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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Beto O'Rourke Enters Presidential Race 2020; Huge Winter Storm Slams Rockies; FAA Grounds All Boeing 737 MAX Planes. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 14, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: And the Republican Senate poised to rebuke the president on his national emergency. A last-minute compromise effort on presidential powers falls apart. A vote with major implications for the party today.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
DEAN: Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
DEAN: It is 30 minutes past the hour.
Beto O'Rourke is ready to run. The former Texas congressman is in Iowa for three days of events and he already confirmed he's entering the race for president.
In a text message to CNN affiliate KTSM in El Paso, O'Rourke telling the station, quote, "I'm really proud of what El Paso did and what El Paso represents. It's a big part of why I'm running." Before that, O'Rourke told "Vanity Fair," "You can probably tell that I want to run. I do. I think I'd be good at it. This is the fight of our lives, not the fight of my political life kind of crap. I want to be in it, man. I'm just born to be in it."
(LAUGHTER)
BRIGGS: That is quite a quote.
DEAN: It's quite a quote. Yes.
BRIGGS: All right. O'Rourke is a red-state Democrat who lost a tight race to Senator Ted Cruz in November but the election launched him into the national spotlight raising a whopping $80 million, shattering previous Senate records. 44 percent of that money came from out of state.
O'Rourke joins a primary field of more than a dozen Democratic candidates. He says there is an overrepresentation of white men in government and he will have a campaign and eventual administration that reflects the nation's diversity.
DEAN: A ferocious so-called bomb cyclone leaving behind a major mess in the Rockies and the plains this morning. About 1100 motorists stranded in Colorado. One official said the heavy snow driven by hurricane-force winds had emergency personnel in full saving lives mode. The conditions so severe officers were forced to abandon their vehicles and take shelter instead of responding to many accidents.
BRIGGS: In Weld County north of Denver, State Patrol Corporal Daniel Groves was struck and killed by a car while assisting a driver whose car slid off the interstate. Near Wellington in northern Colorado, the blizzard triggered this huge 100-car pile-up on I-25 and it killed electric power to at least 184,000 Colorado customers.
Denver International Airport providing blankets to hundreds of passengers stranded when all runways were closed due by low visibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to get to the hotel downtown and I can't get an Uber, so it's pretty difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a hotel but we can't get there because of the blizzard. So we're just going to camp down here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ended up waiting three hours. And then finally, we came back and now we're waiting for our baggage, but it's still on the plane so we can't really get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Overnight four of the six runways reopened. In weather this tough, though, the question is, who rescues the rescuers? The answer in Parker, Colorado, was firefighters who freed this police vehicle that got stuck.
In New Mexico, high winds helped derail a 26 car freight train near the town of Logan. But amazingly no injuries were reported. The storm now heads east. You can expect a messy rest of the week.
Here's meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Jessica and Dave. This bomb cyclone has it all, from a full-on blizzard across the northern and central plains with a flood threat across the Great Lakes and windy conditions throughout the Ohio and Mississippi River Valley. This storm system has covered all the potential weather hazards one could imagine.
Now you can see just how expansive it is on our satellite imagery. Looks like someone placed a hurricane right in the middle of the central U.S. And look at these winds. They totaled over 100 miles per hour in parts of Texas with gusts in the 90-mile-per-hour range across northeastern Colorado.
The storm system continues to move east where we get a lot of warm air drifting in from the south and that's going to fire off a few severe thunderstorms later today. Some of which could produce isolated tornadoes. Indianapolis, Nashville, all the way to Huntsville, keep an eye to the sky. 55 in the big apple today, 72 for the nation's capital. 62 for Chicago. The seven-day forecast shows a cool-down for the big apple next week.
Back to you.
BRIGGS: Derek, thank you, my friend.
A sudden reversal by the Trump administration on Boeing 737 MAX planes. They are now grounded while more information is gathered about that crash of an Ethiopian's airlines jet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We didn't have to make this decision today. We could have delayed it. We maybe didn't have to make it at all but I felt -- I felt it was important, both psychologically and in a lot of other ways.
Boeing is an incredible company. They are working very, very hard right now and hopefully they'll very quickly come up with the answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The decision affecting thousands of travelers across the U.S. Long lines at airports Wednesday as people scrambled to find new flights.
[04:35:03] The president says new information about the Ethiopia crash led to the grounding of the Boeing jets. That includes disturbing similarities between two deadly crashes in the last five months.
CNN's Martin Savidge at Hartsfield, Jackson, airport in Atlanta.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Good morning, Jessica.
The FAA had been under increasing pressure, especially after nation after nation had begun grounding the MAX 8 aircraft. And it was increasingly clear that the United States was finding itself more and more isolated in its decision to allow the aircraft to continue to fly.
Now we've been getting clarification from the FAA as to what exactly went into this abrupt about-face and now they are saying the agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed. And they also say that this evidence, together with newly-refined satellite data available to the FAA, led to the decision.
We don't know what the new evidence was that was gathered at the crash site in Ethiopia, but we do know that new satellite data because the Canadians referred to it as well when they grounded the aircraft. And it's essentially, they took the trajectory of the Ethiopian Airliner that crashed on the weekend and matched it up against the trajectory of the Lion Air flight that crashed in October, and they found a disturbing number of similarities.
The FAA says that combined with some other information they received was what led to them saying, finally, that the aircraft should be grounded while the investigation continues -- Dave and Jessica.
DEAN: Martin, thank you.
Former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker accused of changing his story on his contacts with President Trump about the Michael Cohen case. Cohen has implicated the president in two federal crimes.
Whitaker met privately with members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to clear up some issues with his public testimony from last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW WHITAKER, FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: At no time has the White House asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel's investigation or any other investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: After meeting with Whitaker, though, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler called him out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss Michael Cohen -- the Michael Cohen case and personnel decisions in the Southern District.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: These new accusations raised questions about whether Whitaker was given the job as acting attorney general because the president wanted to install an ally who could reign in all these federal investigations. The top Republican the committee, Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia pushing back against Nadler. He claims there is no evidence Whitaker discussed the Cohen case with the president.
DEAN: The Senate is poised to rebuke President Trump over his national emergency declaration on the southern border. Utah Senator Mike Lee was leading a compromise attempt among Senate Republicans but he announced his effort was dead after hearing directly from the president that his compromise was not acceptable. The deal would have curtailed presidential emergency powers going forward.
BRIGGS: Lee one of five Republicans to publicly say he will vote against the national emergency declaration. The number could end up higher but the Senate would still need two-thirds to overturn Trump's promised veto. It would be the second rebuke in as many days from the Republican-led Senate which voted Wednesday to curtail U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. DEAN: The measure now goes to the House. The vote marks the
disapproval of Trump's Mideast policies, including his support for Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has been implicated in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
BRIGGS: President Trump's former top economist Gary Cohn gave a look at disagreements over that tariffs in the administration that led to his eventual resignation. Cohn told the Freeconomics podcast he was at odds with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House Trade adviser Peter Navarro over tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY COHN, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Tariffs don't work. If anything they hurt the economy because if you're a typical American worker, you have a finite amount of income to spend. If you have to spend more on the necessity products that you need to live, you have less to spend on the services that you want to buy and you definitely don't have anything left over to save.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Cohn also recalled futile attempts to dissuade Trump from applying the new tariffs which helped launch a global trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHN: I was losing the war on tariffs every day with the president. I knew I wasn't convincing him I was right. I was not going to take a 74-year-old man who's believed something since he was 30 and convince him that I was right. Believe me, I tried.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Tried and failed. So far tariffs on steel and aluminum have not led to what the president wants, a reduction in trade deficit.
[04:40:04] The U.S. trade deficit hit a 10-year high last year growing to $621 billion.
DEAN: The college admissions scandal renewing claims rich students get elite spots over more deserving students. Overnight one college saying it's ready to turn away students linked to cheating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Paul Manafort facing 7 1/2 years behind bars and a new set of criminal charges. President Trump's former campaign chairman appearing at his second sentencing in as many weeks. He apologized for his actions and asked for leniency so he could take care of his wife, but the judge made him pay for his public posturing and his crimes.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordering Manafort to serve an additional 43 months on federal conspiracy and obstruction charges. That's on top of the 47-month sentence he already received in Virginia for financial crimes.
[04:45:06] BRIGGS: With credit for time served and good behavior, Manafort could be released in about six years. Even after the judge criticized the defense for arguing there was no collusion, Manafort's lawyer still said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN DOWNING, PAUL MANAFORT'S ATTORNEY: Judge Jackson conceded that there was absolutely no evidence of any Russian collusion in this case. So that makes two courts --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Manafort is a traitor.
DOWNING: Two courts --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a traitor.
DOWNING: -- have ruled no evidence --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traitor.
DOWNING: -- of any collusion with any Russian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Credit the heckler for pointing out the lie there. Moments after the hearing, the Manhattan district attorney unveiled a new case against Manafort alleging business and mortgage fraud. President Trump cannot pardon him on those because they are state charges. Only a governor can do that and you can safely assume Governor Cuomo will not.
New fallout from the college admissions scandal. Operation Varsity Blues. The University of Southern California announcing all applicants linked to the cheating scheme will be denied admission and a case by case review will be conducted for students who are already enrolled.
DEAN: One of those students is the daughter of Lori Loughlin. The actress and her husband designer Mossimo Giannulli are charged with felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Loughlin appearing in federal court in Los Angeles after turning herself in. Judge Steve Kim setting bond at $1 million.
Federal prosecutors described a corrupt exchange of wealth, fame and influence for student admissions to the nation's most elite universities.
BRIGGS: The man who allegedly took admission tests for students or replaced their answers with his own to boost their scores says he's, quote, "profoundly sorry." Mark Riddell is charged with conspiracy and says he understands how his actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process. This case is renewing concerns among parents and students that those
who play by the rules are losing precious seats at elite universities to unqualified students from families with money and influence.
DEAN: New this morning, New York City Police investigating the fatal shooting of a high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family, Frank Cali. Police say officers responded to a 911 call Wednesday night at Cali's home on Staten Island. They found the 53-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds. Law enforcement officials say Cali was believed to be the acting boss of the Gambino family. Police have made no arrests so far.
BRIGGS: A body found on the side of the road in North Carolina has been identified as a missing mom. It's not the first time her husband has been widowed. Authorities say all signs point to foul play in Diana Alejandra Keel's death. A homicide investigation has been launched. Keel's husband Lynn was questioned and released this week. According to CNN affiliate WRAL, Lynn Keel's previous wife, Elizabeth, also died at the same home in January 2006. At the time of her death was ruled an accident but expect that case to get a second look.
DEAN: Nineteen employees are suing UPS . They claim they suffered repeated racial discrimination on the job and the company did nothing to stop it. Workers at the UPS distribution center in Maumee, Ohio, say nooses were hung above about the workstation of an African- American employee, a monkey doll dressed as a UPS worker was publicly displayed and the "N" word was frequently used in the workplace.
UPS says it promptly investigated and took swift disciplinary action. The workers also accuse the company of denying black employees opportunities for advancement. Lawyers are asking a judge to reward each of them at least $25,000 in damages.
BRIGGS: The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on e- cigarettes. The agency releasing a policy draft that could take some flavored products off the market. The measure would take action against stores selling flavored e-cigarette products that are accessible to minors as well as Web sites selling them without verifying a buyer's age. The FDA also wants to move the key deadline limiting how long products can stay on shelves without premarket review. The draft policy requires 30 days of comment before it can be finalized.
March Madness is in full swing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rejected by Woolridge. At the buzzer. Got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: How about that, Ryan Woolridge of North Texas blocks the shot then beats the buzzer from the opposite free-throw line. Take another look at that. This is the first round of the Conference USA Tournament. North Texas over Florida International, 71-57. What a shot. Congratulations to him. All right. Coming up, how much would you pay for 5g connection in
your area? Verizon is hoping just 10 bucks. CNN Business has the details next.
[04:50:01]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: 4:54 Eastern Time. Electricity has finally been restored to Venezuela after a power outage plunged the country into darkness for more than a week. The incident left many homes without water and triggered chaos in hospitals.
CNN teams on the ground say power has been restored in many parts of Caracas, but not everywhere. Nicolas Maduro's regime says the embattled president wants work activities to resume throughout the country.
DEAN: The regime accused supporters of the opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido of trying to bring down the electrical grid by plugging in all their appliances. The U.S. has attributed the outage to the Maduro regime's incompetence.
[04:45:01] BRIGGS: No end in sight to the global outages, though, plaguing Facebook. Analyst believed it could be the biggest interruption ever experienced by the social network and its apps which include Instagram. Partial outages affect users from the U.S., Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Facebook forced to turn to its rival Twitter to explain that his collection of wildly popular apps or having issues.
DEAN: And breaking overnight the "New York Times" reporting Facebook is under criminal investigation over its data sharing deals. The company had data sharing arrangements with more than 150 companies and its partners were able to access user data without getting consent. A Facebook spokesperson tells CNN Business the company is cooperating with investigators.
BRIGGS: Has late-night comedy become too partisan? Former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno weighed in this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: I kind of used Johnny's mode. People couldn't figure out whether you're in the Republican fence. Hello, Mr. Leno, you and your Democratic buddies. I will -- and I would get hate mails from both sides equally and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's fabulous.
LENO: That's exactly what I want. But when people see you as one sided, it just makes it tough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: President Trump naturally seized on that and Jimmy Kimmel responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW": The president was tapping his tiny little fingers to weigh in on of all things late- night comedy shows this morning. He wrote, "Jay Leno points out that comedy on the very boring late-night shows is totally one-sided. It's tough when there's only one topic @Fox&Friends. Actually the one- sided hatred on each shows is incredible and for me unwatchable."
What a snowflake. But remember --
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: "But remember, we are number one president."
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: I don't want to talk about Donald Trump every night. None of us do. None of us who host these shows do but he gives us no choice. If he sat in the White House all day quietly working on things, I would almost never mention him because he's not interesting. Before 10:00 this morning, his former campaign chairman was sentenced to prison for the second time in a week. He called himself the most successful president in history and he tweeted to let people know his wife hasn't been replaced with a body double.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: Not supposed to mention that? That's --
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: Obama wore mom jeans one time we made jokes about it for six straight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Good point.
Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Global markets are mixed this morning. Asian markets closed mostly lower after data showed growth and China industrial output fell to a 17-year low. European markets up and slightly higher amid Brexit confusion. And on Wall Street the Dow finished 148 points higher Wednesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both increased just under 1 percent.
It's been a brutal year for two big drug store companies. Walgreen's stock down almost 10 percent this year making it the worst performer in the Dow. CVS performing even worse, down nearly 14 percent. Both chains are facing significant challenges, but for far different reasons.
Walgreen's was recently put on notice by the FDA for selling more cigarettes to minors than any other drug store. CVS shares have tanked over worries about its merger with insurance giant Aetna. One problem they have in common, completion from Amazon and Walmart. The two retail giants offer products at lower prices than the drug stores and Amazon recently bought online pharmacy pill pack.
How much would you pay for a 5g connection? Well, Verizon is hoping at least 10 more bucks per month. The carrier will start offering 5g service in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis next month. The service will be offered for free to Verizon customers for the first three months. After that, it will cost them $10 more per month than 4g. The service will only work, though, on Verizon's the Moto Z 3 and require a new attachment which snaps on to the phone.
There isn't a phone available to U.S. customers that can operate independently on 5g yet. Last month Samsung announced its first ever 5g smartphone that will be available to Verizon customers later this year.
DEAN: Well, all right then. All right. EARLY START continues right now.
Ready to run. Beto O'Rourke is about to join the 2020 race.
BRIGGS: A bomb cyclone makes a mess at the Rockies. The system moving east. And a messy rest of the week in store.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hopefully they'll very quickly come up with the answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Concerning similarities found in data on two separate plane crashes. The U.S. now grounding all Boeing 737 MAX planes.
BRIGGS: And the Republican Senate poised to rebuke the president on his national emergency as a last-minute compromise effort on presidential powers falls apart.
We'll also have the latest on Operation Varsity Blues. That crazy college admissions scandal.
DEAN: Yes. Unbelievable.
BRIGGS: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
DEAN: Hi, everyone.
