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Trump Says All Options are on the Table for Venezuela; Measles- Quarantined Ship Returns to Curacao; No White House Briefing in Nearly Two Months; Flash Flood Watches from Texas to Ohio; Jeopardy Champ Makes History; Embiid Breaks out for Sixers. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 03, 2019 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:16] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says very tough options are on the table in Venezuela as the power struggle there rages. Opposition leader Juan Guaido is now urging his supporters to keep marching.

CNN's Paula Newton is live in Caracas with more.

What's the situation this morning?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Alisyn.

Everything here has fallen into a very discouraging and familiar pattern. Juan Guaido is asking for protesters to hit the streets again today. But also on the weekend, one thing that's different here, Alisyn, is that he's actually asking protesters to confront people at military installations. And, again, that may lead to more violence on the streets.

But Juan Guaido admitting two things. One is that they did not have the military support that they needed in order for this military uprising to be successful and that he continues to need those protesters out on the street if this is to succeed.

As you pointed out, the Trump administration, of course, watching very carefully, saying that they continue to speak to high ranking commanders here that may indeed flip on Nicolas Maduro. But, Alisyn, there has been absolutely no evidence of that so far.

And add to that the apparent strength of Nicolas Maduro coming out of this veiled uprising. The pictures were extraordinary. You had Nicolas Maduro with thousands of cadets, soldiers, and they were literally kneeling before him. He certainly does not look like a person who has been weakened through all of this.

And another thing I want to point out here, something that I haven't seen in my years of covering this, the ages of the people. Those protesters coming out to these marches is getting ever younger. And Human Rights Watch also saying now that they are very concerned about the level of violence.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, this might be the most dangerous moment yet for the people in Venezuela.

Paula Newton, thank you so much for being there for us. Appreciate it.

BERMAN: So a measles-quarantined cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology is heading back to its home port in Curacao. A female crew member is infected. She has measles. None of the 300 people on board are allow to disembark.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more.

This doesn't seem like the cruise they were hoping for.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I'm sure it wasn't. I mean who would have expected this?

But, unfortunately, this is a problem. It's a man-made problem because people are not vaccinating at the rates that they should be.

So what happened was that these folks were in a boat outside St. Lucia on Tuesday and authorities said, we hear you've got a case of measles. You are not disembarking. And so now they're going back to, you can see there, their home port in Curacao. Will authorities there let them disembark? Who knows?

The issue here is that measles is incredibly contagious. We hear about norovirus, salmonella, e. Coli, all sorts of things on cruise ships. And if that can spread quickly, than measles certainly can too.

BERMAN: The ship wanted, what, a hundred doses of the measles vaccine. Will that make a difference?

COHEN: You know, it might a little bit, but you have to get it within 72 hours of being exposed. And we don't know how long these people have been on the ship for. So maybe it will help prevent it. Make it will make their symptoms less severe. It's hard to tell.

BERMAN: But watch it spread. Watch the measles spread now. We have Washington, New York, Detroit, a cruise ship now.

COHEN: Yes. California. All over

BERMAN: It could go on and on.

CAMEROTA: What a nightmare.

COHEN: Right.

CAMEROTA: Elizabeth, thank you very much for that report.

COHEN: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: So, White House press briefings in the Trump administration used to be appointment TV. Now they are a rarity. What happened? We discuss, next.

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[06:37:22] CAMEROTA: White House press briefings have all but vanished from the Trump administration. Today marks 53 straight days without one of them. And that is a record.

Let's bring in former White House press secretary under President Clinton, Joe Lockhart.

So, Joe, listen, I mean, in the day -- in this day and age within the Trump White House with Sarah Sanders, these were often combative, fact-challenged affairs

JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.

CAMEROTA: What good are they?

LOCKHART: Well, I think the purpose of the briefing is for the president to get his agenda out. His, you know, whatever he believes. But for the public to see that the president's accountable on a daily basis. So even if the answers are fact-challenged, the public has the ability to say, oh, boy, they're lying on that. There must be something more there. And, oh, boy, she seemed very aggressive on that, so maybe they do have a good point.

So there is a -- you know, it's not in the Constitution, but there is a norm that says that the president should be held accountable. And the way we do it in this country is through a briefing.

BERMAN: I have to tell you, you just used what I think is the most important word of the month, which is "norm" here.

LOCKHART: Yes.

BERMAN: Which is that the one thing that the Trump administration, Donald Trump has done, is bust norms. You realize how much of our country is based on actual law and rules and how much is based on norms. And a whole lot of it's norms.

LOCKHART: Sure.

BERMAN: And what they're doing is saying, you know what, we don't want to play by the rules that everyone else has played with, but there is no consequence.

LOCKHART: Well, you know, right now there is no consequence. He's still president. He's told 10,000 lies and he's still president. But he is a president who has an economy that is doing quite well and he can't break 40 percent of job approval. So it just depends how you define consequences. He's -- he's an unpopular president who can't get much through Congress. He -- you know, if -- even if he had an idea, he would have trouble getting it through, which is why you want to hide, you know, job approval. He doesn't have any leverage at all with Democrats in Congress. But you're -- you're right about the norms, they're -- they're -- there used to be a high price to be paid for lying from the White House and it would be a story for weeks if President Bush or President Clinton or President Obama told something that turned out to be just a whopper. I mean having -- listen, President Obama was the most scandal-free White House that I've ever seen. But his line about being able to keeping your plan with a -- we heard about that for a year.

CAMEROTA: Oh, that became the cottage industry on Fox for --

LOCKHART: Yes, a year.

CAMEROTA: Oh, more than that.

LOCKHART: And now we just sort of blow by it. I mean, you know, President Trump has, in the last two weeks, accused the Democrats, and doctors, and mothers of swaddling babies and then having a meeting on whether to kill them or not. It's just unheard of in any other administration that that would be -- the norm would allow that.

[06:40:15] CAMEROTA: Look, you're voting for transparency, which I think that we also -- everybody wants transparency. And the Trump administration says that they want transparency. But I think that the feeling of people watching those press briefings was that Sarah Sanders, or whoever was in that role, was really there to protect the president, was there to, in fact, parrot what the president said, whether or not it was factual.

And so how -- I think that there was a feeling of frustration that maybe they weren't getting to the bottom of real information.

LOCKHART: Oh, I think there's -- there's always a feeling of frustration on all sides in the briefing room because it is somewhat of a battle. You're trying to -- a good press secretary promotes the agenda of the president, tries to put things in the best light, but sticks to the truth. And when -- there are days where you just have to say, you know, guys, you got us on this one. You know, let's -- let's take our medicine and we'll move on tomorrow or the next day. They have not done that.

BERMAN: You guys did press briefings during impeachment?

LOCKHART: We did press briefings every day during impeachment. And let's -- one of the reasons why I think the White House is missing something here is, we did press briefings during impeachment and our strategy was, we're not focused on impeachment. We're focused on the people's business. And every day I talked about the people's business. And every day people reported on it. They saw it. And they saw a president who was not self-pitying. They saw a president who was not rage tweeting. Thank God we didn't have Twitter. And it was -- it was very useful for us.

CAMEROTA: You know, that's a really good point because the economy is doing so well that it would behoove them if they wanted that message out for Sarah Sanders to come out every day and trumpet that. LOCKHART: Yes. No, and she should. I mean I would have said that

before the Mueller report, that this was something she should. I think it's nearly impossible for her to go into that briefing room right now because --

BERMAN: She's in the Mueller report.

LOCKHART: Because she's in the Mueller report. Not only that. When she gives answers that reflect where the president is, anyone can open to page, you know, 232 and say, well, under sworn testimony, someone else said this.

Let me make one other point though about the media. They do these things in the driveway. And I think the media is a little bit complicit in here because they're so reliant on getting something on camera on the news of the day. They're not asking the really tough questions out in the driveway.

CAMEROTA: Why? But why not ask them out in the driveway?

BERMAN: They should.

LOCKHART: They should.

CAMEROTA: I know, but I'm saying, but what do you think's going on there?

LOCKHART: Because -- because what Sarah's doing is manipulating there and saying, I'm going to be out here for five minutes outside, it's very informal, and what all reporters' instincts are is, you know, let's get something for news of day, you know, the Emmet Flood letter, get something on that, or on the Jerry Nadler letter, get something on that, and then she goes away and they don't hold her accountable to the much harder questions.

So the driveway gambit works for the White House. And my hope is that they go out there and just say, I don't care where you are, here are the hard questions. And we're not going to let you get your message out until you answer the questions that we think are important.

BERMAN: Joe Lockhart, thank you for coming on. Appreciate it.

So he is a sports gambler by trade and right now James Holzhauer is money. What is behind this historic run on "Jeopardy!." That's next.

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[06:47:40] BERMAN: All right, overnight, Tropical Cyclone Fani made landfall in India. Check out this satellite image. It reveals just how intense, how big the storm is. More than a million people have been evacuated on India's east coast. Some 100 million people are in the path of this storm. They have sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. That makes it the equivalent to a super typhoon or a category four hurricane. Officials say there is the potential for several months' of rain -- several months' worth of rain in a 24-hour period. CAMEROTA: Here in the U.S., major flooding in downtown Davenport, Iowa. Look at this. Water rushing into the city after the swollen Mississippi River broke through a temporary levee. Meanwhile, millions of people from parts of Texas to Ohio are also now under a flash flood watch.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has our forecast.

What are you seeing, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, about 20 million people under that flash flood watch this morning. And it's because of all the heavy rain. Not so good commutes for cities like Cincinnati, Cleveland and even Louisville, Kentucky. More importantly, the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow and that racetrack is likely going to be an utter mud pit because of the heavy rain.

We also have heavy rain further south, expected for places like Texas today, Louisiana, and even Arkansas. But severe storms are also going to be an issue for this particular location.

For that forecast, that is sponsored by -- brought to you by the Shark self-cleaning brush roll. The vacuum that deep cleans now cleans itself.

Here is a look at what we are talking about for the severe threat. You can see this green and yellow shaded areas for portions of Oklahoma and Texas. But also closer into the Mid-Atlantic places, like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, the main threats are going to be damaging winds, the potential for some large hail, John, and also we cannot rule out some isolated tornadoes as well.

BERMAN: All right, Allison, thank you very much, watching that very, very closely.

I have said it before, I will say it again, the most impressive competitor in the entire world right now is James Holzhauer, who is a professional gambler by trade, but now he's just a "Jeopardy!" winner who can't seem to lose no matter what. Twenty-one games in a row now and counting. And it's how he's doing it that's truly fascinating.

Stephanie Elam live in Los Angeles with that.

Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

It's true. You look at this man and it's like he has nerves of steel. Not only does he know like every little piece of trivia, it seems, but he also doesn't mind those really large wagers. Take a look at how he's doing it.

[06:50:10] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES HOLZHAUER: Man and Superman?

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": Yes.

HOLZHAUER: What is super bass?

TREBEK: Yes.

HOLZHAUER: What is Bedford-Stuyvesant?

TREBEK: Correct.

ELAM (voice over): James Holzhauer may be redefining what it means to be a "Jeopardy!" champ.

TREBEK: Answer, a "Daily Double."

HOLZHAUER: All of the chips, please.

TREBEK: All of it. All right.

ELAM: One massive wager at a time.

TREBEK: And I look at James and I say, oh, my gosh, look at what he's doing.

James.

HOLZHAUER: What is Peter Pan?

TREBEK: Right.

ELAM: A professional sports gambler from Los Vegas, Holzhauer's bets would make most people sick to their stomach. Here he is on ESPN.

HOLZHAUER: I'm comfortable risking a lot if I know I have a big edge. But on "Jeopardy!," you know, I'm going to get the daily double right a lot more often than I'm not going to. so I just want to maximize that bet.

ELAM: He also attacks the board differently, going after those big value clues on the bottom.

DR. BENJAMIN SOLTOFF, COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: He's doing it with a specific goal of trying to earn a lot of money before he finds the daily double.

TREBEK: Daily Double.

ELAM: Data scientist Benjamin Soltoff has analyzed the stats of "Jeopardy!" winners.

SOLTOFF: He finds the Daily Doubles. He has a lot of money already in his control. He's able to bet a large amount on them. And more often than now, he'll get the clue correct.

It's a variation on a technique we've seen champions in the past use, called the Forrest bounce (ph). CHUCK FORREST, FORMER "JEOPARDY!" CONTESTANT: I was on "Jeopardy!" for the first time in 1985. I won five games, which was the limit back then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Grand Blanc, Michigan, Chuck Forrest.

ELAM: Chuck Forrest originated the strategy.

FORREST: This idea of bouncing around the board. Instead of going straight down, you go someplace completely at random. And that way you remain in control of the board.

ELAM: No doubt Holzhauer's variation on the Forrest bounce is working for him. During a record 74 consecutive games, Ken Jennings ranked in for than $2.5 million, the most ever during the show's regular season play. But at the rate he's going, Holzhauer could outlearn Jennings in a lot less time.

TREBEK: You have just set a one-day record, again, $131,127.

SOLTOFF: His average bet or wager on a Daily Double, I think, is about twice as large, at least, as much as Ken Jennings was doing. He was there for a very long number of games, but his average earnings didn't come anywhere close to what James had been accruing.

FORREST: The guy's a steamroller and he's got this incredible focus and determination.

ELAM: Not to mention his vast trivia knowledge and skills with the buzzer.

TREBEK: Impressive as all get out.

ELAM: Just how far will James Holzhauer go? America will be watching to find out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And he is going after Ken Jennings. He's got the second longest run now of consecutive wins.

And in case you're out there and you think you really want to be on "Jeopardy!" yourself, just know that this was not the first time that James Holzhauer went after getting on the show. He actually tried -- he said every time the online test was out there, he tried. He waited 23 months for his audition.

And, John, you were saying that he's like this super winner right now. Well, just so you know, his lunch for a champion, it's a slice of cheese pizza, a candy bar and a bag of chips. I mean I think most of us could totally achieve that.

BERMAN: Brain food.

ELAM: But the man is a beast, no doubt about it, John and Alisyn.

BERMAN: Brain food. Pizza makes you smarter. I've always said that.

Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: See, John, I feel like you could have beaten James Holzhauer.

BERMAN: No.

CAMEROTA: Because -- here's why.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You know who Senator Ben Sasse is and he didn't know who Senator Ben Sasse was.

BERMAN: He did not know.

CAMEROTA: So I feel like you could actually have beaten him if you were on now as opposed to four years ago. And we do have a clip of one John Berman. Oh, my gosh, who is that child?

BERMAN: Oh, come on. I have not aged one bit.

CAMEROTA: I know you haven't.

CAMEROTA: Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": And his wager was, enough, $20,500. He is the winner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. Yes. See, you won.

BERMAN: But, can I tell you, $42,000 is like a fraction of what Holzhauer wins every day.

Can I tell you a dirty little secret about "Jeopardy!"

CAMEROTA: Please.

BERMAN: So most of the people who make it to the stage actually know almost all the answers to all the questions. It's everything else that wins you the game. It's the buzzer. It's, can you hit the buzzer at the right time?

CAMEROTA: Right. No, I see that that's a problem because I see some of them are going, oh, it's not working.

BERMAN: Well, you can't -- because you're not allowed to hit the buzzer until the light goes on. And so Holzhauer times it perfectly. That's what he does. You know who told me -- Anderson Cooper gave me the advice on the buzzer, which he got from Cheech Marin, who smoked a lot of dope, OK, and knew who to win on -- CAMEROTA: This is going in a different direction than I anticipated.

BERMAN: I'm just telling you, the Cheech Marin method for winning "Jeopardy" is to make sure you time the buzzer very well.

CAMEROTA: And it works.

BERMAN: And it works.

CAMEROTA: Wow. There you go.

BERMAN: How did he learn?

CAMEROTA: I don't know.

BERMAN: Exactly.

CAMEROTA: All right, the favorite is out and the field for tomorrow's Kentucky Derby looks to be wide open. The "Bleacher Report," next.

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[06:58:47] BERMAN: One of the NBA's rising stars broke out of a slump in a big way last night in Philadelphia.

Coy Wire has more in the "Bleacher Report."

Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

Joel Embiid struggled in games one and two in Toronto. Just 28 points. Sometimes even the biggest stars just need a little nudge from their teammate, like Jimmy Butler, to get going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jump! Shoot it! Shoot the three! Shoot it! That's why you shoot it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The encouragement worked. Embiid dropped 33 points, ten rebounds and five blocks. This guy is getting six treatments a day on his left knee. But look at the windmill dunk. Looking sweet now.

Sixers crushed the Raptors 116-95, taking a 2-1 series lead. Game four is Sunday.

All right, break out the fascinators and fedoras. Horse racing's best face-off tomorrow in the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. Now, the sport has been under scrutiny in recent months after the deaths of 23 horses at the Santa Anita track in California. Game Winner there is the new favorite after Omaha Beach was scratched on Wednesday.

[06:59:56] With thunderstorms in the forecast at Churchill Downs, safety for the horses will be in focus more than ever. Also, so will mint juleps. Wallet Hub estimates 140,000 of them will be sold.

END