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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
David Ortiz Shot; Dallas Crane Collapse; Biggest 2020 Event Yet; Mega Defense Merger; Hong Kong Protests; California Wildfires Forcing Evacuations; Tony Awards Winners. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 10, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: Breaking news this morning, Red Sox legend David Ortiz recovering after getting shot in his native Dominican Republic.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god the crane is falling over. Oh, my God.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: One person is dead after a falling construction crane slices through a downtown Dallas apartment building.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump.
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BRIGGS: Democratic candidates slammed President Trump at the biggest event so far in the 2020 race.
ROMANS: And a big deal this Monday morning, United Technologies and Raytheon joining forces to create an aerospace and defense power house in one of the biggest corporate mergers of the year. We will call it merger Monday. Good morning and welcome everyone to Early Start, I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. It is Monday, June 10. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. We begin with breaking news out of the sports world. Former Red Sox star and legend David Ortiz shot in the back at a club in his native Dominican Republic. According to authorities the reason he retired slugger known as Big Poppy is now out of surgery and out of danger. Coy Wire has been monitoring this developing story for us, he joins us live from Atlanta with the very latest, Coy, good morning.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Dave. Authorities in the Dominican Republican said the shooter was on a motorcycle and ambushed Ortiz outside the dance club in Santo Domingo. According to police, the former Red Sox star was shot in the back. The bullet went through his stomach. The 43-year-old was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery. The nurse at the hospital told CNN that Ortiz asked the emergency room doctor, quote, please don't let me die. I'm a good man, unquote. As before he went into surgery. Big Poppy's father gave reporters an update on his son's condition outside the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The operation is over and he is stable. We are just waiting for the doctors to take him out of the surgery room. He is resting right now. Now, there are no other damages we know of. He is stable.
WIRE: A police spokesman said multiple people were taken into custody in connection with the shooting. According to witnesses, one of the suspects was attacked by bystanders immediately after Ortiz was shot. The person is being treated at a local hospital. As news of the shooting spread shocked, teammates and opponents sent prayers and well wishes late Sunday.
Hall of fame pitcher Pedram Martinez tweeted, quote, I'm at peace knowing you are out of danger, you are a strong man. Can't wait to hear your voice, my thoughts and prayers are with you. See you soon. Unquote.
Yankee slugger, Alex Rodriguez posted, anxiously waiting for more news. In the meantime only prayers for David Ortiz, Tiffany and their family, unquote.
David Ortiz played 20 seasons in the majors, 14 of them were played in Boston. The 10 times all-star led the Red Sox to three World Series titles before he retire after the 2016 season, Dave.
BRIGGS: Cory, thank you. I covered him for the best years of his career and mine. And I can say, you don't often know the players you cover. I know David Ortiz very, very well. I love that man. I truly love that man and no one would walk into a press room coy or a locker room and just immediately light it up.
Change the atmosphere immediately with some joke or some crack. What he did clutch on the field for the city of Boston, of course, is what they will remember for the clutch homeruns, the 2004 World Series, the three rings, but it's really what he was off the field, I think that means more than that city, what he said after the Boston marathon bombing. This is our bleeping city, rallying that entire town and region behind him. This is a giant of a man.
The last time I saw him Coy, I was down at spring training just with my son taken in a ball game as a fan. And he spotted me from across the field, he ran across and gave me this giant hug that David often did to the people he knew and love and run up and took this picture with my son Will. I love this man. I'm glad to hear he is doing OK. Sorry I'm a little broken up with this. He is just a great man. Thanks for your reporting there.
ROMANS: Thank you for your perspective. It's not often when you are covering a story, you know somebody is --
BRIGGS: Yes, a little personally attached to it, but he is a terrific human being and a legend.
ROMANS: And from that reporting we know that he is out of surgery and appears to be doing well.
BRIGGS: In stable condition from what I'm told, I was texted some video from directly -- from the scene from a friend who was there, we will effort that for you in just a second.
ROMANS: Will show you some of that on the scene video. All right. Let's move on to the next story this morning. You know, a tragedy really in Dallas over the weekend. At least one person is dead in Dallas and another six injured after a construction crane fell on to a Downtown apartment complex. One witness of the crane quote, sliced through the building like a hot knife through butter.
[04:05:12] A fire rescue spokesman called the situation really challenging, because cranes for often collapse on uninhabited constructions sites.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't recall ever responding to one where it actually has fallen on to an occupied building. Much less an occupied five story residential high rise building.
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ROMANS: The cause of the crane collapse is still under investigation, but severe weather may have been a factor. CNN's Christina Alesci has more.
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CHRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Christine, here is what we know. Shortly after the collapse, Dallas fire fighter used rescue dogs to search for more missing or injured people. Now what makes this so scary, is part of the crane fell on the residential building and parking lot. Where a lot of people could have been killed or hurt. We don't know what could have caused the collapse. Weather, human error. Well, both could had been factors here.
Look, the National Weather Service did issue warnings Sunday morning about damaging winds with gusts up to 75 miles per hour and more than 227,000 people in the area experienced power outages. The winds may have also caused a billboard to crash onto a car in Dallas' uptown neighborhood. Now the investigation will likely take months. Authorities are still investigating a Seattle collapse in April which
killed four people. And the result of that inquiry will probably take a few more months. Experts say human error may have played a role there. But in 2017, three cranes designed to withstand 95-mile-an- hour winds in South Florida collapsed during hurricane Irma. Dave, Christine.
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BRIGGS: Christina Alesci, thank you there. President Trump declaring victory in his trade battle with Mexico. But it turns out he may have been the only one fighting. The New York Times reports, Mexico agreed months ago to take many of the action that are in Friday's immigration deal with the U.S. And the president simply threatened tariffs first before accepting the agreement. Mr. Trump denies that report and his die hard supporters are praising his negotiating skills.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tariffs are attacks on American consumers and we don't want to see -- long-term note I -- do I believe President Trump does. He is using tariffs as leverage in trade negotiations and I think he used them as leverage in this situation brilliantly.
The president put a charge in this whole dialogue with Mexico with the tariff threat. Brought them to the table, the Foreign Minister from Mexico arrived within hours, he arrived the next day. With real proposals on the table.
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BRIGGS: Mexico has agreed to deploy its National Guard to its borders with Guatemala beginning today. Mexico's ambassador to the U.S. says, that's been the works for weeks and she hopes to see results in a month to a month and a half.
ROMANS: And in that reporting so much of this has already been negotiated by Kirsten Gillibrand, who used to be the DHS secretary and it is no longer in that position. So, again, months and months of negotiations, the president wrapping it up, packaging it up like an episode of a reality show almost with -- for nine days, American businesses and whole supply chains just unsure of what was going to happen.
BRIGGS: and when you hear that Mexican ambassador, she was on CBS, Sunday morning, on Face the Nation, it sounded like she was twisting herself in knots to not call the president a lair.
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: To not say, well, essentially, you know, we are happy that this is done, but it's been done and there's nothing material on paper here.
ROMANS: All right. Let's go to Iowa now. The Iowa hall of fame dinner was the place to be Sunday afternoon for 2020 Democratic hopefuls. Most of them in a way, 19 candidates received five minutes each at the microphone to make an impression in the first caucus state. And, well, there was a common thread.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
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ROMANS: Former Vice President front runner Joe Biden, a no show. CNN's Leyla Santiago has more.
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LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Dave, voters here tell me that this event didn't necessarily make things easier for them, rather more difficult in narrowing down their short list for 2020. You had 19 of the 23 candidates, all in one room making a five-minute pitch to voters here in Iowa.
Remember Iowa, the very first caucus state. That's why there's a lot of focus here. Among candidates you heard them talk about issues that are not so surprising, abortion, voting rights, health care. And every single one of them made sure to sort of flex some muscle in talking about beating President Trump in 2020.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for president because we can't take four more years of Donald Trump. I'm running for president to beat Donald Trump and I'm running for president because beating Donald Trump is not enough. [04:10:06] REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA), 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE: We need a president who lives like you live. We need a president who has the grit that you have. And we have a president right now that doesn't understand the dreams that you have. I will be that president.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While we are all united in the need to defeat Trump, there are disagreements amongst us as to the best way to do that. In my view, we will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into this campaign.
SANTIAGO: Now what you did not see here for the hall of fame dinner, you did not see the front runner, vice president Joe Biden. His campaign said that he had a long-standing family commitment that had been scheduled awhile back, that's why he's not in Iowa. But some voters tell me, they took offense to that that perhaps they didn't see themselves as the priority for the front runner Vice President Joe Biden. Christine, Dave.
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BRIGGS: Leyla, thanks. Right now, Joe Biden is the top choice among likely voters in the Iowa Democratic caucuses, but he does not have a lot of breathing room. A new CNN De Moines register poll puts the former VP at 24 percent with Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg all in double digits within 10 points of the lead, very bunch tight there. CNN's Jeff Zeleny caught up with the three who has some catching up to do.
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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), 2020 U.S. DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Yes. People are ready for real change, for structural change. Nobody in this crowd was saying do less.
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-SOUTH BEND-IN) 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, we still have work to do to get people used to the idea of a millennial Midwestern male running for president. Although it is not quite as exotic as people thought it was in January at the polls or anything we go by.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Again, it is my full intention to work very hard, to earn the support of the people of Iowa and to spend time here and continue to grow a staff on the ground and have a presence here.
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BRIGGS: Only five Democratic candidates scored above 5 percent in that poll.
ROMANS: All right. Two of the biggest suppliers in aerospace and defense system are joining forces in one of the biggest mergers of the year. United Technologies and Raytheon, now Sunday, they will create a new company called Raytheon Technologies Corporation. Wall Street Journal reported that the combine company would be the second largest Aerospace and Defense Company by sales behind Boeing. You know, the technologies of course, is an industrial -- excuse me -- it makes everything, jet engines, to elevators, it owns the Pratt and Whitney engine maker, as well as, Cohen's Aerospace. Raytheon is rooted in defense and produces missile defense systems and cyber security solutions. The companies supply airbus and Boeing. The merger comes after UTX -- UTC announced last year, it was spinning off its elevator and that HVAC division to focus on aviation. So watch that today.
BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, more than a million people clashing with police in protesting in the streets of Hong Kong. The government plan that started the uproar, next.
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ROMANS: China is censoring information on social media about a huge demonstrations in Hong Kong on Sunday. More than a million people took to the streets clashing with police, protesting a controversial government plan that would allow extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China.
Let's bring in CNN's Matt Rivers, he is live in Hong Kong with the very latest. And the people who live in Hong Kong have at least a (inaudible) of freedom and rights, although we should point out that Hong Kong is being absorbed into main land China in a 50-year plan. This appears to be one of those, you know, notches along the wat that takes some rights away.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without question. I mean, Hong Kong technically is a part of China, but what we've seen over the last couple of years, is Beijing taking step after step after step to really kind of curtail some of the Democratic freedoms here in Hong Kong that people have long enjoyed.
And what happens -- what looks like is happening with this extradition law is that what (inaudible) say, that this is another step where Beijing is exerting more and more control over Hong Kong, just to remind our viewers, this extradition law, would basically allow people here in Hong Kong to be extradited to main land China for a number of different offenses and what critics say is that opens Hong Kong to Beijing's notoriously opaque legal system.
Basically what critics say is that Beijing could seek the extradition of people in Hong Kong here for simply political reasons or just in offensive business, offenses there's a number of different things that critics say Beijing could use to take advantage of that extradition law.
Now the Hong Kong government here says that is not true that this closes certain legal loopholes. And they are continuing to debate this bill. We are going to see more protests on Wednesday morning, that's when the Hong Kong parliament will next debate this bill. And then after that, there will be another debate before it could eventually be put into law.
So, this fight is certainly not over at the moment, we are expecting more protests this week after a million people according to organizers came out on Sunday. That is one in every seven people in this city, Christine, that was a massive protest and the fight is definitely not over.
ROMANS: All right. Matt Rivers for us in Hong Kong. Thanks Matt.
BRIGGS: All right. Back here, several wildfires are raging across parts of California. The so-called sky fire in Southern California forcing the evacuation and closure of six flag Magic Mountain Theme Park Sunday, along with neighboring Water Park in Valencia. The fast spreading sand fire prompting mandatory evacuations in Yolo County in Northern California. Authorities say the blaze which began on Saturday has burned 2200 acres and it's just 20 percent contained.
[04:20:03] Pacific Gas and Electric is restoring power to some 20,000 customers after the utility temporarily cut off electricity in areas of extreme fire risk.
ROMANS: Heavy rain and flooding being blame for three jets in North Carolina. Authorities say, three men were killed when their vehicle slid off the road and hit a tree and then overturned into rising creek waters near Lincolnton North Carolina. Several locations, the western part of the state had seen more than a foot of rain in the past three days. High water also damaged the Duke University student union, look at that flooding rooms and forcing a partial evacuation of the building.
BRIGGS: All right. Last night, a big night on Broadway as it honored the best at the Annual Tony Awards. The big winners and losers, next.
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ROMANS: A Texas man missing for almost a week on a hiking trip in Arkansas, he has been rescued, 38 year-old Joshua McClatchy found safe in Ouachita National Forest, after a National Guard chopper spotted his flashlight. Rescuers had to walk about 21 miles over rugged terrain to get him. His sister says he was dehydrated, but otherwise in really good shape.
BRIGGS: Lord Stanley's Cup was in the building, Sunday night in St. Louis but it was not to be for the blues, at least yet. The Blues coming up big winning game six, 5-1. Before deciding seventh game in the Stanley Cup final series, game seven Wednesday night back in Boston. The first time since 2011 that the Stanley Cup final has gone to a seventh game. The champion that year, the Boston Bruins.
ROMANS: A celebration of Broadway's best of the 73rd Tony Awards Sunday.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Tony Award goes to "Hades Town."
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ROMANS: That was the big winner taking home eight awards including the biggest prize for best new musical. Other musicals did not go home empty handed. Santino Fontana, won as best actor for musical for his role in "Tootsie." Stephanie J. Block won best actress in musical for the Share Show. The Ferryman won the Tony for best new play and Brian Cranston won his second Tony for his performance in the stage adaptation of the film, "Network." Cranston dedicated his win to journalist everywhere.
BRIGGS: Yes, we'll have the words that he spoke last night that sounded like -- certainly a veiled shouted out to the president's remarks about the media being the enemy of the people.
ROMANS: But the president first tweet -- or one of his first tweet Sunday, was about how CNN and the New York Times are enemy of the people, Brian Cranston have some thoughts on that.
BRIGGS: Dangerous rhetoric. All right. Ahead, Red Sox legend David Ortiz shot in the back in his home Dominican Republic. We'll have the latest on Big Poppy's condition and the investigation, next.
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