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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Notre Dame, Symbol of Paris, Burns; Redacted Mueller Report Due on Thursday; Measles Spike. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 16, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:30] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A pillar of Paris for eight centuries ravaged by a fast-moving fire. Parts of Notre Dame Cathedral destroyed. A devastating start to Holy Week being felt around the world.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Dave Briggs.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's so hard to watch that. Just unbelievable.

I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, April 16th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the east. It is 10:00 a.m. in Paris.

And here is "Liberation" is calling their morning headline, "Notre Drame".

This is what Paris is waking up to, a realization that something is the core, literally the center of Paris is right there. That has now been gutted, a historic calamity for France and the world, a huge fire engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a symbol of the city that has stood for more than 800 years.

This blaze marring the Parisian skyline and threatening a powerful emblem of the Catholic faith just as Holy Week begins.

The fire burned for hours, destroying the Cathedral's iconic spire and roof before firefighters finally got it under control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrific. We heard the tower fall and it was the worst sound, and people screamed. It's so sad. Everyone's so sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Parisians and visitors brought literally to their knees as they watched Notre Dame burn. Some in the crowd hugging, others crying. Many just witnessing in hushed reverence, singing hymns there.

As the news broke on screens big and small, people around the world were united essentially in helplessness. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES JANEGA, U.S. TOURIST NEAR CATHEDRAL WHEN FIRE STARTED: I turned around and looked back. I gasped and saw this fire engulfed in flames. And from there we watched, as the rest of Paris watched, in silent shock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, the unique nature of the fire was especially challenging. It's a tall cathedral, centuries-old, an interior made entirely of wood. That meant standard firefighting equipment was no match as the inferno just grew and grew.

ROMANS: The pictures from inside this morning showing ash, smoke and just the vastness of history. Outside, the pair of bell towers immortalized in Victor Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" survived, along with the cathedral elaborate Gothic facade.

French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to rebuild.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is standing by live for us in Paris right now to rebuild. It's hard to even get our heads around the fact that this symbol of Paris has been gutted.

How are Parisians feeling this morning, Jim?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: I think pretty bad. Pretty bad and pretty sad. It's really a calamity, I think for this city. It's such a symbol for the city.

It's something we all know and passed by it, it's so familiar. You expect it's always going to be there. It's always been there. So, you really -- it's really just a real sense of loss and disbelief.

Now, as you mentioned, they are trying to determine now whether or not the parts of the cathedral can remain, can be built upon. Emmanuel Macron, the president, said last night, it was our destiny to rebuild this cathedral, so to sort of follow on to that, today they are expecting to see how solid the walls are for example. They are water soaked and the architect say they will have to wait to dry out a bit to sort of see how much damage they have taken in the fire and whether they can be built upon.

In terms of the items inside, many were rescued. It's amazing how many were taken out by firemen and police as the fire was burning. They have been put in a safe place, some stored in the city hall just across the river from Notre Dame.

They were able to get out, for example, the Crown of Thorns, which is a very famous relic, important in Easter Week because they bring it out in Easter Week, apparently it was saved. An ancient tunic was saved bringing to Louis IX of France, that was saved, and other valuable works.

But something weren't saved. For example, large tableaus, a lot of the paintings on the walls, 13 of them, were left behind, the organ, which itself was a historical monument, whether it's been saved or not, difficult to say, an incredibly huge renowned organ, 8,000 pipes, five keyboards, that delighted Parisians with Sunday afternoon concerts for many years, but unfortunately no more.

[04:05:05] And just to follow along with the idea of rebuilding, there has been a lot of talk this morning about contributions being made, and some of them are coming in. Ten million pledged by the regional government, 50 million euros pledged by the city government.

And then just a few hours ago, a statement issued by what is the richest family in France, everybody thinks, the Bernard Arnault family, who founded the LVMH, they pledged 200 billion euros to help rebuild Notre Dame -- Christine.

ROMANS: Right.

SANCHEZ: Jim Bittermann reporting live from Paris, it's hard to wrap your head around just how much was lost, because as Jim said, it's always been there, 850 plus years.

ROMANS: Yes, how do you replace carved panels of, you know, oak trees that were carved 500 years ago?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ROMANS: That's just irreplaceable.

Let's bring in Kobi Karp, award-winning architect and expert in structure and architectural history. He joins us live from Miami.

Good morning.

And, you know, just about any kid who's taking, you know, a design class or an architecture class is going to see those famous flying buttresses and learn about how the interior of the cathedral was allowed to be big and vast and open because of the architecture there. This is a really important place architecturally, isn't it?

KOBI KARP, AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECT: It's phenomenal opportunity for us to look at a cathedral which really belongs to the community of the world and the opportunity to come back and rebuild and restore this gorgeous, phenomenal piece of architecture is, as Emmanuel Macron said, this is really a step in the right direction, something we must move forward on.

SANCHEZ: Now, Kobi, we understand that there were renovations being done in Notre Dame as the fire broke out. Some suggested the renovations may have something to do with the blaze being sparked. When you hear that, what comes to mind?

KARP: Sadly, sadly so, these things do happen, and they do happen quite a bit. There is, though -- time that will tell. It seems as though a lot of the art work was saved and was pulled out, and we do have a great opportunity now with the records that we have kept to come back as a community and to rebuild and to restore and to bring back the cathedral to the way it was yesterday, the day before the fire.

SANCHEZ: Can you give us context in how that rebuilding may go about? How do you replace something that essentially, as Christine said, is irreplaceable?

KARP: Yes, it's very hard work. What we do have is the opportunity. We go back to the records and the way things were built. We have a photographic record, and we try to bring it back to the way it was, to the way it was on a daily basis.

We bring back the art and the way it was built and we do have an opportunity today, more so than ever before, we have the technology to put things together. We do it on a daily basis. We bring buildings and we bring the finishes and the materials within the buildings together the way they were.

This structure, specifically, which was built substantially and the damage that occurred to the wood timbers, a lot of that will be able to be put back together. Obviously, it will never, never be the way it was, original, because that has gone away. We have an ability to bring it back and restore it so that when you do come back into the cathedral, you do see the way it was originally.

ROMANS: Can I ask about fire proofing and fire prevention? You know, I mean, we just saw that fire moved so quickly, and clearly, there will be an investigation. It's very soon.

Were you surprised to see the flames gobble up the interior of the church so quickly?

KARP: I personally was, yes, because normally I would expect fire suppression, and the fire alarms to be connected to the fire prevention of this glorious structure. This is a public structure, and I would like to see hopefully in their rebuilding and their resurrection of this cathedral, a bit more fire protection, and bringing it up to the point where this event never ever happens again.

SANCHEZ: All right. Kobi Karp, an award winning architect, joining us from Miami to discuss the tragedy we saw yesterday in Paris. Kobi, thank you very much.

ROMANS: All right. A YouTube feature designed to combat misinformation was responsible for linking the Notre Dame fire to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While the fire was raging, multiple YouTube live streams featured a paragraph from the Encyclopedia Britannica providing background on 9/11. The company blames the mix up on algorithms and it removed links after the issue was flagged. It ruled out its fact checking after being criticized for recommending conspiracy videos following major news events.

[04:10:04] SANCHEZ: The nation's capital on edge as Bill Barr's edited version of the Mueller report is expected to go public on Thursday. Washington just watching and waiting for the redacted report to fill in details on just what the 22-month-long special counsel investigation uncovered. We already know from Barr's four-page summary that Robert Mueller all

but cleared the Trump campaign of collusion with the Russians. We also know the special counsel did not exonerate the president on obstruction of justice no matter what Donald Trump says.

But major questions, though, remain, including whether there will be revelations about a number of ongoing investigations.

Justice reporter Pamela Brown has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Christine and Boris.

We have learned that the highly anticipated Mueller report will be released Thursday morning to the public and to Congress. This is according to a Justice Department spokeswoman.

And the White House is bracing for this. White House officials I've been speaking with do not believe that the coming Mueller report will actually change public opinion much because the top line conclusions of Barr and Mueller are already known.

Officials do admit, though, that they are curious, as the public is, as to why Mueller did not make a decision on obstruction. One concern in the White House is that any damning information in the report could give ammunition to Democrats.

Now, the White House is letting the attorney general take the lead in the process. One official I spoke with said Barr is driving this train.

And at this point, the White House does not feel the same necessity to assert executive privilege as it did before Barr's four-page letter to Congress because officials view the bottom-line conclusions as favorable to them -- those conclusions from Barr in that letter. And they are acutely aware of the scrutiny it would bring if they got involved in the redactions process.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much for that, Pamela.

The Pulitzer Prize board honoring local newsrooms that covered mass shooting. "The South Florida Sun Sentinel" was recognized for its reporting on the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The staff of the "Capital Gazette" in Annapolis, Maryland was awarded for its courageous response to the largest killing of journalists in U.S. history, that happened in their own newsroom last June.

Two jailed "Reuters" reporters also won Pulitzers for revealing the massacre of 10 Muslim Rohingya men by Buddhist villagers and Myanmar security forces. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been jailed for nearly 500 days in Myanmar for their role uncovering the massacre and reporting on it.

SANCHEZ: It's so important to point out, they're working, to point out that they are still behind bars.

It's hard to believe, but measles cases in the United States are now at the second highest level they have been in 25 years and it's only mid-April.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:55] ROMANS: One by one, 2020 candidates are releasing decades of their tax returns and urging the president to do the same. Senator Bernie Sanders released a decade of tax returns yesterday, showing he became a millionaire between his two presidential runs. Records show Sanders and his wife made more than $2.79 million since his first presidential run.

A large part of Sanders wealth came from his book, "Where We Go From Here", which came out last year. In 2018, Sanders reported a total income of 556,000, nearly half of which came from writing and royalties. The company donated 3.4 percent of their income to charity.

During a town hall on Fox yesterday, Sanders said he would not apologize for the money he has made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If anyone thinks I should apologize for writing a best selling book, I'm sorry, I'm not going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Beto O'Rourke also released ten years of his tax returns pledging to release his 2018 returns as well. O'Rourke and his wife Amy reported a total income of just over $363,000 in 2017.

At an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, O'Rourke pushed for transparency with the president's taxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everyone who runs to seek that office should release their taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump's lawyers are fighting, of course, against Democratic- led congressional efforts to request information on the president's finances.

SANCHEZ: Measles, a disease that was once eradicated in the United States, has now jumped to the second highest number of cases in 25 years, and the CDC is reporting there were 90 new cases in just one week. There have been a total of 555 cases in 20 states. The year, of course, is not even nearly half over. Most of the cases have been in New York, the site of an outbreak among ultra orthodox Jews that started last fall.

ROMANS: The New York City Health Department has closed one child care problem for repeatedly failing to provide medical and attendance records. Health officials already announced that anyone in affected neighborhoods who have not been vaccinated could be fined a thousand dollars. Worldwide there have been more than 110,000 cases in just the first three months of the year, nearly quadruple the same period last year.

You got governments really looking at the loosening of the laws they have had, the whole idea of herd immunity here, that you keep everyone safe by vaccinations, there have been waivers that people have been allowed to get, and now you've got diseases from the middle ages coming back.

SANCHEZ: It's also interesting the way social media networks are approaching misinformation that goes online, trying to restrict some that.

ROMANS: Yes, a child can die from measles. A child can die from the measles.

Nineteen minutes past the hour.

He lost three friends on the battlefield. Their names were on his shoes as he crawled across the finish line at the Boston marathon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:24:06] SANCHEZ: The man accused of tossing a 5-year-old boy from the third floor of the Mall of America is now facing attempted murder charges. Twenty-four-year-old Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda of Minneapolis is due in court today. Witnesses say that he either pushed or threw the boy to the mall's first level dropping nearly 40 feet below. The child has not been identified and remains in critical condition.

According to police, Aranda told them that he had come to the mall a day earlier intending to kill an adult, but in his words, that didn't work out. He claims he visited the mall for years, trying to speak to women there but they rejected him, and that is what made him lash out.

ROMANS: Are you sick of a 5-day, 40-hour workweek? Well, it could always be worse.

Chinese tech tycoon Jack Ma recently spoke out, in support of something, a 6-day, 12-hour a day work week. It's a Chinese work practice known as 996. That number refers to working from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., six days a week.

It's said to be common among the country's big tech companies and start-ups. Ma's comments drew backlash from social media users in China. He

later said he didn't intend to defend the practice of working long hours but wanted to pay tribute to employees who did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOSTON MARATHON ANNOUNCER: Trying to hold him back. Who says marathoning isn't a contact sport?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A thrilling photo finish in the 123rd Boston Marathon. Kenya's Lawrence Cherono in his first Boston Marathon holding off 2- time champion Lelisa Desisa in a 1-block sprint to the finish. Cherono's winning time of two hours, seven minutes, 57 seconds just two seconds better than the runner-up.

ROMANS: Wow, that is close.

Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa won the women's race. She took the lead at mile four and never looked back. Her time, two hours, 23 minutes, and 31 seconds.

Then there was this emotional moment. A Marine running in honor of his fallen comrades crawls to the finish line.

Michah Herndon running as a tribute to three men he served alongside in Afghanistan. He wore their last names, Juarez, Ballard and Hammer, on tags on his running shoes. That gives me goose bumps.

SANCHEZ: Yes, special moment there, especially considering the significance of the Boston marathon.

ROMANS: Yes, oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: What happened there a couple of years ago.

The Notre Dame Cathedral survived the French Revolution and two world wars, but just days before Easter, this massive inferno brought history to the ground. The scene a shock to millions who watched around the world and on the streets of Paris.

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