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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Ethiopian Crash Probe Continues; State Department Pulling Personnel from Venezuela; Pelosi Against Impeachment; More Damaging Audio of Tucker Carlson; U.S. Warns Germany Against Using Chinese Tech Giant; Russell Westbrook Confronts Utah Fans. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired March 12, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The Boeing 737 MAX 8 can keep flying, but more airlines and countries are halting the flights following another crash.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, the State Department will pull all personnel out of Venezuela. Options are narrowing as for what comes next.
BRIGGS: The House speaker believes the president is unfit for office, but doesn't want him impeached. Some Democrats disagree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, FOX NEWS, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": Iraq is a crappy place filled with a bunch of, you know, semiliterate primitive monkeys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: And more disgusting audio of Tucker Carlson resurfaces.
[05:00:02] Will Fox News stand behind him?
Good morning to you. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Jessica Dean.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
And good morning to all of you. I'm Dave Briggs. Tuesday, March 12th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
People around the world concerned following that deadly crash over the weekend. That is where we start this morning. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 can stay in the air despite growing calls to keep it on the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration declining to ground the Boeing following two recent crashes. Investigators have not determined whether the same problem caused Sunday's crash of an Ethiopian airlines plane and Lion Air jet of the same type last October.
DEAN: Boeing confirmed that it will deploy a software upgrade for the MAX 8. It's been in the works since the Lion Air crash. That announcement came a few hours after the FAA said it is mandating design changes to the aircrafts flight control systems after the Lion Air crash last year, Boeing CEO stood by the 737 Max 8.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS MUILENBURG, PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, AND CEO, THE BOEING COMPANY: What's very important is that the 737 MAX is safe. We're very confident in that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Overnight, several airlines and entire countries temporarily suspended operation of the 737 MAX 8. Australia moments ago joining the list that include Singapore, Aeromexico, Aerolineas Argentinas on top of Indonesia and all of China.
U.S.-based carriers sticking with the Boeing model. American Airlines flies 24, Southwest 34. And they will continue to do so. Neither is changing cancellation, flight change or their refund policies.
DEAN: Experts' opinions on whether to fly the 737 MAX 8 are mixed. Former NTSB chief Jim Hall says Boeing should, quote, do the responsible thing and ground the plane until the cause is determined and any problems are addressed.
CNN's Farai Sevenzo is live in Nairobi, Kenya, at the airport where the doomed fly was supposed to land -- Farai.
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Jessica. It was supposed to land here and of course there is massive concern all around the world about the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
But what do Americans think, what have they heard or read about this airplane? Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STANLEY WILLIS, PASSENGER: People were nervous. Reading -- a lot of reading on the paper and also on the Internet. I don't think we have the option to change our mind.
JULIE BROUE, PASSENGER: I heard about the crash in Ethiopia but I had no clue that there was another crash within four months or so. I would prefer that they take a caution approach.
MORTY PLOTKIN, PASSENGER: I read it in the newspaper yesterday so we're fully aware. And we have flown on that plane prior and never had a problem. When your time is up, your time is up. There's nothing you can do about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEVENZO: Of course, 35 nations were affected, 157 dead from all over the planet. But we are starting to hear of the first Americans. And we know that Mel and Bennett Riffel were on that doomed flight. And also an American doctor, we don't quite whether she's American, but she came out of Tennessee State University's College of Medicine. And then an incredible story of a young Greek man Antonis Mavropoulus
who by shear accident of his punctuality, he was late getting for the plane, he screamed for them to get on the plane because they wouldn't let him on board that late into the day. And he posted on Facebook that my lucky day, and this is how he is still walking this Earth because he missed the flight.
And just one more thing, families here in Kenya still trying to identify their dead. Still a tragic story and we're still trying to find out why the plane went down.
DEAN: So heartbreaking. All right, Farai. Thank you.
BRIGGS: The tragic Ethiopian crash Sunday raising doubts on Wall Street about Boeing. The company's stock closed down 5 percent on Monday in the aftermath of the second deadly crash of its best selling 737 MAX 8 jet in five months. Even with Monday's losses, Boeing stock though is up 23 percent this year, making it the top gainer in the Dow.
Spirit Aerosystems which makes its fuselage closed down under 4 percent. The selloff reflected the serious crisis facing Boeing. Almost three quarters of its deliveries last year were 737 planes. Boeing plans to build 59 new MAX 8s each month in 2019. Boeing's future depends on the success of the MAX 8, its 4,700 unfilled orders. The 737 makes up 80 percent of Boeing order backlog.
DEAN: Breaking overnight, the State Department pulling all remaining diplomatic personnel out of the U.S. embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the decision reflects the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and he says, quote, the presence of U.S. diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on U.S. policy. In January, the State Department ordered all non- emergency employees to leave.
[05:05:03] BRIGGS: Venezuela's national assembly has officially approved a state of emergency at the request of self declared interim President Juan Guaido. Much of the country has been without power since last week. The state of emergency allows the assembly to seek international cooperation or foreign intervention. Guaido tells CNN's Patrick Oppmann this could include U.S. military intervention. The White House says all options remain on the table.
DEAN: Nancy Pelosi is in no hurry to impeach President Trump. The House speaker believes he is unfit for office, but in an interview with the "Washington Post" magazine, Pelosi says, quote: Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there is something to compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think that we should go down that path because it divides the country and he's just not worth it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: They wanted me to impeach President Bush for the Iraq War. I didn't believe in it then and I don't believe in it now. It divides the country -- unless there's some conclusive evidence that takes us to that place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: But a number of Pelosi's Democratic colleagues don't see it that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN YARMUTH (D), KENTUCKY: Impeachment means nothing if you don't use the power and begin the process. So, to me, it's not a question of whether, it's a question of when.
REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: You don't impeach Trump for him. You impeach Trump for the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Pelosi clearly faces a challenge getting everyone in her party on the same page. But House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has her back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, I'm going to wait to see what Bob Mueller produces. But I think the speaker is absolutely right that if the evidence isn't sufficient to win bipartisan support for this, putting the country through a failed impeachment is not a good idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The House Judiciary Committee has launched a sweeping investigation sending letters to 81 people and entities with ties to the president including the White House, the Justice Department, senior campaign officials, Trump organization officials and the president's sons. They are looking for evidence of possible corruption, obstruction of justice and abuses of power.
DEAN: New York senator and presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand is defending her handling of sexual harassment allegations in her Senate office. A female staffer working in Gillibrand's Senate office accused a senior aide, Abbas Malik, of sexual harassment in 2018. The woman resigned in protest over the way that she says Gillibrand and her top advisers handled her accusations.
But the senator is standing by her process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will always look to improve my processes with my new chief of staff, with her experience. We will look it see how we can improve. But this investigation was thorough and professional, and allegations were taken seriously from the very first day.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Malik was not fired until last week on an unrelated matter. He has yet to comment. Gillibrand has been a leading voice in Congress on combating sexual misconduct and is a focus of her presidential campaign.
DEAN: Facebook is reversing course and restoring ads placed by Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign, those ads called for the break up of Facebook, Amazon and Google, claiming the three tech giants have, quote, bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit and tilted the playing field in their favor.
A Facebook spokesperson says the ads were originally removed because of a policy against using the company's logo. Senator Warren responded with a tweet saying: Thanks for restoring my post, but I want a social media marketplace that isn't dominated by a single censor.
BRIGGS: A potential wild card in the Democratic 2020 field. Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House minority leader, rose to prominence last year in her failed bid to become the nation's first black female governor. After attending the South by Southwest Conference in Texas, Abrams tweeted: 20 years ago, I never thought I'd be ready to run for POTUS before 2028, but life comes at you fast. Now, 2020 is definitely on the table.
DEAN: Two other potential candidates keeping their options open. Joe Biden will address two labor organizations in Washington today. And former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke could be headed to Iowa as early as this weekend. One Democrat already in the race is getting a boost from his appearance on a CNN town hall. South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg raise $600,000 in donations in 24 hours after the broadcast.
Meantime, the Democratic Party announcing it has chosen Milwaukee for the site of its 2020 convention in July of 2020. It's a nod to Wisconsin, a state where Hillary Clinton failed to campaign in 2016.
BRIGGS: For the second time in two days, clips surface of Fox News host Tucker Carlson making offensive remarks. Media Matters for America published clips of the Fox News host using racist and homophobic language on a radio program between 2006 and 2011.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CARLSON: Iraq is a crappy place filled with a bunch of, you know, semiliterate primitive monkeys.
[05:10:05] I just have zero sympathy for them or their culture, a culture where people don't use toilet paper or forks.
THE LOVE SPONGE: Obama would kick your ass playing basketball.
CARLSON: Yes, of course he would. Basketball? Come on.
THE LOVE SPONGE: He's black -- say it. He's a real brother. Hey, do you think -- do you think the -- CARLSON: I don't know how black he is.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DEAN: Carlson has not yet commented on the latest round of clips, but they were released a day after audio surfaced of him expressing disturbing views on child rape, rape shield laws and underage marriage. Last night he said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: The great American outrage machine is a remarkable thing. It's a bewildering moment, especially when the quotes in question are more than a decade old. There's really not that much you can do to respond. It's pointless to try to explain how the words were spoken in jest or taken out of context, or in any case bear no resemblance to what you actually think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Fox News has not commented publicly on the Carlson controversy, but the host himself says Fox News remains behind him.
BRIGGS: All right. The U.S. warns a critical ally it could lose access to U.S. intelligence if it partners with the Chinese tech giant accused of stealing trade secrets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:31] DEAN: The Trump administration is warning about doing business with the Chinese tech giant Huawei. Administration officials claim Huawei stole trade secrets and violated Iran sanctions. And now, the U.S. is threatening to limit intelligence sharing with countries that use Huawei.
CNN's Sherisse Pham who visited Huawei headquarters last week is live in Hong Kong with more -- Sherisse.
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Jessica, beyond violating Iran sanctions, and beyond stealing tech from a U.S. rival, Washington is also incredibly concerned that Huawei's equipment could be used by Beijing to spy on other nations. And that is at the root of this letter to the German government. And as far as we know, this is the first time that the U.S. has sent such an explicit warning to a U.S. ally saying it is us or them.
If you choose Huawei, you will be limiting your access to U.S. intelligence. So, all of this, of course, happening against the broader back drop of a standoff between China and the United States over the technologies of the future and 5G is one of those technologies.
Huawei is a leader when it comes to 5G equipment and 5G for those of you who maybe have been living under a rock for the last few years, 5G is the ultra fast wireless network that is rolling out around the world and it will connect everything, sensitive data like smart cars and smart speakers and drones probably.
So, this is a really sensitive time and tech for the U.S. administration. And U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even last week saying look, countries who consider using Huawei need to consider the risks carefully, not naming the countries directly, but certainly a broader warning to U.S. allies like Germany and Canada and the U.K. all of whom are considering using Huawei in the build out of their 5G networks.
DEAN: Yes, more to come on that.
Sherisse, thank you so much.
BRIGGS: Some great context there, on just how crucial 5G is.
DEAN: Yes, that's right.
BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, players and fans mixing it up in the NBA. What got Russell Westbrook so angry? Andy Scholes right here in studio with the "Bleacher Report" at this interesting confrontation, my friend. Good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We'll talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:14] SCHOLES: Former UFC champ Conor McGregor arrested in Miami for smashing a fan's cellphone.
DEAN: Andy Scholes here with more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Hello.
SCHOLES: Hey, good morning, guys. Yeah, just another ugly incident involving the UFC star. According to police, McGregor was leaving a hotel early Monday morning when a 22-year-old man tried to take a picture of him. That's when police say McGregor slapped the phone out of his hand and stomped on it several times. McGregor then grabbed the phone and took it.
McGregor was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with strong arm robbery and criminal mischief, both of which are felonies. McGregor was released on bail late Monday night. McGregor's attorney said in a statement to CNN Sports, Conor McGregor was involved in a minor altercation that resulted in a call to law enforcement. Mr. McGregor appreciates the response of law enforcement and pledges his full cooperation.
The United States women's soccer team prepared to defend their title at this summer's World Cup. They're also preparing for a legal battle over equal pay. 28 members filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday. And CNN spoke to two of the stars of the team, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, they say they just want what's right. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: I'm very confident winning the case. Like I said to even bring a lawsuit to the forefront, you have to be sure as hell that your claims are solid.
ALEX MORGAN, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: What I look back on is the legacy that I leave and feeling proud of like the mark that I made on the sport, and I think that this will be just as great if not greater than the achievements we make on the field.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Thunder at the Jazz last night. And Russell Westbrook is getting into it with a fan and his wife sitting near the bench.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL WESTBROOK, POINT GUARD, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: You think I'm playing? I swear to God. I swear to God. I'll (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up -- you and your wife. I'll (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: The fans were issued a warning but not ejected from the game. And after the game, Westbrook, he addressed the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESTBROOK: Young man and his wife in the stands told me to get down on my knees like you used to. And to me, that is completely disrespectful. I think it is racial. I think it is inappropriate. There is no protection for the players.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And the Jazz issued a statement saying they will continue to investigate what happened. But players and fans have a shared responsibility to create a safe and respectful environment. And this comes up quite often.
BRIGGS: With the NBA in particular.
SCHOLES: These fans, I don't understand how they just think that they can say whatever they want, because they are court side, it won't matter, because they never would say to them out on the street, you know?
[05:25:01] DEAN: Yes.
BRIGGS: You wonder if that court side access at some point is rethought. I guess it can't be. It is part of the game.
SCHOLES: Just unfortunate.
BRIGGS: Fans have to act more responsible as well. Andy, good to see you, my friend.
DEAN: Thanks.
More airlines and countries halting flights of a new Boeing model following another crash, but the FAA says the 737 MAX 8 can keep flying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: The Boeing 737 MAX 8 can keep flying. But more airlines and countries are halting the flights following another crash.
BRIGGS: Breaking overnight, the State Department may pull all personnel out of Venezuela. The options are narrowing for what comes next.
DEAN: House speaker believes the president is unfit for office, but does not want him impeached yet. Some Democrats disagree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Iraq is a crappy place filled with a bunch of, you know, semiliterate primitive monkeys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: And more disgusting audio of Tucker Carlson resurfacing.
END
