cost $4 billion before we're over -- $4 billion is a lot of money. Most of us can't wrap our heads around it. It's like Bill Gates money, right?

So the kinds of things you could do with $4 billion? You could put 24,000 kids through K-12 education. $4 billion is ten times more than the government has said they're going to spend on ebola and you could build 100 ebola treatment centers with that kind of money. So dark money, right? Sounds very sexy and it is. It's -- this is money that they don't disclose who the donors are. It's secret money essentially.

A lot of the critics of this kind of group say we don't know who these people are, they give unlimited donations and they're only supporting one candidate. They're really just circumventing the campaign finance limits. Special interests, parties and candidates -- they're all dumping huge amounts of money into these elections because they want their team to control the Senate on November 5.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Chris Frates reporting. Wall Street is putting its midterm money on the Republicans. According to a new report, a majority of political contributions from individuals and firms are going to GOP candidates. CNN's Christine Romans is here to break it all down for us. Good morning. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Remember it was Wall Street and the investment community that basically helped elect President Barack Obama -- remember? All of their money behind that candidate. How things have changed because they are betting on the Republicans in these midterms. In fact, when you look at the individual donations of people who work in the banking and finance industry you can see 63 percent of that money is going to GOP candidates, a total of $78 million.

And according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Carol, that's a record high both percentage and raw dollars for a GOP in a midterm.

So two reasons here, I think, that the money is backing the GOP here. One, either fairly or unfairly, Wall Street thinks it has been blamed for too many of the problems in the economy and too harshly treated in the wake of the financial crisis.

But number two, I would say, Carol, is that they're betting who they think is the winning horse and that's really putting their money where they think they're going to get more results.

Three sectors we'll be watching -- financials, energy and industrials -- those are the three sectors seen benefitting the most from Republicans controlling the Senate and the House so you're seeing individuals in those sectors funneling their money toward GOP candidates -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Christine Romans, many thanks as always.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, he really knows how to get our undivided attention. Daredevil Nik Wallenda defies death once again and picks up a few new records along the way.

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COSTELLO: Heart-pounding, captivating, just downright scary, and yet amazing at the same time. Daredevil Nik Wallenda had all eyes on him as he walked a tightrope in Chicago last night without a net or tether. He picked up a few records along the way, too.

CNN's Jean Cassarez is here with more. Couldn't help but sweat when you watched him walk the tightrope.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's almost too much to watch. But death defying into the record books, whatever you're doing, watch this because it is, as Carol said, it's truly amazing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIK WALLENDA, HIGH-WIRE WALKER: You guys watching think I'm crazy but this is what I was made for.

CASAREZ: Crazy maybe an understatement.

WALLENDA: God is in control. CASAREZ: Seventh generation daredevil Nik Wallenda attempting not one

but two hair-raising high wire walks in the heart of Chicago; this time -- no tether.

WALLENDA: What an incredibly beautiful city at night Chicago is. Absolutely beautiful.

CASAREZ: His first walk ending nearly 700 feet off the ground. That's over two football fields high. Wallenda teetering 450 feet across while climbing over eight stories.

WALLENDA: Definitely can feel the incline, yes. It's a workout.

CASAREZ: The wire quivering beneath his feet from the Windy City's nearly 30-mile per hour gusts.

WALLENDA: There's some wind. That wire was shaking underneath me.

CASAREZ: Upping the heart-stopping ante with his second walk.

WALLENDA: I need everybody to be nice and quiet for me, ok?

CASAREZ: Wallenda blindfolded as he walks between two skyscrapers almost 600 feet high in the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more step. Grab him.

CASAREZ: The steel wire no wider than a nickel was the only thing separating Wallenda --

WALLENDA: It's amazing to hear that roar.

CASAREZ: -- and the thousands of anxious spectators below for a total of about eight minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's walking so fast. I'm like slow down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my absolute pleasure to award you with not one but two Guinness world record certificates.

CASAREZ: Wallenda once again nabbing records and cheating death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I told you it was almost too much to watch. Now, he is to this morning the world Guinness record holder for, Carol, the highest incline walk on that little thing, that little string right there and the highest blindfolded tightrope walk.

COSTELLO: My hands are sweating watching him. What would have happened had he fallen? There was something underneath him, right?

CASAREZ: No net.

COSTELLO: Oh God. CASAREZ: There was no net. There was a delay so that if, you know, the worst happened they would cut. And they had a whole plan in place of how they were going to deal with that. But he says "I am born to do this". The next thing he wants to do is walk the tightrope and do a head stand because his great grandfather did that, Karl Wallenda.

COSTELLO: I'm sure he'll do it. I mean I'm positive he will. He's amazing.

Jean Casarez, many thanks to you.

Checking some top stories for you at 55 minutes past. A Halloween horror cruise -- that's how passengers are describing what happened when a Bahamas Celebration liner struck something at sea. Passengers were told to put on life jackets as the ship returned to port at Grand Bahamas Island. Another cruise ship returned passengers and crew to south Florida Saturday night.

29-year-old Brittany Maynard ended her life on Saturday surrounded by loved ones. Maynard, who suffered from terminal brain cancer, has sparked social media debate after announcing her decision last month. Maynard took medication to end her life under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

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