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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Joe Biden To Enter Crowded Democratic 2020 Field; Trump Won't Back Down Amidst House Democrats Subpoenas; Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un Hold First Summit. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 25, 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: President Trump vowing not to back down to Democrats. Two more aides now refusing to testify including immigration hawk Stephen Miller.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN ANCHOR: The execution has been carried out for a man behind one of the most horrific hate crimes in American history.
BRIGGS: And how does zero screen time sound for your kids? New guidelines to seriously curtail how long children could spend in front of screens.
The bane of my existence.
KOSINSKI: Yes. We need to do that for adults. Many adults need to be banned from screen time.
BRIGGS: There is a thought, too. I'm sure the World Health Organization has warnings for us.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
KOSINSKI: I'm Michelle Kosinski. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
The list of Democrats running in 2020 jumps to 20 today because Joe Biden will announce his presidential bid this morning. The former vice president rallied donors and supporters on a conference call yesterday. He offered a brief preview of his campaign's message saying the soul of the country is at stake. Biden underscored the importance of a strong fundraising performance right out of the gate.
BRIGGS: A source tells us the Pennsylvania native will hold his first campaign event in Pittsburgh on Monday, then he'll hit the road to the early voting states, Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Biden's decades in the Senate, eight years as VP and high-name recognition put him at the top of recent polls. But he faces a Democratic Party far different than the last time he ran for office. Progressive issues are now front and center, not foreign policy.
KOSINSKI: Sources say Biden's team thought about releasing his announcement video yesterday but they were warned it would be a bad idea to draw attention away from a 2020 forum focused on women of color. Several candidates already in the race appeared at the "She, the People" event. Here are some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will have a woman running mate. To me it's really clear that we do that.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Women of color are the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, and the heart and soul of our nation. They're creative people.
BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also need an equal rights amendment ratified in this country so that no woman can be discriminated against on any basis whatsoever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should women of color choose you as a nominee for president?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because of my track record my entire life. Focusing on women of color.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The focus on women yesterday prompting speculation that John McCain's widow Cindy McCain and her daughter Meghan would endorse Biden, a longtime friend of the late Republican senator. But Cindy McCain denied that speculation, tweeting, "Joe Biden is a wonderful man, however, I have no intention of getting involved in presidential politics."
KOSINSKI: Two more cases of blatant stonewalling from the White House. Administration officials informing the House Oversight Committee that Trump adviser Stephen Miller will not testify about immigration policy and DOJ official John Gore will not comply with the subpoena to answer questions about the census. In recent days, the White House has interfered with Democrats seeking information on security clearances, Trump's financial records, taxes, a subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're fighting all the subpoenas. Look, these aren't like impartial people. The Democrats are trying to win 2020. The only way they can luck out is by constantly going after me on nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings calls the president's actions a massive, unprecedented and growing pattern of obstruction. He says these employees and their personal attorneys should think very carefully about their own legal interests rather than being swept up in the obstruction schemes of the Trump administration.
Attorney General Bill Barr's own words may come back to haunt him. CNN's KFile unit uncovering a 1998 interview with Barr saying he was disturbed that then Attorney General Janet Reno was not defending independent counsel Ken Starr. He also put his name on a public statement that year saying attacks on Starr from Clinton administration officials appear to have the improper purpose of influence and impeding an ongoing criminal investigation and intimidating possible jurors, witnesses and even investigators.
KOSINSKI: Times sure have changed now that he is attorney general again. Barr has been silent as President Trump rails against Special Counsel Robert Mueller. And he's put the president in the best possible light despite the report's troubling findings.
BRIGGS: A man who carried out one of the most disturbing hate crimes in the country's history has been executed in Texas. Forty-four-year- old John William King, one of the three suspects convicted for the murder of James Byrd, Jr. 1998, King, Lawrence Russell Brewer and Shawn Berry picked up Byrd and drove him to a secluded area. There they beat him, spray-printed his face, tied a logging chain around his ankles, and dragged him behind a pickup truck for nearly three miles.
[04:35:01] Byrd's death led to new hate crime laws passed by Congress and the state of Texas. Byrd's sister Clara releasing a statement saying, "King showed no remorse, and then showed no remorse tonight. His execution tonight was just punishment for his actions."
KOSINSKI: The Boy Scouts of America now says that there's more than 7800 of its leaders sexually abused children. New court testimony shows that number is nearly 3,000 more than previously known. It includes scout leaders and scout masters across the country. The abuse happened over the course of 72 years. More than 12,000 alleged victims have been identified. The Boy Scouts in a statement say they sincerely apologize, adding, "At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth."
BRIGGS: An Alabama police chief says he's disgusted by video that shows an officer cursing and threatening a woman during a traffic stop that then turned violent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. Go on --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your arm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hand behind you.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you lost your freaking --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, please, please, please. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your arm. If you bite me, you're going to lose every one of your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) teeth, you understand me?
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Difficult to watch. Twenty-two-year-old Jasmine Shepard was accused of leaving the scene of an accident Friday. The Tuscaloosa officer began trying to handcuff her seconds after requesting her driver's license. Another officer arrived moments later. Shepard tells CNN, "Officers made me feel like I wasn't even human." Local media report the officers are on desk duty pending an investigation and will face a disciplinary board.
KOSINSKI: Murder charges have been filed against the parents of 5- year-old A.J. Freund after the little boy's body was found in a shallow grave about 10 miles from his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Andrew Freund Sr. and JoAnn Cunningham reported A.J. missing last week. Police interviewed the parents again after obtaining new information from cell phone data. The cause of the boy's death still unknown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BLACK, CRYSTAL LAKE POLICE CHIEF: Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both JoAnn and Andrew Senior provided information that ultimately led to the recovery -- what we believe is a recovery of deceased subject A.J.
To A.J., we know you're at peace playing in heaven's playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: A.J.'s parents are expected in court today. His mother's attorney has not responded to request for comments. It's not clear whether his father has a lawyer.
BRIGGS: The outbreak of measles in the U.S. is now the largest since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. According to the Centers for Disease Control there have been 695 measles cases in 22 states this year. And it's just April. The previous high number was 667 in 2014.
Federal health officials have been mostly quiet but Health Secretary Alex Azar released a statement Wednesday saying, "Measles is not a harmless childhood illness. We have the ability to safely protect our children and our communities. Vaccines are a safe, highly effective public health solution that can prevent this disease."
There's been a growing anti-vaxxer movement online. Most of the cases in the U.S. emerged in communities with lower rates of vaccinations.
KOSINSKI: President Trump's tax overhaul is hurting some Gold Star families. According to a nonprofit group that advocates for the families spouses who signed their Earned Survivor benefits over to their children are paying thousands more in taxes. In the past, Gold Star families who chose this option paid an average of 12 percent to 15 percent in taxes on that income. Under the Trump plan, that tax rate jumped to 37 percent. CNN has reached out to the White House. So far, though, no comment. BRIGGS: A check on CNN Business now. Investors found out just how
much the Max 737 crisis affected Boeing in the first quarter. Earnings fell 21 percent the first three months of the year on revenue of $22.9 billion. Boeing reported a $1.9 billion increase in production costs connected to the Max 8. The company also pulled its full guidance for the year saying it would revise its projected earnings for 2019 based on the 737 Max grounding but would release updated guidance at a later date due to the uncertainty of the timing and conditions surrounding return to service.
Boeing's deliveries were also affected by the 737 groundings. The company delivered 149 commercial airplanes in the first quarter. That's down 184 last year. Boeing has continued to build the jet even though it has halted deliveries. But production has been cut back from 52 a month to 42.
[04:40:01] Boeing executives said they cannot say when deliveries can begin again. Meanwhile, testing continues on the plane's software update.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is downtown -- no, no, no, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: A violent end to a high-speed chase in Los Angeles. This chase started on Route 60. The car hit speeds above 100 miles an hour. The driver then got off the freeway and sped across downtown streets. After the crash, he tried to casually walk away. But he was arrested after eyewitnesses pointed him out. Right now it's not clear what prompted that chase or the condition of the people in the car that was hit.
BRIGGS: How much screen time is healthy for young children? Well, in some cases none. The World Health Organization issuing strict new guidelines on screen time for kids. They say never for children under 1 and rarely in their second year. Those 2 to 4 years old should spend no more than an hour a day in front of the screen. The WHO drew on emerging science about the risks screen posed to the development of young minds. Study showed children are spending increasing amounts of time with smartphones and other mobile devices.
I could say just back from vacation when my kids disturbed me, how much time was spent on Fortnite and Instagram. Hopefully these guidelines help us learn a little bit more about limits.
KOSINSKI: Yes. And parents who think that they're doing their kids a favor by starting them early with, you know, intellectual games --
BRIGGS: I think they're just trying to --
KOSINSKI: Online, that's a surprise.
BRIGGS: To get a dinner in peace. I don't know if they're trying to do their kids favors. KOSINSKI: That's a very cynical view, Dave Briggs.
BRIGGS: That's what I did anyway.
KOSINSKI: Fine.
A new dress code for the parents. Now there's backlash at one school in Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:53] BRIGGS: We want to warn you some of the video in this story may be disturbing. The Charlotte police officer who shot and killed a black man in a Burger King parking lot says she didn't have a choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put it on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put the gun on the ground. Put it --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shots fired, shots fired. I shot a fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: You can hear officers telling Danquirs Franklin to drop his weapon for about 25 seconds. After he was shot he lay on the ground as police officers appeared to struggle trying to request medical assistance. The police chief now saying, "We could have rendered more aid."
KOSINSKI: This all happened after Burger King workers reported a man came in acting suspiciously. At least one 911 caller reported a man with a gun who was pointing at employees. The department says the video is one piece of evidence among many others to be considered in determining whether the shooting was justified.
BRIGGS: An Alabama sheriff's deputy placed on leave for posting anti- LGBTQ comments after a teenager's suicide. Fifteen-year-old Nigel Shelby took his own life last week. He'd been bullied for being gay. A local news station in Huntsville then posted a story on its Facebook page raising awareness about LGBTQ bullying. One user took issue with that posting a reference to this shirt, "Liberty, guns, bible, Trump, barbecue. That's my kind of LGBTQ." Then added he has a right to be offended and will always be offended by this fake movement. That user was Jeff Graves, a deputy with the Madison County Sheriff's Office. He's been placed on leave with the sheriff promising a thorough investigation.
KOSINSKI: I've seen that shirt making its way on the Internet.
U.S. Border Patrol has begun fingerprinting some migrant children 14 years old and younger. The agency says it's doing so because of increased concern about fraud in the trafficking of children. Children are being fingerprinted on a case by case basis in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas in cases where trafficking is suspected. Prior to the new guidance, Border Patrol occasionally took photos of children and collected additional information. More migrants were apprehended along the southern border in March than in any month in more than a decade.
BRIGGS: Widespread damage in Texas after violent weather. Search and rescue operations were underway in St. Augustine, Texas. Mayor Leroy Hughes tells CNN there's no power and lots of trees are down. Hughes says he lost his home. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for the area late Wednesday. Severe storms are now moving east along the Gulf Coast.
Here's meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Dave and Michelle, good morning. The severe weather risk now out of Texas, on into the Gulf Coast states here and really the rainfall, the persistent rainfall in recent days that's part of the problem. And we know of course with this line of active weather, another round of strong winds, powerful straight- line winds possible into the afternoon and evening hours. And especially when you consider how much rain has come down here.
When you bring straight-line winds of course that saturated soil allows the trees to sway a little bit more, the power lines become a concern and trees coming down also become a concern. And cities like New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Baton Rouge, those are the areas of the highest risk, which on the scale of one to five is at a two there for the damaging winds and large hail. And a possibility of some tornadoes as well.
The rainfall as much as two to four inches along these regions. And a quick moving feature at least. So we'll see this depart as we go in towards Friday into Saturday and exit off the eastern seaboard. 82 degrees in Dallas after the showers have moved out, into the middle 90s out of Las Vegas, while Seattle makes it up to the 60s. And notice even in places like Chicago, temps on the mild side. But the weekend brings the temps back down into the 40s for cities like Chicago -- guys.
KOSINSKI: That changeable springtime weather. Thanks, Pedram.
Well, Abigail Disney is stepping up her criticism of executive pay at her family's company just days after calling the paychecks of Disney's top brass insane.
[04:50:01] The granddaughter of co-founder Roy Disney is suggesting a major redistribution of the bonus money. She says half the bonuses earned by executives should be given to the bottom 10 percent of the company's 200,000 employees.
BRIGGS: Six of Disney's top executives including CEO Bob Iger collected stock awards and options worth a combined $62 million last year. The median salary of Disney employees around $46,000. In a "Washington Post" op-ed, Abigail Disney says she believes executives deserve bonuses but the people who contribute to Disney's success also deserve a share. The Disney Company said it has made historic investments in its workers' pay and benefits.
KOSINSKI: Yes. There was just a study this month that showed average CEO pay now is 271 times of the average worker.
BRIGGS: Yes.
KOSINSKI: McDonald's is targeting a new demographic, but not on the menu. The fast-food giant is teaming with AARP to attract older adults to join its workforce. Right now, just 11 percent of workers at McDonald's are 50 and older. McDonald's tends to attract those younger workers but unemployment is historically low. They are piloting the program in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina with a national rollout planned for this summer. McDonald's hopes to fill some 250,000 jobs.
BRIGGS: Very good. We've heard of high schools implementing dress codes for students but now James Madison High School in Houston, Texas, is telling parents how to dress. In a letter sent out earlier this month, officials said parents cannot enter school grounds wearing pajamas or revealing clothing. Leggings, sagging pants, low rider shorts are off limits along with hair curlers and shower caps.
Rosemary Young was handed a copy of the new dress code when she wore a satin cap to pick up her son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEMARY YOUNG, PARENT: It doesn't matter how a parent should come, if we come here belligerent, out of control, or things of that nature, that's what you have the police for. But what I wear should never be an issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The schools said their new policy was put in place to let students know how to dress appropriately when entering a building or applying for a job. The Houston Independent School District declined to comment.
What do you think?
KOSINSKI: They have a point in setting a good example for the kids.
BRIGGS: Yes.
KOSINSKI: But, you know, it's tough enough being a parent. When you got several kids, you're a single parent.
BRIGGS: You're running around, you're driving around.
KOSINSKI: I mean, you're lucky if you could get out the door on time. Like I think they should applaud parents who are getting their kids to school on time first.
BRIGGS: Yes.
KOSINSKI: Start with that. And then maybe work on the yoga pants.
BRIGGS: Let us know what you think. Those are always going to be allowed.
KOSINSKI: The tube tops.
BRIGGS: Have to be allowed. Let us know what you think on Twitter.
Ahead, SoftBank and Google teaming up to bring internet to underserved areas using drones. CNN Business has the details are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:57:16] KOSINSKI: Happening now in Russia, a high stakes meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. Their first summit. Could be a chance for Putin to fill a void left when Kim and President Trump failed to reach a deal in January.
CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Vladivostok where the Putin-Kim summit is unfolding.
So, Matthew, is this a love fest or is Putin his usual restrained self?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's his normal restrained self, that's true. But I think what's really interesting is he looks like really kind of statesman-like and sane when he stands next to Kim Jong-un. I mean, we saw Kim Jong-un's train arrive in Vladivostok here in eastern Russia yesterday with his security guards, you know, kind of vigorously polishing the outside of it before it had even come to a standstill. And then that familiar sight, of course, of his bodyguards jogging next to his stretch limousine as it drove through the streets of this far eastern Russian city. And so it's all these weird idiosyncrasies associated with Kim Jong-un.
The two leaders, they've shaken hands, they had very warm meetings lasted three and a half hours, spoken sort of platitudes I suppose about each other's bilateral relations saying they need to talk further about peace on the Korean peninsula with denuclearization there. But this meeting has been very short on details. It wasn't about specifics. It was about the optics. Important for Kim Jong-un because he wanted to show the world that he's not isolated. Important for Putin because he wants to show that he's a major player on the international stage himself.
KOSINSKI: Yes. Such a difference between Trump-Putin -- Kim-Putin and Kim-Trump. Thanks, Matthew.
BRIGGS: All right. A check on CNN Business this morning. Global markets are lower. Investors continue to watch earnings. Asian markets closed lower. European markets opened slightly lower.
On Wall Street, futures are pointing lower. Stocks ended Wednesday lower just one day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at a record high. The Dow closed 59 points down. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both finished .2 percent lower.
Earnings still the biggest focus on Wall Street. Amazon, Ford and Starbucks are just some of the companies who will report their first quarter results today.
SoftBank is investing big money to put cell phone antennas in the sky. Reuters reported SoftBank's HAPSMobile is investing $125 million in Google's company Loon to provide internet to underserved areas using drones. The two have separately been trying to fly equipment at high altitudes but ground based towers are unreachable. Loon carries the gear with a large balloon while HAPSMobile uses a large drone. Loon has tested balloons for nearly a decade and expects to hold its first commercial trial in Kenya this year.
EARLY START continues right now.
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