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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
At Least 23 Killed In Alabama Tornadoes; Senate Has The Votes To Block Emergency; House Dems Accelerate Probes Into Trump; New Accusations In Leaving Neverland; Bolton Backs Trump's Defense Of Kim. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired March 04, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately the death toll has gone up. We're at 22 right now.
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DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: Braking overnight, nearly two dozen killed in an outbreak of tornadoes in Alabama.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: The Senate has the votes to block the president's national emergency declaration, but is it enough to override a promised veto?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very clear it is obstruction of justice.
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BRIGGS: House Democrats requesting documents from more than 60 people that includes the president's son and financial gatekeeper from the Trump family business.
ROMANS: And a new scrutiny on Michael Jackson, a decade after his death, new and disturbing firsthand stories of sexual abuse and the cover-up. Good morning and welcome to "Early Start" everyone. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Disturbing details there. Good morning, good morning to all of you. I'm Dave Briggs, Monday, March 4th, it is 4:00 a.m. in the East, 3:00 a.m. in hard hit Alabama, that's where we begin this morning.
Breaking, the death toll in Alabama now at 23, after a series of tornadoes ripped across Alabama and Georgia. At least 12 of the deaths occurred in one area about five miles south of Opelika, Alabama. Here is the local fire chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BYRON PRATHER, CHIEF OF THE OPELIKA FIRE EPARTMENT: A lot of
destruction of their homes are completely gone. We all feel -- the family members are still missing. We're searching. We are asking people to stay out of the area.
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ROMANS: The sheriff in Lee County says the area looks like someone just took a blade and just scrape the ground.
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JEREMY DANIEL NORTON, GEORGIA RESIDENT: This whole area right here, it is very much -- just gone. Looking now though -- over this way which is mostly trees, it just looks like toothpicks broke just all through there. This came on so quick and changed so many lives. I mean, it is really sickening to watch.
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ROMANS: The number of deaths in this single tornado outbreak surpassing the toll from all the twisters in the U.S. last year. Let's go live to CNN's Kaylee Hartung standing by in hard hit Opelika. Kaylee?
KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. And now, if we could drive just a quarter of a mile pass this road block behind me, we would get to what's essentially ground zero of the damage in Lee County, but police won't allow that. As search and rescue missions continued overnight, we saw the death toll rise here to 23 people, that includes children.
Lee County received something of a one-two punch yesterday afternoon. They were under a tornado watch, but the first warning came at 1:58 and the first reports of damage came at 2:03. That means for some people, it was about five minutes of lead time. And then less than an hour later, a second tornado hit the area.
Alabama's governor, Kay Ivey, has extended the statewide state of emergency that she first put into action a little more than a week ago, because of flooding. We know that as the sun comes up, this day will bring with it new challenges. Here is more from the lead county sheriff, Jay Jones.
JAY JONES, LEE COUNTY SHERIFF: We're going to organize a search in the morning. We are going to have different agencies coming in. We're having personnel from all over the state and from our partners in Georgia. We're going to organize search areas in quadrants and we are gonna get started a more intensive search in the morning and covering areas that we already covered in, some additional areas as well.
HARRIS: National Weather Service Birmingham will send three teams to assess different areas nearby where we are hoping that will give us a better picture of the horror of the damage of this tornado. But as we all began to realize yesterday how devastating it was, President Trump tweeted asking the people in Alabama to be careful and safe. Dave, Christine?
ROMANS: Our Kaylee for us this morning in Lee County, Alabama. Thank you so much for that. It's a devastating night there.
BRIGGS: At this hour more than 80 million people under winter weather alerts from Colorado to Maine. Take a look at this video, an avalanche Sunday on Copper Mountain in Colorado. Some vehicles had to be dug out, but no reports of injuries or anyone trapped.
The avalanche did close part of Interstate 70. The system dumped plenty of snow on the central plains. It is bringing rain, snow or a wintry mix to the northeast this morning. Schools in New York City, Boston closed today. Expect flight delays as well.
Pedram Javaheri is joining us live from the CNN Weather Center. Pedram, how much is on the way?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dave, you know, finally beginning to see some of this taper off across parts of the northeast. So you got to work your way towards Boston, points north and east of that region here, the system gradually going to pull away.
[04:05:04] So we are at the tail end of this kind of phasing out the storm system. And of course, a historic one for the southern U.S. when it comes to severe element into the north, it is all about the wintery weather. But notice the winter weather advisories across portions of Boston and points northward there going to expire over the next couple of hours.
Disruptions though, big time at this hour, even into the early morning hours and 500 plus flights have been canceled, over 200 had been delayed. The vast majority of these coming out of New York, La Guardia and also JFK and to Newark, about 400 of the 500 cancellations out of these four airports across the northeast, so really speaks to the significance of the storm for parts of the northeast here as the heavy snow fall still comes down for the next couple of hours, by 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 a.m., we'll begin to see the snowflake taper off.
So the expected totals with this system out of Boston, somewhere between 8 and 12 inches when it is all said and done. Notice so far this season in its entirety about 16 inches of snow had come down across the city of Boston.
So, that's part of the storm, the other part is the blustery weather you'll feel across the northeast today with all of this in place, and of course, you factor in how cold it is outside, feels like 20 to almost 30 below zero across portions of the upper Midwest while the Northeast should be generally feeling closer to 20 or so degrees by this afternoon, middle 20's across parts of that region.
But the trend continues for a couple of days here and we're talking about these temps running about 30 degrees below average. So, Chicago should be about 45 degrees for this time of year, 14 is the best they can do. And of course, it has been incredibly cold winter in parts of the upper Midwest. Minneapolis only 8 degrees in January to February like that versus an early March temperature. So the pattern very cold across the upper Midwest.
BRIGGS: All right. So we'll enjoy another day home with the kids out East. Thank you, Pedram.
JAVAHERI: Yes.
BRIGGS: The Senate appears to have enough votes to block President Trump's national emergency for border wall funding. Senator Rand Paul has announced that he plans to vote for the Democratic resolution condemning the emergency. The Kentucky Republicans says he shares the president's view that we need better border security, but does not support the use of emergency powers.
ROMANS: In an op-ed for Fox News, he writes, "every single Republican I know decried President Obama's use of executive power to legislate. We were right then, but the only way to be an honest office holder is to stand up for the same principles no matter who is in power."
Republican senators, Susan Collins of Main, Liza Murkowski of Alaska Tom Tillis of North Carolina are also planning to vote to block the national emergency declaration, setting up the first veto of Donald Trump's presidency.
BRIGGS: Not clear when the Senate plans to vote on the resolution, it has to happen in the next two weeks. Congress would need two thirds majority in both chambers to overwrite President Trump's veto. That scenario is considered highly unlikely.
ROMANS: The House Judiciary Committee accelerating its investigations of President Trump and his inner circle. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York expected to formally request documents today for more than 60 individuals.
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REP. JERRY NADLER (D), CHAIRMAN HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: From the White House to the Department of Justice, Donald Trump Jr., Allen Weisselberg, to begin investigations to present the case to the American people about obstruction of justice. It's very clear, the president obstruction of justice.
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ROMANS: Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump family business. He is thought to have detailed knowledge of Trump's tax situation. He's name came up repeatedly in Michael Cohen's testimony last week. Congressman Nadler says the list of names will also likely include former White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, and former White House counsel, Don Meghan.
BRIGGS: President Trump defending himself in a weekend tweetstorm that it's time sounded downright nixonian. The president declaring quote, "I'm an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad conflicted and corrupt people." That came after Mr. Trump aired his grievances every single one of them and the longest speech of his presidency. He spoke for more than two hours to the annual gathering of conservatives at CPAC.
ROMANS: It began with a literal, you see it there, embrace of the American flag than the president launched into a performance of his greatest hit list the Russian witch-hunt, Jeff Sessions, Crooked Hillary and more.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people for a long time that shouldn't be there and all of a sudden, they are trying to take you out with both (BEEP). OK? (BEEP) the Attorney General's, -- I'm going to recuse myself. And I said, why how the hell did he tell me that before I put him in.
If you tell a joke, if you're sarcastic, if you are having fun with the audience, if you're in live television with millions of people and 25,000 people in an arena and if you say something like, Russia, please if you can get us Hillary Clinton's emails. Please Russia, please, please get us the emails, please.
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[04:10:05] ROMANS: That of course, was met with a chant of, lock her up.
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TRUMP: That's right.
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BRIGGS: Lock her up. Still going with Allen. All right. The president is siding with Kim Jong-un on the death of Otto Warmbier, it is not the first time he sided with an autocrat over actual evidence. He's National Security adviser, had some trouble explaining away the problem.
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ROMANS: National Security Adviser, John Bolton is struggling to explain the president's decision to believe North Korea's Kim Jong-un over the death of the American student Otto Warmbier. On Friday, Warmbier's family released a statement saying Kim and his evil regime are responsible for our son's death. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Bolton was asked why the president has this pattern of defending autocrats.
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[04:15:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why does the president trust Putin, and MBS, and Kim over U.S. intelligence?
AMB. JOHN BOLTON, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I don't think that's what he's saying, and again, if you take the case of Khashoggi, he and others in the administration have said repeatedly. We want from Saudi Arabia a complete top to bottom explanation what happened, and I --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been months and you haven't got and the Senate has been calling for stricter sanctions and you guys are opposing it, it certainly what happens in the case of Putin, he specifically said, U.S. intelligence says this, but Putin says no.
BOLTON: And fundamentally in the case of all three of those countries, we've got to pursue American national interest.
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BRIGGS: Meantime, the president now blaming House Democrats for his failure to strike a deal at the summit with Kim Jong-un. He says the scheduling of testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen opposite the summit may have contributed to the walk.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. and China inching closer. It appears to a trade deal. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that China is offering two lower tariffs on U.S. farm, auto and other products, citing people familiar with the situation. As part of the deal, Washington is considering removing most of the tariffs placed against the Chinese products since last year.
On Friday, the president tweeted that he had asked Beijing to remove all tariffs on USA products. In responses to his decision to delay increasing tariffs on March 1st.
Now, The Journal also reports China is pledging to speed up the timetable for removing foreign ownership limitations on auto ventures and reducing tariffs on imported vehicles to below the current auto tariff of the 15 percent as part of this deal.
And new this morning, a spokesman for the Chinese government saying this, we believe that China-U.S. economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial in essence, so we hope the two sides can continue to step up consultations to reach a win-win agreement. The spokesman added the interests of the U.S. and China are deeply intertwine in using a, what they call it, a Cold War mentality to deal with these issues is a dead-end.
Now that the White House or the Chinese government had said when President Trump and President Xi planned to meet, but The Journal reports, a summit could happen around March 27 and they are hoping to hammer out a framework here, so they could have something to sign. Something to take a victory lap.
BRIGGS: Unlike North Korea, the worked at least has been done ahead of a potential summit.
ROMANS: They are doing the work, that's right.
BRIGGS: Ahead, a Georgia college student with no daycare first baby brings the child to class. What the teacher did to help will warm your heart.
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BRIGGS: 4:21 Eastern Time and a decade after his death. There is new scrutiny of Michael Jackson's life. The iconic pop singer. Now the subject of a new HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland. It followed the story of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, both men claims Jackson sexually molested them when they were children.
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WADE ROBSON, MICHAEL JACKSON ACCUSER: I first remember is Michael, sort of, you know, moving his hands across my legs were both clothes and peaches (ph) and the his hands got to, you know, my crotch area, you know, sort of fondling, I was seven, seven years-old when this began.
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BRIGGS: Among the most shocking claims a secret system of bells, Jackson used to warn him when adults were approaching. Michael allegedly gave Safechuck drills to keep them from getting caught.
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JAMES SAFECHUCK, MICHAEL JACKSON ACCUSER: They were on drills with me where you'd be in the hotel room and he would pretend like somebody was coming in and you had to trust as fast as possible without making noise, so not getting caught most of the quite just, kind a fundamental. It was very much a secret and he would tell me that if anybody found out, his life would be over, my life would be over. And that something he tells you over and over again.
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ROMANS: Part two of Leaving Neverland airs tonight, the Michael Jackson estate has denied all the allegations and is suing HBO for a $400 million in damages. States as this, we've always turn the other cheek when people gone after members of our family, but we can't just stand by while this public lynching goes on. First part HBO says airing the documentary will allow everyone the opportunity to assess the film and the claims in it for themselves.
BRIGGS: High praise for Morehouse College professor after a viral photo showed Nathan Alexander teaching a class with the student's baby strap to his chest. Well, it turns out the student Wayne Heyer couldn't find a sitter for his five month old daughter with midterms and he didn't want to miss the class, so he took her along.
ROMANS: The professor offered to hold the infant so Heyer could take notes. Alexander tells CNN, part of his role as educators is to provide opportunities for students and he deflected the phrase to Heyer who he says works two jobs, a full-time student and a parent. He also says that that little Asada was very well behaved. Adorable.
BRIGGS: Grab hold of the baby, no tears. OK. Saturday Night Live putting its own spin on the Michael Cohen hearing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the president, this hearing would be the most damning and humiliating moment of their lives. But for Trump, it's just Wednesday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here today to tell you that Mr. Trump is a racist. Wow, I thought there would be a bigger reaction.
[04:25:00] For too many years I was loyal to a man, when I should not had been. Now, I know how Chloe Kardashian feels.
But now I'm all out of faith. This is how I feel shame. This is how I feel. I cold and I'm ashamed and lying naked on the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right that I'm angry. I'm angry that I have to sit here through this too bit trip back flea circus (ph). I'm so angry, I couldn't even wear a jacket today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cohen appears have lost his moral compassed -- Burn.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cohen has plead guilty to a smordish (ph) board, a fraudulent activity and right after that it says, at the direction of President Trump. It does? Oh, damn it.
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BRIGGS: Jim Jordan, not doing so well in the SNL version.
ROMANS: No. All right, 26 minutes pass the hour, at least 23 people had been killed by these series of tornadoes as it rolls through Alabama.
BRIGGS: And the rebuke of the president, there are now enough senate Republican to block President Trump's national emergency.
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