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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

At Least 23 Dead In Southeast Twister Outbreak; Will The Senate Block Emergency Wall Funding?; House Democrats Ramping Up Trump Investigations; "Leaving Neverland" Scrutinizes Michael Jackson's Life. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 04, 2019 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WADE ROBSON, MICHAEL JACKSON ACCUSER: I was seven -- seven years old when this began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Among the most shocking claims, a secret system of bells Jackson used to warn him when adults were approaching. Jackson allegedly gave Safechuck drills to keep from getting caught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SAFECHUCK, MICHAEL JACKSON ACCUSER: He would run drills with me where we would be in the hotel room and he would pretend like somebody was coming in and you had to get dressed as fast as possible without making noise. So not getting caught was a big -- like, just kind of fundamental.

It was very much a secret and he would tell me that if anybody found out, his life would be over and my life would be over, and that's something he tells you over and over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Part of "LEAVING NEVERLAND" airs tonight.

The Michael Jackson estate has denied all allegations and is suing HBO for $100 million. They say, quote, "We have always turned the other cheek when people have gone after members of our family, but we can't just stand by while this public lynching goes on."

The debate goes on for us to consider what we do with Michael Jackson's music in the future.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: EARLY START continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF JAY JONES, LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA: Houses are completely destroyed. Homes just -- basically, just slabs left where once stood a home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, nearly two dozen killed in an outbreak of tornadoes in Alabama.

BRIGGS: The Senate has the votes to block the president's national emergency declaration, but is it enough to override a promised presidential veto?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D), NEW YORK: It's very clear the president obstructed justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: House Democrats requesting documents from more than 60 people, including the president's son and the financial gatekeeper for the Trump Organization.

Good morning -- good Monday morning, everybody. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: Good morning. Good morning to all of you. Five thirty-one Eastern time, 4:30 in hard-hit Alabama. That's where we start this Monday morning.

Breaking overnight, the death toll in Alabama now stands 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, OPELIKA FIRE DEPARTMENT: There's a lot of destruction up there. Homes are completely gone. Family members are still missing -- we're searching. That's the reason we need people to stay out of the area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The sheriff in Lee County says the area looks like someone took a blade and just scraped the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DANIEL NORTON, ALABAMA RESIDENT: This whole area right here is pretty much just gone. Looking out over this way, which was mostly trees, it just looks like toothpicks broke just all through there. This just came on so quick and changed so many lives that -- I mean, it's really sickening to watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Let's go live to CNN's Victor Blackwell, standing by in hard- hit Opelika. And, Victor, for some residents there wasn't a lot of warning before this storm system moved in.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "NEW DAY WEEKEND": Yes, you're right, Christine. That first warning came at about 2:58 p.m. Eastern time and then minutes later, the first reports of damage.

You mentioned the number of people killed -- 23. The sheriff here says that number could increase. We're also getting reports of dozens of people in a local hospital.

So as they're getting a handle on the threat to life and the loss of life, we are getting a better understanding of the property damage with scenes like this.

This is obviously a mobile home and usually, in natural disasters, we see the worst of the damage to homes like this. You see the wheels here on the base here, the fuse box outside. There's not much that's salvageable from this home -- a total loss.

But if you look across the street about half a football field away there is part of this home. There's insulation in the trees. And if you look down the road here you can see there's still more of the home down here.

What you don't see though are trees in the road and branches in the road. That's because overnight and throughout most of the day there was a lot of work to try to clear the roads here to allow first responders to get in and for survey crews to try to get to as many properties as possible.

We learned that there will be the National Weather Service survey teams back in today to understand exactly how strong this storm was when it came through where potentially there were two tornadoes in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

How will they do that? They will survey -- look at damage like this to try to determine how strong the winds were. Initial estimates that winds could have been up to 165 miles per hour.

Back to you.

ROMANS: Wow, and a half-mile wide, the devastation. All right, Victor Blackwell. Thank you so much for that.

[05:35:00] BRIGGS: The number of deaths in the single tornado outbreak surpassing the toll from all the twisters in the U.S. in all of 2018.

Let's go live to CNN's Kaylee Hartung, also in Opelika. Kaylee, good morning.

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Dave.

The sheriff here saying that the sheer volume of debris where homes once stood is the challenge for crews here.

Now, I'm about a quarter-mile from what they're considering ground zero -- the tornadoes that tore through Lee County -- and it's our understanding that one of these tornadoes traveled on the ground for several miles, destroying everything in its path at about a half-mile width.

Now, the search and rescue operations continued overnight, I should say. When I went to bed last night the death toll stood at 14, and when I woke up early this morning it had already risen to 23. We've all noted that this number could continue to rise.

But that search and rescue operation today, it will be very methodical. They'll really mark this area of destruction with a grid and go through that very meticulously. We know this day will bring new challenges for authorities.

Here's more from the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JAY JONES, LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA: We're going to organize a more organized search in the morning. We're going to have different agencies coming in. We're having personnel from literally all over the state and from our partners over in Georgia.

We're going to organize search areas and quadrants and we're going to get -- start a more intensive search in the morning and cover areas that we've already covered, and some additional areas as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: A state of emergency was declared in Alabama a little more than a week ago because of severe weather. That now continues per Alabama's Gov. Kay Ivey.

And as we all learned of the horror of this devastation yesterday, President Trump taking to Twitter asking all of the people of Alabama and surrounding areas to be careful and safe -- Dave and Christine.

BRIGGS: All right. Kaylee Hartung live for us in Opelika, Alabama this morning -- thanks.

ROMANS: At this hour, more than 80 million people are under winter weather alerts from Colorado to Maine.

Look at this video of an avalanche Sunday on Copper Mountain in Colorado -- beautiful and scary. Some vehicles had to be dug out, but no reports of injuries or anyone trapped. The avalanche closed part of Interstate 70.

BRIGGS: The system dumped plenty of snow on the Central Plains and is bringing rain, snow or a wintry mix to the Northeast this morning. Schools in New York City and Boston closed today.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joining us live from the CNN Weather Center. Pedram, we had called for eight inches here in New York City and I trudged through a couple of inches of slush on the way to work. Did it miss?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, a couple of inches for you guys just north of town as you work your way into portions of -- say, around Boston upwards of a foot. So really, that cut-off line with the snow here as the temps just right there north of town to be able to support significant snow.

It's still snowing heavily across portions of Boston. But for New York, it's all said and done right now and that's all we get out of this system.

But an impressive system, regardless of how you slice it, whether it be the southern tier of it with the severe weather -- 36 reports of tornadoes, upwards of a foot for the month of March into Boston. And, of course, we're talking about 30 to 40 below wind chills on the cold element back across the Upper Midwest.

But notice the winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings across portions of New England are set to expire in the next couple of hours.

For Boston, depending on what part of town you look at, generally eight to 12 inches expected by the time everything is all said and done. About 16 inches is all that has fallen on all season combined, so this is essentially the entire season's worth of snowfall almost coming down in a matter of just a few hours. At one point, two to three inches per hour in the last couple of hours across places such as Boston.

But with that said, 500-plus flights canceled, 200 -- now, upwards of 300 flights delayed across portions of the Northeast. The vast majority of these cancelations out of New York or Boston airports -- about 400 of them coming out of that region.

So, here's what's left -- another couple of inches. Back behind it again it's all about the cold air and the blustery winds with it as well. So, wind chills about 20 to 30 degrees across the Northeast today. Around portions of the Midwest, we're talking 30 below is what it feels like.

Highs into the single digits. It should be some 30 degrees warmer than that in Chicago, guys. It should be in the middle-40s with two weeks left before spring starts, but 14 degrees the high today in Chicago.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Pedram. Nice to see you.

Thirty-nine minutes past the hour.

A Georgia college student didn't have daycare for his baby. He brought the little girl to class. What the teacher did to help will warm your heart.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:43:37] BRIGGS: The Senate appears to have enough votes to block President Trump's national emergency for border wall funding.

Senator Rand Paul has announced he plans to vote for the Democratic resolution condemning it. The Kentucky Republican 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 officeholder is to stand up for the same principles no matter who is in power."

Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom 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: It's not clear when the Senate plans to vote on the resolution. It has to happen in the next two weeks. Congress would need, though, a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override President Trump's veto. That scenario considered highly unlikely.

It does appear that a few other Republicans, I think, will come over.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: Lamar Alexander has been pretty clear he's against this. Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner could join those.

ROMANS: Let's talk about this some more. Joining us here this morning, Princeton University historian and professor Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst. Good morning.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good morning.

ROMANS: Let's stay on this topic. No chance of enough Republicans coming over for a veto -- a majority here, but the symbolism of some of these Republicans crossing the line.

[05:45:01] ZELIZER: Sure, it's a real vote against the president and we haven't seen that other than a Russia sanctions bill back in 2017. So, it's important.

In the end, he'll probably get what he wants and Republicans can say we voted against it. So it might actually work for the president. But don't discount a real vote against President Trump.

BRIGGS: Forcing him to use the actual veto Sharpie is at least some small spine they're showing.

But let's switch to the House now where Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says that he's going to subpoena 60 documents from 60 people, beginning today. Listen to Nadler.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADLER: 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 that the president obstructed justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Allen Weisselberg being the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.

But where is the line between oversight and overreach, and should Democrats learn from what happened to Republicans during the Clinton years and impeachment trials there?

ZELIZER: Well, they remember that but they also have to remember Democrats in 1974, which investigated and found real corruption and wrongdoing.

And so, this is what oversight looks like. There is a certain risk that you go to backlash but they're not there yet. This is a legitimate investigation at this point and it all depends on how Nadler handles it.

But now, we're getting into the money, we're getting into the organization, and that's why the administration is getting worried.

ROMANS: Let's talk about the Democrats in the 2020 field because you had a big weekend for a lot of them.

You had -- you had a whole bunch of people there in Selma for the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, so a lot of Democrat frontrunners there.

And then you had Bernie Sanders in Chicago really kind of go into his roots, talking about who he is and where he's from. Let's listen to a little bit of Bernie Sanders at this rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS (D), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whether it is the struggle against corporate greed, against racism, sexism, homophobia, environmental devastation or war and militarism, real change never takes place from the top on down. It always takes place from the bottom on up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Bernie, round two. The crowds were --

BRIGGS: Huge. ROMANS: -- huge and pretty raucous.

What do you make of his foray here for the second time?

ZELIZER: Well, he's back. He is generally going after the same themes he did back in 2016 -- bottom-up politics, the economy matters. He's trying to broaden his reach and deal with issues of race, which he was criticized --

ROMANS: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- from.

The problems remain the same. The problems will remain is he too far left. The problems will remain his own record on issues overseas and foreign policy.

But this guy can attract a crowd and other Democrats should take a look because there's something about him that draws energy on the campaign trail.

BRIGGS: President Trump hopes he is the nominee at this point. And the airing of grievances was mind-blowing over the weekend. I think Trump --

ZELIZER: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- just finished speaking a moment ago at CPAC. Here is an example of some of the things he went on a rail against.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 the sudden they're trying to take you out with bull****, OK -- with bull****.

The attorney general says I'm going to recuse myself. And I said why the hell didn't he tell me that before I put him in?

If you tell a joke, if you are sarcastic, if you're having fun with the audience, if you're on 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 e-mails. Please, Russia, please. Please get us the e-mails -- please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: And the piece de resistance, "lock her up" chants in 2019. He also griped against crowd size at the inauguration.

It will be Festivus every day in 2020 as he continues to air his grievances, but can that playbook still work a second time around?

ZELIZER: It could because his loyal base loves to hear exactly what he said. Those were the greatest hits. He added some new lines from the last few years.

And the second part is Republicans still lean Republican.

ROMANS: Yes.

ZELIZER: Whoever is at the top of the ticket. That's the secret mix that he's hoping for.

So we shouldn't discount this in any way because it did work in 2016 and that's what he's counting on again.

ROMANS: This is a tweet from the president. "I am an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad, conflicted, and corrupt people." Almost Nixonian, this one.

[05:50:08] ZELIZER: Yes. No, that is what he wants to do. He wants to vilify everyone who is against him. That is the strategy for 2020.

BRIGGS: All right. Julian Zelizer, thank you, sir.

ROMANS: Nice to see you.

BRIGGS: Good to see you.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

BRIGGS: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right, let's get your week started with a little bit of "CNN Business" this morning.

The U.S. and China inching closer to a trade deal. "The Wall Street Journal" reports China offering to 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 on Chinese products since last year.

Global markets higher around the world on these hints that they're making some progress and the positivity extending to Wall Street. Futures are higher here as well. The Dow closed up 110 points on Friday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both up one percent.

[05:55:09] You know, look -- I wanted to show you stocks have rebounded from the worst December since the Great Depression. Here's where we stand year-to-date, folks. The Dow and the S&P 500 both up 12 percent. The Nasdaq up more than 14 percent.

The 10-year anniversary of the bull market, by the way, is in a few days. In March 2009, the economy was in the midst of the Great Recession. Now, thanks to steady economic growth and surge in corporate profits, the Dow and the S&P 500 are up 300 percent since they hit rock bottom on March sixth, 2009.

A new Tesla is set to debut in less than two weeks. The CEO, Elon Musk, tweeted Sunday, quote, "Model Y unveil event on March 14 at L.A. Design Studio." Musk added the Model Y is about 10 percent bigger than the Model 3, so it's going to cost about 10 percent more and have slightly less range for the same battery.

This comes after Tesla announced last week customers can now order the cheaper Model 3 for $35,000.

BRIGGS: 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 follows the story of Wade Robson and James Safechuck. Both mean claim Jackson sexually molested them when they were children.

Among the most shocking claims, Michael allegedly gave Safechuck drills to keep them from getting caught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAFECHUCK: He would run drills with me where we would be in the hotel room and he would pretend like somebody was coming in and you had to get dressed as fast as possible without making noise. So not getting caught was a big -- like, just kind of fundamental.

It was very much a secret and he would tell me that if anybody found out, his life would be over and my life would be over, and that's something he tells you over and over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Part two of "LEAVING NEVERLAND" airs tonight.

The Michael Jackson estate has denied all these allegations and is suing HBO for $100 million in damages.

They say, "We have always turned the other cheek when people have gone after members of our family, but we can't just stand by while this public lynching goes on."

For its part, HBO says airing the documentary "Will allow everyone the opportunity to assess the film and the claims in it for themselves."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE FREEMAN, CONTESTANT, NBC "THE VOICE": Singing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Janice Freeman who was a contestant on "THE VOICE" in 2017 has died. She was 33. Her spokesman says she had an extreme case of pneumonia and a blood clot that traveled to her heart.

The powerhouse singer was a fan favorite with her vocals and inspiring story of beating cervical cancer and living with lupus.

Janice Freeman is survived by her husband, daughter, and mother. ROMANS: High praise for a Morehouse College professor after a viral photo showed Nathan Alexander teaching his class with a student's baby strapped to his chest.

It turns out the student, Wayne Hayer, couldn't find a sitter for his 5-month-old daughter. With midterms looming, he didn't want to miss the class, so he took her along.

BRIGGS: The professor offered to hold the infant so Hayer could take notes. Alexander tells CNN part of his role as an educator is to provide opportunities for students, and he deflected the praise to Hayer, who he says works two jobs as a full-time student and a parent. He also says little Asada was very well behaved.

Perhaps some side cash for the professor now. Take whosever students and put them in the baby (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: Take your baby to school day.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, March fourth, 6:00 here in New York.

And we begin with breaking news because at least 23 people are dead after an outbreak of tornadoes rips through central Alabama. That death toll is expected to rise today.

Take a look at the catastrophic destruction in Lee County. Here is an entire neighborhood wiped out. You can see cars crushed, buildings leveled, debris littering the streets.

Georgia is also reeling at this hour. At least a dozen tornadoes hit that state causing widespread destruction there.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And this is just one part of the weather story this morning. At this moment, the whole Northeast is being hit by a winter storm. Some 80 million people waking up under winter weather alerts.

More than a foot of snow has fallen in some places already. Public schools are closed here in New York City and in Boston. The morning commute is going to be a mess. We're going to stay on top of that.

But our main concern at this moment is this tornado. Let's begin with CNN's Kaylee Hartung live in Lee County, Alabama -- Kaylee.

HARTUNG: John, just five minutes. That's how little lead time some people here in Lee County, Alabama had before the first of two deadly tornadoes.

END