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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Wounded Rabbi Says "Terror Will Not Win"; Five Men Rescued From Virginia Cave; "Avengers: End Game" Breaks Billion-Dollar Mark. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 29, 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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[05:31:42] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RABBI YISROEL GOLDSTEIN, CHABAD OF POWAY: We will not let anyone or anything take us down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Defiance from a California rabbi and his congregation, the latest to be targeted in a string of religious attacks. The woman who was killed will be buried today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lord watched over us here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lord watched over us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Big relief in Virginia. Five men rescued after spending the weekend trapped in a cave.
ROMANS: Did Boeing's problems run deeper than first thought? Four whistleblowers say the 737 MAX was plagued by issues, including the wiring of a key sensor.
BRIGGS: And a record-shattering opening weekend for "Avengers: Endgame." More than $1 billion in ticket sales in a weekend and now, the real question is how high can it climb? Can it blow past $2 billion in the first week? Presumably, it will.
ROMANS: It's unbelievable.
BRIGGS: Welcome back to EARLY START. Happy Monday. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday. It is 32 minutes past the hour.
Up first, these powerful words in the face of hate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLDSTEIN: A young man standing with a rifle pointing right at me. And I looked at him -- he had sunglasses on. I couldn't see his eyes, I couldn't see his soul.
We need to battle darkness with light. No matter how dark the world is we need to think of light. A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A wounded rabbi from California describing what it was like to stare down a gunman one day after the nation's latest deadly hate crime. Three people wounded and one killed in the synagogue shooting near San Diego.
BRIGGS: There will be a funeral today for 60-year-old Lori Kaye. Witnesses say her husband, a doctor, tried desperately to save her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIMON ABITBUL, SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING SURVIVOR: He start to do some CPR. You saw the hole in her chest -- his wife -- and he cannot do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ABITBUL: It was very, very difficult.
FRED NASSERI, MEMBER, CONGREGATION CHABAD: She was friendly, she was welcoming. She was one of those people that you want to know as a friend. When I think of her I can only smile. All I can say -- the community lost a great soul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bravery. (INAUDIBLE) everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Noya Dahan was honored at a vigil last night. She and her uncle were injured in the shooting. Noya's uncle helped lead children to safety after he was shot.
CNN's Sara Sidner spoke to the girl and her father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, the city of Poway trying to figure out how to heal after tragedy struck the synagogue.
We sat down with Noya and her father, Israel, who told us that they had just fled another part of California because their home, their garage, their car had swastikas written on them. They were afraid because of anti-Semitism. They came here for a sense of safety -- to the rabbi who was here, who
welcomed them and told them to come -- that this was a great place for them to be. And then, they experienced terror once again.
[05:35:01] ISRAEL DAHAN, DAUGHTER INJURED IN SHOOTING: The second I saw the rabbi running into the shooter with his fingers been cutting and bleeding all over the seat, and then I saw him shooting in our lady that she passed away. A terrible feeling. What can I say?
It's scary that we need to live like this. It's just unbelievable.
NOYA DAHAN, HIT WITH SHRAPNEL IN THE FACE: My uncle, he was holding my hand and he was like grabbing me and stuff. And the person who was shooting, he was aiming at him. So it hit him and the like -- where it's -- went like that, it hit me, too.
SIDNER: What were you thinking then? Did it hurt?
N. DAHAN: In the first place when there was like blood gushing, I didn't even feel it. And then after like they wiped it and then like the blood was off and it was like -- it felt like I had the giantest bruise ever.
SIDNER: While the physical wounds are healing, all of the victims have been released from the hospital. There are certainly mental and emotional wounds that will continue for some time.
The Dahan family is trying to figure out whether they can stay but what they are hoping and what they believe their rabbi is capable of, even with his injuries, is bringing all of the broken pieces of this community together so that they can be whole again -- Dave, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Sara, thanks.
Saturday's attack just the latest in a string of assaults on houses of worship, one of them an arson attack on a mosque in Escondido. Law enforcement officials are investigating whether the synagogue shooter is behind that as well.
The synagogue attack came on the last day of Passover, days before Holocaust Remembrance Day and six months to the day after 11 people were massacred at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
ROMANS: All right. Joining us now is CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University.
And live from Pittsburgh, CNN contributor Salena Zito, national political reporter for the "Washington Examiner."
Good Monday morning to both of you.
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, CO-AUTHOR, "FAULT LINES: A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1974": Good morning. ROMANS: Julian, you've been writing about --
SALENA ZITO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Good morning.
ROMANS: -- how over the past 10 years there's been this rise in anti- Semitism. Why, and how do we combat this?
ZELIZER: Yes, there's many factors at work. Social media, clearly, has been a big part of this and allows all kinds of horrible ideas to circulate and to get all around the world.
ROMANS: We know this suspect was right there in there in the social media world being fanned by all of this.
ZELIZER: Exactly.
And then you have an organizational phenomenon from white extremists groups who, according to the ADL have been responsible for 78 percent of the physical attacks, to Islamic fundamentalism organizations. You have a lot of organizational growth that's responsible as well. And then, political leaders often traffic in this kind of rhetoric.
You put all these together and you're going to have incidents like this, whether it's a lone wolf or whether it's an organization, and this is horrible.
ROMANS: The recipe to fix it though -- you know, you're talking about speech and gun ownership are two of the -- two of the possible solutions, and those are politically difficult.
ZELIZER: Right. And another is what the government does in terms of intelligence and monitoring these organizations.
BRIGGS: Sure.
ZELIZER: The "Daily Beast" does a story that DHS just eliminated an intelligence unit devoted to --
ROMANS: That's right.
ZELIZER: -- domestic terrorism. So these are the kinds of real policy responses that can do something, even though it's impossible to stamp out hatred.
BRIGGS: And as we mentioned, Pittsburgh all too familiar with dealing with these types of tragedies. Six months ago, the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, killing 11, Salena.
And today, that is where Joe Biden kicks off his 2020 campaign in Pittsburgh. We should mention his video, which he initially got in this campaign, went straight to the soul of this country and the president's words at Charlottesville.
Do you expect Joe Biden to tie that all into his campaign kickoff today? ZITO: Yes, absolutely. I think Biden's choice of Pittsburgh -- not because it's my hometown -- is a really important choice and I think you'll hear him talk about the soul of the country.
But I think you will also hear him really talk about domestic issues, talk about the working class and the labor voter. You're going to see a big labor announcement today in Pittsburgh as well.
Biden has -- grew up in Pennsylvania. He has ties here. When he was in the Senate he often referred to himself as the third senator from Pennsylvania.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Right.
ZITO: And culturally, he really has an affinity to these voters and that is really important because Philadelphia -- even though its turnout for Clinton equaled and actually surpassed Obama's in 2016, the voters that she lost were voters from Western Pennsylvania who are more energized and turned out in larger amounts.
[05:40:19] And they off-sized for the first time the population base of Philadelphia --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ZITO: -- and also some counties like Luzerne and Northampton who are culturally similar to Western Pennsylvania.
So I think it's really smart for him to kick off in this end of the state. Even for a primary contest in a very competitive, energized year, Pennsylvania can matter --
ROMANS: Sure.
ZITO: -- in a big way in a primary as well as a general election.
ROMANS: Julian, it's interesting because she brought up the economy briefly there. Health care is something we hear the Democratic voters really care about. And, Joe Biden sort of goes at the soul of America.
Is that a good call or should he be talking about jobs and the people who are being left behind in this really strong economy? What do you expect his message to be if he's talking at a union hall today?
ZELIZER: It's going to have to be both. Look, at a certain level, Democrats do want to talk about issues. They want to talk about the weaknesses in the economy. They want about policies like health care.
But his video was correct. For all the candidates this will be a values election as well.
ROMANS: Right. ZELIZER: The overall economy, at least now, is pretty strong. So, Democrats will have to make a case about why do you switch and not reelect the incumbent, which is normally what we'd see. And some of that will get back to what do you see as the core values of this country and does the president represent those values.
BRIGGS: All right. And, Salena, you wrote today about Biden and Pittsburgh and all his connections there.
And one key line stood out to me from a political science professor there are Keystone College who said, If they are successful -- the party, far left -- pushing Biden out -- those who believe in the Green New Deal, those who believe in Medicare for All -- they fear that "Pennsylvanian and Midwestern blue-collar works may be lost to the Republicans for decades." Not just one election.
But why, Salena, could those voters be lost for good?
ZITO: Well, and the union head, Ralph (ph), also reinforced that. They truly believe because some of these issues like the New Green Deal -- let's just focus on that. That's not going to play well in Pennsylvania -- in particular, Western Pennsylvania where they really need energized voters.
The shale industry and the natural gas industry here is booming. We have a cracker plant being built out here in Western Pennsylvania that is part of the shale industry that has created 10,000 really good, new-paying jobs.
So while these voters care about the climate -- I'm not saying that they don't -- they do think that there should be a balance and it shouldn't be an attack on all kinds of -- on natural gas. That's their biggest concern. The New Green Deal is not going to cut it with these voters.
And so they will -- and if they attack Biden, if they destroy him -- everyone that I interviewed in that story said they are -- they think that these voters who sort of flirted with the Republican Party the last time are going to be gone forever.
BRIGGS: So you wonder if Warren and Bernie and others will treat him with kid gloves knowing that. It will be interesting.
He hasn't talked policy, perhaps.
ZITO: Right.
BRIGGS: Joe Biden will on "GMA" later this morning.
Salena, Julian, thank you both. Great conversation.
ROMANS: And his policy, he's been talking about things that happened 20 years ago. He's been talking about the Senate --
BRIGGS: A lot about Anita Hill.
ROMANS: Yes, so --
BRIGGS: About the character of this nation, but no real policy discussion yet.
ROMANS: All right, thanks, guys. Forty-three minutes past the hour.
Five men trapped in a cave in southwest Virginia have been rescued.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God was there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lord watched over us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Emergency crews from four states raced around the clock Sunday to save these men.
Six men entered that cave in the town of Cleveland Friday at 7:00 p.m. One of them came out of the cave early yesterday morning and told everyone that the others were having difficulty getting out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY CHIMES, SEARCH AND RESCUE COORDINATOR, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: This cave was very technical, very restricted passageways, and so it was very tough to access.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The group had plans to camp in the cave until Sunday but a heavy downpour Saturday night obviously complicated those plans.
BRIGGS: All right. This weekend's deadly crane collapse in Seattle caught on video. Friends remembering a college student killed in the disaster.
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[05:48:44] BRIGGS: Attorney General Bill Barr warning Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee he may not show up for this week's highly anticipated hearing.
It seems he's not happy with the format chairman Jerry Nadler is proposing. Nadler wants every member of his panel to have one round of questioning followed by a Q&A involving committee counsels from both parties.
ROMANS: And that's a sticking point for Barr and skipping this week's hearing could dramatically escalate the fight for oversight between the Trump administration and House Democrats. Now they're telling CNN Barr will not dictate the format of the Judiciary Committee, but he's not ruling out a deal by Thursday. A source tells CNN four Boeing employees called an FAA whistleblower hotline to report problems with that 737 MAX airliner. Among the complaints, a previously unreported issue involving damage to the wiring of the angle of attack sensor by a foreign object.
BRIGGS: The FAA tells CNN it may be opening up an entirely new investigative angle into what went wrong in the crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX airliners that killed 346 people.
The hotline submissions were from both current and former Boeing employees who also described problems with the airliners' anti-stall system.
Today, Boeing's board will face shareholders for a meeting for the first time since the 737 MAX jets were grounded worldwide.
[05:50:01] ROMANS: All right. Stephen Moore says there has been a smear campaign against him. Trump's controversial pick to serve on the Fed board has been scrutinized for his closeness to the president and reversing his opposition to low interest rates during the Obama administration.
Last week, Moore said his opponents are, quote, "pulling a Kavanaugh against me" about speaking -- when speaking about criticism over his past writing about women and gender equality.
Moore appeared on "ABC THIS WEEK" Sunday to address some of that criticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MOORE, ECONOMIST, NOMINEE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: But when it comes to wages and gender equity, I want that to be decided by the market. I don't want government to intervene in those kinds of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Moore also said he was embarrassed by some of his past writings disparaging women. He called his past writings humor columns but added that some of them were not funny.
Last week, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration continues to support Moore as his background check continues.
Global stock markets right now are mixed, folks. Japan's markets are closed until May sixth for a holiday.
On Wall Street, futures are barely moving this morning. Stocks closed higher on Friday. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rallied to record- closing highs.
A lot to keep in mind this week. A U.S.-China trade deal could be near. The Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin and the trade representative Robert Lighthizer, they travel to Beijing for negotiations tomorrow. The Federal Reserve meetings Tuesday and Wednesday on interest rates. Investors want to look for any clues here about where rates are headed next. With inflation low, could the next move be at ease with the economic so strong? Could the next move be a hike?
And Friday, the April jobs reports is due. Remember, in March, hiring rebounded. The economy added 196,000 jobs. Unemployment held steady at 3.8 percent.
We'll be right back.
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[05:55:58] ROMANS: "The New York Times" is promising significant changes after publishing an anti-Semitic cartoon in its international edition. The paper says it is deeply sorry about this cartoon depicting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog on a leash held by a blind President Trump.
Earlier, the "Times" released a statement saying it was wrong to run a cartoon that contained anti-Semitic tropes, but it did not apologize.
BRIGGS: CNN learning that "New York Times" staffers were alarmed by the cartoon and dismayed by the initial response. The "Times" said the decision to run the syndicated cartoon was made by a single editor working without adequate oversight.
Bret Stephens, one of the paper's op-ed columnists, blasted the newspaper, writing a column entitled, "A Despicable Cartoon in the Times."
ROMANS: One person is dead and seven others injured after gunfire broke out at a neighborhood cookout in West Baltimore last night. The city's police commissioner calling the shooting tragic and cowardly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HARRISON, COMMISSIONER, BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT: There was a black male who approached the intersection and began firing indiscriminately into the crowd. There was a second shooter perhaps firing back, but it is still unknown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Investigators trying to determine whether the cookouts on opposite sides of the street were somehow connected.
BRIGGS: The New York Giants sixth-round pick shot just hours after being drafted. Police say Corey Ballentine of Washington University was wounded in an off-campus shooting Saturday night in Topeka, Kansas.
One of his teammates, 23-year-old Dwane Simmons, was killed in the incident.
Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. The Giants have spoken to him and say they are still gathering information.
ROMANS: All right. Caught on video, a construction crane collapsing in downtown Seattle. Four people killed; two were crane operators. Two were in cars crushed by the crane.
One of those victims, Sarah Wong, a freshman at Seattle Pacific University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CODY SUGAI, VICTIM'S CLASSMATE: I want people to remember how loving and caring a person she was and to show that love to everyone that she comes across and to show that joy that's infectious to other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Three other people, including a 4-month-old baby, were injured.
The crane fell from a building under construction on the new Google Seattle campus. Right now, Seattle has more cranes in operation than any other city in America.
BRIGGS: A record-smashing $1.2 billion worldwide opening for Marvel Studio's "Avengers: End Game." That makes it the only film in history to break the billion-dollar mark for its opening weekend.
"Avengers: End Game" pulled in $350 million domestically this weekend, blowing away the previous mark set by last year's "Infinity War" by over $90 million.
It is at 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Don't take it from me, take it from the critics. They love it.
ROMANS: I can't wait. Between that and "GAME OF THRONES" I've got a lot of work to do this week.
BRIGGS: A busy week.
ROMANS: All right, 58 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY." We'll see you tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard six or seven shots and then it went quiet. I ran in and called 911.
GOLDSTEIN: There is a young with a rifle pointing right at me. I couldn't see his eyes, I couldn't see his soul.
MAYOR STEVE VAUS, POWAY, CALIFORNIA: This is not Poway. We will walk through this tragedy with our arms around each other.
ROMANS: Joe Biden kicks off his 2020 presidential campaign in Pittsburgh today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Biden has a chance to run a campaign of things people are actually for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's never been in this position before. He's about to prove if he is a frontrunner or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, April 29th, 6:00 here in New York.
And a new attack on a house of worship. A new murder based on hate. A new reason to ask what is happening in this country and around the world, and why.
An investigation is underway after a teenager stormed into a California synagogue armed with an AR-15 style assault rifle and opened fire on innocent people celebrating the end of Passover.
A funeral is planned today for Lori Gilbert Kaye who was killed in the attack. According to her friends and authorities.
END
