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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New Zealand To Ban Assault Weapons; Department of Justice Investigating Approval Of Boeing Jet; A Critical Day For Brexit; Crews Scramble To Save Cycle Survivors In Mozambique; Robert Kraft Wants To Keep Spa Videos From His Solicitation Case Sealed. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 21, 2019 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:55] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACINDA ARDERN, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand will ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, New Zealand vows to outlaw assault weapons. Decisive action just six days after an attack that killed 50.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Was it ever safe to fly the Boeing 737 MAX? The Department of Justice now on the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted. I don't care about this -- I didn't get a thank you. That's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: He simply can't let go. For the fourth time in five days, the president tramples on John McCain's grave.

ROMANS: Robert Kraft wants video and other evidence from his solicitation case kept under wraps.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs, 5:31 Eastern time. That gives you about seven hours to fill out the brackets before games begin at noon.

ROMANS: All right.

BRIGGS: We start, though, overseas -- the swift and decisive action from the prime minister of New Zealand less than a week after 50 people were killed in two Christchurch mosques. Jacinda Ardern is overhauling her country's gun laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARDERN: New Zealand will ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles. We will ban all high- capacity magazines. We will ban all parts with the ability to convert semiautomatic or any other type of firearm into a military-style semiautomatic weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Prime Minister Ardern also announcing a buyback program to encourage New Zealanders who own automatic weapons to surrender them.

Let's go live to Christchurch and bring in CNN's Ivan Watson. Ivan, we've talked all week about the remarkably quick action here. Is there any opposition that you can sense to this gun action by the prime minister?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We haven't heard it yet. Her deputy prime minister used to be against these types of gun control laws and he quickly, after last Friday's terror attacks, came out in support.

We talked to an Auckland rifle club. They came out in support. The New Zealand Police Association has endorsed this. And the prime minister seems convinced that she has the country's support behind her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARDERN: And we, as a government, feel absolutely confident that the vast majority of New Zealanders will support this change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So how is this going to work? How do you get people in a country where there are an estimated 1.2 million guns -- we don't know how many of those fit into the new banned categories, but how do they hand them over?

Well, the authorities are urging people to voluntarily surrender then, and they say there's going to be a buyback scheme that could cost New Zealand around anywhere between $70 million and $140 million U.S. dollars.

They say they're going to put up a site where people can register their weapons with the police, starting this weekend. And they say that they are taking measures to prevent the possible stockpiling of weapons that have now been banned. They're also banning parts and the larger magazines that could carry more rounds that could cause more damage.

Again, there are a lot of firearms in this country. Everybody I've spoken to anecdotally here in Christchurch -- this traumatized city -- has told me they support these measures that have come so quickly before even all of the victims of last Friday's terror attacks have even been buried -- Christine, Dave. BRIGGS: Of course, no action here in the United States.

ROMANS: No.

BRIGGS: Ivan Watson live for us in Christchurch tonight. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Joining us this morning for the very first time, Elaina Plott, White House correspondent for "The Atlantic" and a CNN political analyst. Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. The early bird gets the worm, we like to say here --

ELAINA PLOTT, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you for having me.

ROMANS: -- so you're going to have a great day ahead of you because you're all read in.

Look, this action -- this swift action in New Zealand -- just really puts into sharp contrast here the United States and how many terrible mass shootings we have had in this country and there's been little action.

[05:35:02] And this is what "The Washington Post" said in an opinion piece from its editorial board.

"In Washington, the modest push for universal background checks for gun purchases that passed the House faces an uphill struggle in the Senate and veto threats from the White House, even though it has the support of most Americans. Once again, the U.S. political system looks feckless compared with other democracies."

What do you make of that?

PLOTT: You know, it's insane, I think, to consider the contrast between what we were seeing in the House three weeks ago, which was not an overwhelming support for universal background checks but a pretty easy margin for House Democrats in passing that in their chamber.

President Trump, of course, it was not two days after the Parkland mass shooting last February that he told lawmakers that he would very much support universal background checks. He even floated the idea of raising the gun ownership age from 18 to 21.

And, you know, when those contrasts are studied with a place like New Zealand, which doesn't experience nearly as many mass shootings as we do, you have wonder if our lawmakers are just kind of grappling with the constitutional or lobbying implications anymore of passing gun control in any way, but if it's more just about we've become numb to it.

ROMANS: I thought after Sandy -- I thought after Sandy Hook that there would be something done and those --

BRIGGS: I think we all did. Those are children. ROMANS: -- children are now -- would now have been middle-schoolers and there's been no meaningful move forward. So it just shows New Zealand and the U.S. very, very different on this.

BRIGGS: Yes. Don't hold your breath on gun legislation here.

I want to talk about, though, the president's latest airing of grievances as he continues to fire away at the late Sen. John McCain. Here's what he said when he went to Ohio to talk about his economic accomplishments and national security. Instead, the message became this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I endorsed him at his request and I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted which, as president, I had to approve. I don't care about this -- I didn't get a thank you. That's OK. We sent him on the way.

But I wasn't a fan of John McCain. So now, what we could say is now --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: If the president was expecting applause in that room he did not get them.

ROMANS: No.

BRIGGS: Needless to say, there were military veterans and active in the room.

Is this another example of how the president stomps on his own message, and does he think he has a winning fight here as we move towards 2020?

PLOTT: You know, I was talking to a former senior White House official in the last few days. Of course, a lot of the vitriol directed toward McCain began over the weekend when Trump on his now somewhat infamous Twitter spree.

This former official told me that this weekend was especially hard for Trump because he often takes refuge in Fox News after a particularly trying week, which last week was. What he saw though is the fact that Judge Jeanine had been put on hold and that the two news anchors were not necessarily favorable to him. So it really worked him up in a way that I think has bled into this week.

But talk to Republican operatives. Talk even to those in the White House and his rally in Ohio really emblematized this. He mentioned very briefly the fact that our GDP is great right now. Unemployment rate -- our unemployment rate is quite low. This is the kind of message that traditionally does quite well when a president is looking to his reelection campaign.

Trump, though, two years into his presidency, can't seem to manage to stay on that. And I think at this point it's less about whether he thinks his attacks on McCain make for a winning message as it is a personal grievance --

ROMANS: Right.

PLOTT: -- he just feels compelled to air, no matter the consequences.

ROMANS: And it's so fascinating to me because every time he goes on the attack against John McCain, it's a reminder that McCain is war hero and Trump is not. He's the opposite, you know. He fought hard not to go to Vietnam.

You know, it's just a reminder every time he brings it up.

And you're right about the economy. He -- 71 percent of Americans polled by CNN this week said that the economy is good. But, Trump --

BRIGGS: But his approval rating is just over 40 percent.

ROMANS: I think because of things like this, right? Because of things like he gets off message of his successes of the administration and that is self-inflicted.

PLOTT: I think that's exactly right because Americans ultimately -- when they think about how they perceive Donald Trump in a more zeitgeist sense --

ROMANS: Yes.

PLOTT: -- they're not thinking so much about GDP statistics, right? They're thinking about the fact that they just saw him on T.V. in a room full of veterans trash a late war hero. This is not even a current person we deem a war hero.

ROMANS: Who can speak for himself, right.

PLOTT: Exactly. McCain -- you know, McCain passed months ago and the fact that this is something that Trump still feels the need to litigate and can't kind of quash and put to rest personally, really does say something.

[05:40:04] ROMANS: And it's not just McCain.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: It's George Conway and it's one after another --

BRIGGS: But, the silence of Republicans --

ROMANS: -- of grievances, right.

BRIGGS: -- is an issue.

I mean, other than Mitt Romney and Johnny Isakson, some words from Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell. But you're talking about 51 Senate Republicans and less than a handful have spoken up to draw a line to this president. That says an awful lot, too.

Elaina Plott, great to have you here on the program.

ROMANS: Come back soon.

BRIGGS: Come back and see us.

PLOTT: Thank you for having me.

ROMANS: All right, 40 minutes past the hour.

Let's talk about Boeing here. Was the Boeing 737 MAX 8 ever safe to fly?

The Justice Department has issued several subpoenas into Boeing's certification and marketing of the 737 MAX line.

The FAA and others say data from the Lion Air crash in October is similar to the Ethiopian Airlines crash last week. Nearly 350 people were killed in those two crashes.

Justice correspondent Evan Perez has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, Justice Department prosecutors have issued multiple subpoenas as part of an investigation into Boeing's certification and marketing of 737 MAX aircraft. Now, this is the plane that's been involved in two fatal crashes in less than six months.

Sources tell us that the investigation is in its early stages and that it began after the Indonesia crash of Lion Air 737 MAX in October.

Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao, this week, also asked the agency's inspector general to investigate the MAX certification.

Criminal investigators have sought information from Boeing on the plane's safety and certification procedures, including training manuals for pilots, along with how the company marketed the new aircraft.

Now, it's not clear what possible criminal laws could be at issue in the probe. Among the things that investigators are looking into is a process by which Boeing, itself, certified the plane as safe and the data that it gave to the FAA about that self-certification.

A Boeing spokesperson said that the company does not respond or comment on questions regarding legal matters.

Now, the planes have been grounded worldwide after the crash last week of a MAX aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines -- Christine, Dave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Evan. Thank you for that. To money, now.

Ford is investing big in electric and self-driving cars. Ford announced a $900 million investment at its plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. It plans to add 900 jobs in the state.

Ford will invest $850 million to produce electric cars. Fifty million is earmarked for self-driving technology.

Now, the announcement comes after Tesla debuted its second electric SUV, the Tesla Model Y -- there it is -- over the weekend.

Ford has teased a possible electric Mustang-inspired crossover at the same time -- at the very same time that Musk began that Model Y event -- tweeting, "Hold your horses" with the simple image of the famous sports car's pony logo outlined in blue against a black backdrop.

Ford is already working on another pure electric vehicle. The still unnamed SUV will be assembled at a plant in Mexico starting next year.

BRIGGS: All of that another example of the message the president stepped on yesterday by --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- going after John McCain.

Ahead, the mom behind a popular "Fantastic Adventure" YouTube channel facing serious charges. What police say she did to the kids when they flubbed their lines.

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[05:48:15] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, PRIME MINISTER OF UNITED KINGDOM: The deal is good for this country. It delivers Brexit and it shall be supported.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: It is a critical day for Brexit with just eight days to go until Britain is scheduled to leave the E.U. Prime Minister Theresa May travels to European Union headquarters in Brussels. She'll request an extension of next Friday's deadline.

Now, what happens if all sides agree and what happens if they don't?

CNN's Phil Black joins us from outside Parliament -- Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine.

So, Prime Minister Theresa May wants to extend the Brexit deadline by a few months, to the end of June. That's what she's asking for and it seems that the European Union -- its leaders are open to that or something around that length. They're going to thrash out the details in Brussels today, but we know they're going to attach a very strict condition.

That extension will not be made official. It will not be confirmed unless Theresa May is able to come back to Parliament here in London and convince a majority of members to back the divorce agreement that her government has negotiated with the European Union.

Now, that's a really big challenge because Parliament has already rejected that deal twice and rejected it by pretty spectacular, really humiliating numbers. The only thing that's really changed now is that the deadline is so much closer.

So if she's able to pass that deal next week, she'll then have a couple of extra months in order to put everything into place -- put everything in a row so that Brexit can happen relatively smoothly.

If she can't get it through next week, then the default position remains Brexit on March the 29th, with or without a deal because as it stands, that's what British law says. It's been written into law and unless that happens -- unless it is changed within the next week or so, then Britain is -- well, looking very much at that potential no- deal scenario which everyone fears because of the predicted dire economic consequences, Christine.

[05:50:12] ROMANS: A lot of no good solutions there. All right, thank you so much for that, Phil Black.

BRIGGS: OK. Rescue crews are scrambling to save some 10,000 survivors of Tropical Storm Idai who are clinging to rooftops in Mozambique. The threat of floodwaters rising further as heavy rain continues in hard-hit areas.

CNN's Farai Sevenzo on the ground in Beira, Mozambique.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When CNN landed at Beira International Airport just about a few minutes ago, you could see the scene as it was at this place, which was the first landfall of Cyclone Idai.

There were several choppers belonging to humanitarian agencies. The South African Defense Force were here, as was a helicopter from the World Food Program.

Then you entered the airport and you see a massive wall with rudimentary written words in dire response. And in there, according to the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations, there are over 22 international organizations that have come to do this Idai response. The response, of course, comes about a week after the cyclone hit and puts so many people's lives in peril.

But this is where it first hit in Beira. It then moved on upcountry and created what people are calling inland oceans, which is masses -- massive bodies of water throughout Mozambique. And it went on to Zimbabwe where it crushed people in their sleep by breaking down massive mountains.

And, of course, it is quite unclear how many people have been killed -- what the death toll is in either Mozambique or Zimbabwe and, indeed, in Malawi.

So at that the moment, as we are here in Beira, we're trying to see the extent of the damage for ourselves and, of course, what can be done to rescue people that still need lifting from very heavily drowned and watered-down villages in and throughout the interior of these three nations.

Farai Sevenzo, CNN, Beira, Mozambique.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: Farai Sevenzo there, thank you.

We'll be right back.

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[05:56:22] BRIGGS: Five fifty-six Eastern time.

And, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft could appear at the White House before he appears in court to face solicitation charges. According to "Politico," President Trump wants Kraft to join his players at the White House to celebrate the Pats Super Bowl victory.

No date has been set but White House aides are concerned Kraft's presence could turn a feel-good photo op into an embarrassing media spectacle.

ROMANS: Attorneys for Kraft and more than a dozen other defendants charged in a prostitution sting at a Florida day spa are asking that evidence, including surveillance video from that spa, not be released to the public.

A source says Kraft will not accept a plea deal from Florida prosecutors. They offered to drop charges in exchange for an admission. He would have been found guilty at trial.

Kraft has denied any illegal activity.

BRIGGS: The mom behind a popular YouTube channel has been arrested for mistreating her kids, including pepper-spraying them when they flubbed their lines. Prosecutors in Arizona charging Machelle Hobson with crimes, including child molestation and abuse.

An adorable cast of adopted kids helped her "Fantastic Adventures" channel rack up more than 250 million views before YouTube pulled it down following Hobson's arrest.

ROMANS: A welfare check last week found she withheld food and water for days at a time. She punished the kids by forcing them to take ice baths and locking them in an empty closest.

Police say Hobson denied punishing the children beyond spankings, grounding or making them stand in a corner.

Hobson's adult sons, Logan and Ryan Hackney, also appeared in those videos. They have been charged with failing to report this abuse.

BRIGGS: The Devin Nunes cow Twitter account now has more followers than the very congressman who sued it. Before Nunes sued, the account had about 1,000 followers. It now has well over a half a million. Nunes' verified Twitter account has 396,000 followers.

The congressman filed a $250 million lawsuit Tuesday accusing the cow account and two others of defamation.

ROMANS: One headline said, "Devin Nunes is having a cow" over the Twitter spoof.

A bizarre streak of light spotted over downtown Los Angeles lit up social media. There was, of course, plenty of speculation over what this was -- aliens, even meteors.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: It turns out it was a pair of wingsuit flyers. The LAPD tweeting, assuring folks it was not a fireball crashing into Tinseltown. It was all just part of a film shoot.

BRIGGS: No winners in the Wednesday night Powerball drawing. That means the jackpot swells to $625 million Saturday night, making it the fourth-largest in the game's history.

No one has hit the Powerball jackpot since December. The winning numbers from last night -- 10, 14, 50, 53 and 63 -- 21 as the Powerball.

You're not playing. I'm playing --

ROMANS: Just put a little more in the 529.

BRIGGS: -- and you're not getting any sharing.

ROMANS: Put a little more in the 529. Don't gamble it away like that.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, March 21st, 6:00 here in New York.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me.

And we are waking up to breaking news thousands of miles away that will stir new debate and controversy here in the United States. The government of New Zealand announced a ban on all military-style

semiautomatic weapons, assault rifles, and high-capacity magazines. This action comes just six days after the terror attack there that relied on these capabilities to massacre 50 people praying in two mosques -- six days.

By comparison, the murders at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater were in July 2012. Sandy Hook Elementary School, December 2012.

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