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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Sixteen States Sue to Block National Emergency; Pragmatic Klobuchar Makes Pitch for Democratic Nomination; Infant Screen Time Doubles; West Virginia Teachers to Strike Again. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired February 19, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:29] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Sixteen states sue to stop the president's national emergency declaration. Anger at the move on display from coast to coast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The actual legislation you do we know there's going to be compromises. I am not for free four-year college for all, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Senator Amy Klobuchar willing to say no. It may anger progressives but can it win over centrist Democrats?
ROMANS: Screen time for infants has more than doubled, but what device they're watching may surprise you.
SANCHEZ: And just a year after walking off the job, West Virginia teachers will hit the picket lines again. Why the union says it had no other choice.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Nice to see you again today. And I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, February 19th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the east. Let's get started.
We begin with the escalating challenges to President Trump's national emergency declaration. Protesters took to the streets rallying against the defense to build his border wall.
And last night, 16 states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the emergency declaration.
SANCHEZ: Yes, they were led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. The states argue the president is using the pretext of a manufactured crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XAVIER BECERRA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, it's pretty clear that the president is trying to usurp Congress' authority. The president does not have the power of the purse. The president can't decide to shuffle money around once Congress has allocated it. That's only for Congress to do. Otherwise, presidents for the last 240 years would have been doing the same thing, when they don't like where Congress puts the money. Simply because Donald Trump fabricated a crisis and called it a national emergency doesn't mean that he can violate the separation of powers of the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The suit specifically addresses this remark by the president on Friday where he all but admitted the situation at the border is not exactly an emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the wall they skimped, so they did -- I was successful in that sense, but I wanted to do it faster. I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is the latest in a wave of expected litigation, though fighting in court will likely be difficult and time consuming, the president has brought discretion over what constitutes a national emergency.
ROMANS: Challenges also expected from Capitol Hill are resolution of disapproval to block the emergency declaration is expected in the House and could even pass the Senate. If it passes, the president is expected to veto it. There's also still no word from the Pentagon what military founding resources will be diverted to build the president's wall.
SANCHEZ: Senator Amy Klobuchar is making her pitch as a pragmatist in the 2020 Democratic field. The Minnesota senator appeared in a live CNN town hall in New Hampshire last night on topics for Medicare for All to a Green New Deal, to free college. Klobuchar separated herself from her party's progressives offering no sugarcoated promises. Instead, she struck a practical tone. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: What's your reservation about supporting Medicare for All?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I think it's something that we can look to for the future, but I want to get action now. And I think the best way we do is something we actually wanted to do back when we were looking at the Affordable Care Act and we were stopped was trying to get a public option in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you were asked about the Green New Deal, you were quoted as saying it's an aspiration.
KLOBUCHAR: The actual legislation you do, we know there's going to be compromises. It's not going to be exactly like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be to say to my generation and end the student crisis by supporting free college for all?
KLOBUCHAR: My idea is to make it easier to refinance, to start with your two year degrees, the community colleges being free. I am not for free four-year college for all, no. If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone and we could afford it, I would.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senator Klobuchar was also asked to respond to allegations that she mistreats here staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KLOBUCHAR: Am I tough a boss sometimes? Yes. Have I pushed people too hard? Yes. But I have kept expectations for myself that are very high. I've asked my staff to meet those same expectations. And that the big point for me is I want the country to meet high expectations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Another Democratic contender is set to release a sweeping universal child care plan today. Senator Elizabeth Warren says her idea guarantees child care from birth from the time a child enters school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:05:03] SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The costs of child care are just crushing families. Families are just buckling under the weight of it. It holds people back. They decide they can't work because they're worried about the cost of child care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So, a big question, of course, is how she plans to pay for it, from the wealth tax she rolled last month that targets Americans whose network exceeds $50 million.
ROMANS: The child care proposed calls for a network of public and family run centers. Care would be free for families of incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level. That's about $51,000 for a family of four. Those earning more would pay a subsidized fee based on their income.
And all signs point to a big announcement today from that guy Bernie Sanders. CBS says it has a, quote, revealing interview with the Vermont senator this morning.
SANCHEZ: And CNN has learned that the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is set to leave the Department of Justice in mid-March. We previously reported that Rosenstein planned to step down after the Senate confirmed Bill Barr as attorney general. The justice official who confirmed the more precise timing disputed the idea that it had anything to do with the latest revelations from Andrew McCabe. The former acting FBI director, of course, claimed that Rosenstein suggested wearing a wire to secretly record President Trump and he talked about laying out a strategy for ousting the president using the 25th Amendment.
ROMANS: Yesterday, Mr. Trump tweeted McCabe and Rosenstein were, quote, planning a very illegal act in an illegal and treasonous insurance policy. Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham says his panel will investigate McCabe's 25th Amendment comments.
SANCHEZ: Long time Trump confidant Roger Stone apologized to the judge overseeing his case over a controversial Instagram post. A photo posted and then deleted from Stone's Instagram account showed Judge Amy Berman Jackson next to crosshairs mimicking the scope of the rifle. The same photo was later posted without that symbol and that was deleted as well.
Stone told CNN that a volunteer who works on the social media made the initial post. He says the photo was not meant in any way to threaten the judge. She actually claimed the symbol was not at crosshairs at one point. The post will not likely sit well with Jackson who last week imposed a partial gag order in Stone's case.
ROMANS: Roger "Never Apologize" Stone apologizes. News flash.
All right. More tariffs could be coming. This time on imported cars and auto parts. Back in May 2018, President Trump requested an investigation into whether imported cars are a national security threat to the United States.
"Reuters" reported the president received the findings on his section 232 investigation Sunday. Now, he has 90 days to decide whether to act upon the recommendations. During the Munich's security conference this weekend, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply called out the Trump administration over its claim that German cars, some of which are made in the United States pose a security threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We're proud of our cars. They are built in the United States of America. So when these cars because they're built in South Carolina are not becoming less threatening rather than the ones that are built in Bavaria supposed to be a threat to the national security of America is a bit of a shock to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Applause from the crowd. Stone-faced Ivanka Trump there, advisor to the president. The auto industry warns tariffs would be costly. The National Automobile Dealers Association says tariffs would add more than 2 grand to the cost of U.S.-built cars, six grand to the cost of imported cars and trucks.
And reports from Center for Automotive Research show that 25 percent tariff which is what the president is considering would cost more 366,000 jobs in the auto and related industries. SANCHEZ: Some congratulations are in order for Vice President Mike
Pence. His 24-year-old daughter Audrey Pence is engaged to her college sweetheart, 23-year-old Daniel Tomanelli. She broke the news with this Instagram post that reads, quote: Of course, I said yes and then we got caught in a rainstorm. Rain or shine, I'm so glad you're always be my side.
Very sweet post. Audrey, of course, is a first year law student at Yale. She's the youngest child of Mike and Karen Pence.
ROMANS: New overnight, crews rushed to rescue 16 people trapped on a gondola ride at SeaWorld in San Diego. Harnesses and lifeguard boats are brought in to pull their passengers to safety. Emergency officials say an infant was among those on board, along with a partially paralyzed passenger.
Officials say the attraction "Bayside Skyride" stopped running over Mission Bay after a gust of wind tripped a circuit breaker. Those stories always give me --
SANCHEZ: Yes, very cold temperatures there, too, so it must have been a very uncomfortable couple of hours for those folks.
Ahead, not racist, not homophobic. Two brothers speaking out after being cleared in the alleged Jussie Smollett attack. When will the actor speak to police again? We break down the latest, next.
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[04:13:52] SANCHEZ: Chicago police say two brothers who were arrested in connection with an alleged attack on "Empire" star Jussie Smollett are no longer suspects. Abel and Ola Osundairo were arrested on Friday after new evidence emerged.
In a joint statement to WBBM the brothers said, quote: We are not racists, we are not homophobic, and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens.
ROMANS: Jussie Smollett claims he was attacked last month by two men yelling racial and homophobic slurs. He said this to ABC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) could make something like this up or add something to it or whatever it may be? I can't -- I can't even -- I'm an advocate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Since that interview he has largely gone silent. The sources say police believe the actor paid the brothers to orchestrate an assault. Smollett denies playing any role. Police now want to re- question him.
SANCHEZ: Screen time for kids under 2 is soaring according to a new study. Between 1997 and 2014, daily screen time for children under the age of 2 more than doubled from one hour to 19 minutes to three hours and three minutes.
[04:15:01] Surprisingly most of it was spent in front of a TV despite all those other devices being available. Screen time for kids 3 to 5 didn't change significantly.
ROMANS: Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time, zero screen time for children under 18 months, and limiting kids to just one hour a day of high quality programming. That's not just throwing your phone over. Excessive screen time early in life is associated with cognitive, language, social and emotional delays because screen time decreases the time kids spend interacting with parents and that is how they learned.
Some doctors say not all screens are created equal and electronic readers and learning devices should not be in the same category as other screens.
SANCHEZ: Public schools across West Virginia are closed today. Teachers and school workers will walk off the job just one year after their last strike. Union officials say they had no other choice. The strike is prompted by an educational bill that diverts money from public schools and invests in private schools vouchers in the state's first charter schools. Last year's work stoppage lasted nine school days and resulted in almost daily rallies at the state capitol in Charleston and also sparked teacher strikes and walk outs nationwide. Oakland teachers are set to strike this Thursday.
ROMANS: Caught on video, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, rescuing two young children from a suspected carjacker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: Hey, put your hands out.
POLICE OFFICER: Hands up.
POLICE OFFICER: Hands up. Hands up. Hands up. Get out of the car.
(EXPLETIVES DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: This police video from last month shows officers pulling the suspect, Jarrod Gilliam, from a stolen car. Authorities say he took the car with two children inside while their mother was in the store. The kids were not hurt. They were returned to their mom. It's not clear why she left them in the car alone.
SANCHEZ: A Texas teacher getting very creative with a student who was being teased. Shannon Grimm noticed 5-year-old Priscilla Perez began wearing a hat to class to hide her hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRISCILLA PEREZ, 5-YEAR OLD STUDENT, MEADOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WILLIS, TEXAS: It was short -- like here, and then my mom cut it. SHANNON GRIMM, KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, MEADOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WILLIS, TEXAS: About that time that friends started to call her boy -- call her a boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, the kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Grimm, decided to chop off her own hair -- waist-length hair -- in favor of a pixie cut just like Priscilla's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIMM: I am going to do other things for my friends in my classroom other than just teach them. I'm going to show them the love and the support that they need in order to learn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Mrs. Grimm even brought matching hair bows for her and Priscilla to wear. At a school board meeting, the little girl presented the teacher with a medal for being her hero during a difficult time.
SANCHEZ: A very close call for hockey commentator Pierre McGuire, in his usual spot between the benches at last night's game between Columbus and Tampa Bay preparing for in the glass segment when a puck whizzed by, missed his face by just inches. Fortunately, no damage done to McGuire. He was able to laugh about it after all being ex- hockey player. The camera, though, is not quite so fortunate.
ROMANS: Wow. All right. The sailor in this iconic V-J Day photo has died. George Mendonsa was the exuberant young sailor kissing a woman in New York's Times Square on August 14, 1945. The famous photo dubbed "The Kiss" came to symbolize the end of World War II.
His daughter says the picture makes her think how happy her father was the war was over. And George Mendonsa was 95 when he passed away Sunday in Rhode Island. Part of him, of course, will live on forever, captured at the age of 22 in Times Square.
SANCHEZ: An iconic image recreated so many times.
The battle for the future of Venezuela is escalating. Nicolas Maduro invoking Nazis after President Trump warns against socialism in Caracas and elsewhere.
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[04:23:12] ROMANS: All right. President Trump putting more pressure on Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The twilight hour of socialists has arrived in our hemisphere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: At a speech in Miami, Mr. Trump expressed strong support for Venezuela's self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido and urged that country's military leaders to do the same. Maduro who is blocking humanitarian aid from reaching his own citizens.
More now from Isa Soares in Caracas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Boris, President Trump added yet more pressure on Nicolas Maduro and his men in a bid, really, to try and asphyxiate the regime and embolden that of Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim leader of Venezuela.
Speaking in Florida, President Trump, in many ways, was giving a message to the Armed Forces that are still blocking the aid -- still standing aside of Nicolas Maduro and blocking the aid from coming into Venezuela. He told the Armed Forces -- he's telling the Armed Forces that if you stand next to Nicolas Maduro you will lose everything.
Take a listen.
TRUMP: You cannot hide from the choice that now confronts you. You can choose to accept President Guaido's generous offer of amnesty or you can choose the second path, continuing to support Maduro. If you choose this path you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit, and no way out.
SOARES: Well, Venezuelans on both sides of the border who have no doubt been hanging onto every word of President Trump's speech, especially when he said yet again that nothing is off the table.
[04:25:02] He also said they'll be no going back and to many people that will mean that the United States is in for the haul -- long haul -- standing next to Venezuela.
We have also heard from Nicolas Maduro in a very fiery speech today in which he said that he's not intimidated by the comments made by President Trump. And he said they are ready for whatever comes at us with the force of the Venezuelan Armed Forces -- Christine and Boris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Isa, thank you for that.
There's a crisis deepening in Haiti. Five Americans on the island were arrested in the middle of violent anti-government protests. The identities of the Americans in custody were not immediately available but according to the chief of Haiti's National Police, they were in possession of automatic weapons, pistols, satellite phones, and drones.
Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been rocked by deadly protests with demonstrators demanding Haiti's president resign in the face of soaring inflation and corruption allegations. ROMANS: All right. Sixteen states sued to stop the president's
national emergency declaration. Can they sway the courts that the president has overstepped his powers?
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