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Stories of Survival Emerge in Tennessee As Clean Up Begins After Tornado; Airlines Could Take Big Hit as Coronavirus Slams Industry; 2020 Election Creates Rifts in Families; Activists Appeal with Alabama Governor to Stop Execution. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 05, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Despite everything that happened to you in your neighborhood you're volunteering -- you're volunteering with the Red Cross and Hands on Nashville, so tell me just about the kind of help you all need.

TAYLOR HICKS, WINNER OF FIFTH SEASON OF AMERICAN IDOL, HID IN BASEMENT CLOSET AS TORNADO HIT NASHVILLE: Well, I kind of like the boots on the ground mentality. Hands on Nashville is really great at the organization of the volunteer efforts and we do need boots on the ground in Nashville. We do need volunteers. And from a local perspective, Hands on Nashville is a really great organization that will put these volunteers in the places that are the hardest hit and with the most need. Obviously, the Red Cross has a big footprint in organizing you know, from all spectrums of need.

So those two are the ones that I've kind of partnered with. To see how many others and how many people that have come to the aid of the Nashvillians that have been affected by this is quite amazing.

BALDWIN: Taylor Hicks, I'm glad you're A-OK, and how about, you know, incredible work for Hands on all about o'clock and Nashville and of course always the Red Cross. Thank you very much. Wishing you and of course your great city well as you go through all of this picking up the pieces.

Meantime, thousands of flights have been canceled now as coronavirus spreads around the world. Airlines set to lose tens of billions of dollars just as an industry.

Also just into us, the U.S. is trying to identify people in contact with an infected screener at LAX, the LA airport, who tested positive. Stand by.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just into CNN, there is a desperate search now to find people who came into contact with this health screener at the LA Airport who tested positive for coronavirus. Customs and Border Protection officials and the CDC are in the process of what they call contact tracing.

Homeland Security officials say the worker at LAX is a DHS contractor who had not been at work for more than a week before developing symptoms. It's not clear if the virus was contracted from travelers or thru what they call community spread.

A leading airline industry group says the coronavirus outbreak is crippling the financial future of airlines around the world. In fact, insiders say industry -- the industry could take a multibillion dollar hit in lost revenues. Several U.S. airlines including United and JetBlue have already cut back on domestic and international routes. The fear is so great, several U.S. airline executives asked the White House not to discourage commercial air travel. Seth Kaplan is an expert in the airline industry. So, Seth, welcome to you.

SETH KAPLAN, AIRLINE EXPERT: Hey, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Looking ahead, you know, we're talking within the airline industry so many cuts. And this is really the first dent, it seems like, in something domestic with regard to this virus. What does this mean for jobs, et cetera?

KAPLAN: Exactly. And this is where, you know, although there's still a range of possibilities, Brooke, right, that range has shifted in a more serious direction. A couple of weeks ago this looked like a China issue. Then perhaps an Italy and Milan issue. Now we have a situation where people, even if they're still getting on flights today are clearly reluctant to book future flights.

Airlines first tried to combat that with those more generous waivers of fees and so forth, clearly that wasn't enough, and now what they're doing is just kind of playing supply and demand economics. There' saying, if not as many people want to fly, then guess what, we're not going to have as many flights and as many seats in the sky. And the impact of that trickles down to everybody, including as you mentioned airline workers.

Been a long time, Brooke, since airlines have faced a crisis like this. Last decade was rather good for U.S. airlines. So this is going to test them in a way that the people running the airlines today really haven't had to face.

BALDWIN: One of my producers was saying that you say this will be worse than the Boeing 737 MAX jet issue?

KAPLAN: Yes, for almost every airline, there's some that were hit pretty bad by that, I mean let's be clear. The tragedy of that, obviously, this doesn't change anything for the families of those 346 victims. But the financial impact on airlines and then how that impacts their workers, passengers and the rest of it, much greater from this.

In fact, Brooke, if anything, the MAX grounding, again, not to take anything away from the tragedy, is right now kind of a mixed blessing for airlines. Because there are airlines that a month or two ago, Brooke, thought that they didn't have enough airplanes to fly their schedules and to meet all the demand out there. And some of those same airlines now think they have too many airplanes, right.

When you talk about as you mentioned before, United and JetBlue and surely others here to come, cutting flights. Some of those airlines that were due to have MAXs that already had them and had them grounded are glad now not to be paying for those airplanes that they might not know what to do with today.

BALDWIN: Seth Kaplan on what's to come within the airline industry because of all of this. Thank you.

KAPLAN: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Back to politics now, the 2020 Democratic race now down to really Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders after Elizabeth Warren ended her presidential bid today.

Coming up, I will talk to a mother and daughter duo quite divided over this election.

[15:40:00]

The mom reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016, her daughter is a Democrat hoping to convince her otherwise this November. That conversation much like the ones happening all around the country is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We know the 2016 Presidential election not only divided the country, it has divided communities and families and those feelings are bubbling up again as we head toward November. Patricia Murphy and her daughter Scarlett are one example of a house divided. Mom reluctantly admits she did vote for Donald Trump back in 2016, and her daughter did not speak to her for days.

[15:45:00]

Patricia Murphy is a registered Republican and is thinking about voting for a Democrat, and mom and daughter are both with me now. So ladies, let's get right into this on national television. How about it?

PATRICIA MURPHY, UNDECIDED VOTER WHO SUPPORTED TRUMP IN 2016: Oh, my gosh.

BALDWIN: Patricia, I want to begin with you, you are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. And Scarlett, you're here in New York where you're going to school. So I first of all am glad we're all speaking again. But Patricia we are about eight months, you know, about eight months from election day and the field has narrowed. What are you thinking about the choices currently available?

P. MURPHY: Well, I mean, it narrowed again today. I'm actually hoping for one particular candidate to come to the forefront. I voted for Trump, as we said, but I would have voted for Joe Biden back in 2016, and I would vote for him this time as well. Bernie, I don't know enough about, and there's a lot of fear around him. I need to know more.

BALDWIN: So hang on, hang on, hang on, so you're a registered Republican. Have you ever voted for a Democrat in your life?

P. MURPHY: Yes.

BALDWIN: Yes, OK, so this wouldn't be a first, but so you're telling me if Joe Biden were to become the nominee, you would vote for him over Donald Trump?

P. MURPHY: Yes, if that is the case this time around, that's what I would do. And that just recently emerged as a choice because I didn't think he was actually going to be in the running based on the debate I saw last Tuesday.

BALDWIN: Well, I think even Joe Biden's standing there talking the other night was basically saying he was a dead man, and now he's alive. I mean huge, huge, huge wins.

P. MURPHY: Wow. Right, right.

BALDWIN: What do you think -- just let me talk to your daughter for a second. What do you think hearing your mom who voted for Trump is saying she'd vote Democrat?

SCARLETT MURPHY, DEMOCRATIC VOTER AT ODDS WITH PARENTS OVER 2020 ELECTION: You know, it doesn't entirely surprise me. I mean, I think part of my initial emotional reaction when I found out she voted for Trump back in 2016 is that I didn't think that was something she was capable of, you know, looking back.

BALDWIN: How do you mean?

S. MURPHY: I mean, I think Trump is a really unique candidate and a unique President in terms of the hateful rhetoric he spews. What he stands for, what --

BALDWIN: Unique not in a good way you mean.

S. MURPHY: Unique, not a -- I mean, yes, unique not in a good way.

BALDWIN: Yes.

S. MURPHY: Unique as in we've never quite seen anything like him, and it really surprised me that she voted that way.

BALDWIN: And you had words.

S. MURPHY: And we had words. We had words. And you know, I think part of living to live in a household divided is trying to like empathize with where people are coming from and, while it's not like a belief I share, I do know that I think my mom represents a group of women who had trouble voting for Hillary Clinton due to historical factor.

And I think with Hillary out of the picture, it's less surprising that she would vote as an alternative to Trump. You know, I don't think necessarily think she's been happy with everything he's done, you know, we can talk more about that.

BALDWIN: Is that the case, Patricia? I mean, since you voted for him -- and I read that you were -- what was the word, you admitted that you were mortified by Trump but that didn't stop you from voting for him a couple of years ago. How are you feeling now about the President?

P. MURPHY: About the President, I wish he would stay off the tweets. I wish he would present a more Presidential figure for America throughout the world. I wish he would represent us better that way. A lot of people feel that the good economy is specifically because of Trump.

I'm not sure that's totally the case. What I liked about Trump was that and what I think is still true is that he was going to bring manufacturing back into America, bring some trade agreements that were more favorable towards America, infrastructure.

I mean, so there were some positive reasons to vote for Donald Trump in 2016. It's kind of hard to tell even doing research on the internet or even with the news what all is true and isn't true as far as what has been accomplished and what hasn't.

BALDWIN: Is the door totally closed, Patricia on voting for Donald Trump, or if the economy -- depending on who knows what the next couple of months may bring, is there still a possibility that you could vote for Trump?

P. MURPHY: Possibly, I mean, I would need to know what's going to happen in the Democratic primary. I would need to know if it ended up being Bernie Sanders, you know, a lot of people are afraid of the socialism label.

A lot of people say he is a socialist. A lot of people say he isn't, but what's the definition of socialism that we're using? Some of it's scary. Some of it's not. So I think they need to do a better job of marketing what he is, what socialism is. Right now the way I understand it, I would not feel comfortable voting for Bernie Sanders.

BALDWIN: Understand. And then to you Scarlett, it's my understanding your dad also voted for Trump.

S. MURPHY: Yes.

[15:50:00]

BALDWIN: But for -- you tell me, why are you more irked with your mom?

S. MURPHY: It's hard to say. I mean I don't want to say anything disparaging about my dad on national television, he's a great man.

BALDWIN: Of course not.

S. MURPHY: He's a caring man.

BALDWIN: Shout out to dad.

S. MURPHY: Shout out to dad. But he is part of a demographic that almost lives an entirely different world in terms of what they think, what media information is presented to them. He works in the construction industry.

He listens to a local A.M. radio station that's very conservative. And he was just getting an entirely different body of information. That's just who he was, that's how he was going to vote the things that I think, he was maybe part of that demographic that Trump was able to empathize with and kind of capitalize on in the 2016 election.

Whereas I thought of my mom as someone you know who is really involved in like social justice work and is an advocate for so many people Trump disparaged.

BALDWIN: So look into that camera ----

S. MURPHY: Looking into this camera.

BALDWIN: Look into this camera, right here, and you tell her final words to mom. Because I have a feeling, you're a Democrat through and through.

S. MURPHY: Yes.

BALDWIN: What's your advice?

S. MURPHY: I think you should vote for Joe Biden, mom.

P. MURPHY: You know what, you can lash out with the ones that you love because they will love you no matter what.

BALDWIN: Spoken like a good, true mom.

Patricia and Scarlett, ladies thank you so much for that conversation. So helpful for all of us.

Moments ago, a helicopter dropped coronavirus test kits to this cruise ship off the coast of California. More than 2,000 people on board are waiting to hear when they will be able to dock. We'll get you a live update, just ahead.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Three hours from now an Alabama man is set to be executed despite questions surrounding his guilt. Nathaniel Woods was convicted in the 2004 killing of three police officers, but another man, Kerry Spencer, is the one who actually opened fire.

CNN's Martin Savidge is in Alabama as Woods' family makes a family plea to the Governor to save him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the advocates and the attorneys that are representing Nathaniel Woods are making a full- court press and they're trying just about every avenue they can to avoid the execution that is slated for 6:00 local time, 7:00 Eastern.

They are going into the courts both in the state and also to the U.S. Supreme Court. They are also continuing to lobby and press the Governor Ivey here to either in some way commute the sentence of Nathaniel Woods or to issue some kind of stay. Even if it's temporary stay.

His legal team says that what they would really like to see is that if the governor were just simply to pause the execution to allow a thorough investigation by a fully vetted legal team that has dealt with capital cases in the past. They say that is something that has never actually happened for Nathaniel Woods.

I should point out. This is a case that's notorious in the State of Alabama back to 2004 when three Birmingham police officers were gunned down trying to serve a misdemeanor warrant on Woods inside of a home. Woods had just taken into custody, he had surrendered with another man, Kerry Spencer, suddenly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle killing three officers.

Both men were charged with capital murder in the death of those officers. But it's Kerry Spencer who says he's the one that actually did the killing. Woods had nothing to do with it. In fact, Kerry Spencer called me from death row just again to appeal on behalf of Woods. Here's some of what he had to say.

SAVIDGE: You are saying that you are totally responsible for the murders of those police officers.

KERRY SPENCER, CONFESSED GUNMAN (via telephone): So the shootings, yes, I am. I'm the only one that shot anybody that day.

SAVIDGE: And Nathaniel Woods is completely innocent you say.

SPENCER: Absolutely. He didn't I was going to shoot anybody. I mean, I put this on my life, on my children's life. I mean, like I swear to God. I didn't know I was going to do this (expletive) so how would Nate know? I mean this was a spur of the moment decision. We had no time to think about what the (expletive) was going to happen that day.

SAVIDGE: He says that Woods knew nothing of what was going to happen. It was a spontaneous attack. They did not conspire together. Woods he says is

100 percent innocent. And the wrong man is being put to death -- Brooke.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Martin Savidge, thank you very much. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. Let's go to Washington. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: President Trump says he trusts his hunch more than health data. THE LEAD starts right now.

Breaking news, a cruise ship held off California with close to two dozen people possibly infected with the novel coronavirus and thousands potentially exposed.

"Hunch" science, President Trump blasted for causing coronavirus confusion as he publicly doubts what doctors are say about how deadly virus is.

Plus, Senator Elizabeth Warren exits the race leaving Bernie and Biden to battle it out. Could her endorsement change this campaign yet again?

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start with breaking news, a brutal day on Wall Street.