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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Suspects Iranian Freighters Carrying Missiles; Bill Barr Says Russia Probe Explanations Concerning; President Trump Reveals New Immigration Plan; F-16 Crashes Into Warehouse; Big Changes to the SATs. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired May 17, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:31:14] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN with new information on what the U.S. believes to be missiles on Iranian -- freighters, rather, in the Persian Gulf.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Walmart now says it will raise prices on some items because of President Trump's tariffs on China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a military airplane in our building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A fighter jet comes crashing through the roof of a California warehouse after the pilot ejects.
BRIGGS: Big changes coming to the SATs. New scores for students that have nothing to do with academics. This may have a dramatic impact on how your kids get into college.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Nothing to do with academics and everything to do with academics at the same time, you know.
BRIGGS: Yes. Trying to level the playing field.
ROMANS: That's right.
I'm Christine Romans. It's Friday, everybody. Hope you're having a great end to your week. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
Let's begin here, the U.S. believes Iran is using commercial ships in the Persian Gulf to carry missiles. A U.S. official tells CNN the government has multiple images of Iranian freighters that have been modified. The U.S. claims the pictures show large areas of the decks removed to carry missiles. Now CNN has not reviewed the intelligence supporting the U.S. assessment and the government has not provided any proof the ships are carrying missiles or other munitions.
BRIGGS: President Trump is trying to curve the intensifying conflict with Iran. "The New York Times" reports the president on Wednesday told acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan he does not want to go to war. That message also aimed at his more hawkish aides was underscored in a brief White House photo-op yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, are we going to war with Iran?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president apparently searching for a diplomatic way out of the mounting crisis. Are Iranian leaders doing the same.
Let's bring in senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen live in Tehran.
Fred, good morning to you. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting really highlights the miscommunication here. Both sides misreading one another.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, both sides thinking that the other side is the one that's escalating the situation, Dave, and both sides apparently thinking that the other one is trying to start some sort of offensive military operation.
It's quite interesting to hear from the Iranians because on the one hand they say they don't want an escalation in the situation. They want things to calm down, but at the same time, they're also saying that there are not going to be any sort of negotiations with the Trump administration at this point in time.
Essentially what the Iranians have said in the form of Iran's supreme leader is they have said, look, with the current policy of the United States, with that massive sanctions policy, the Iranians are simply not going to talk to this Trump White House. They want to be able to sell their oil on international markets again. They want companies to be able to invest in Iran here again without facing the wrath of the United States.
And in an ideal world, they say they also want the U.S. to go back to the nuclear agreement. Now of course we know the current situation in the White House that does not seem to be something that's in the cards. So the supreme leader has said at this point in time there's not going to be any negotiations with the U.S. and overnight the Iranian Foreign minister has said that once again.
Now as far as that new intelligence that we've learned is concerned, it's quite interesting to hear because so far there's nothing official from the Iranians denying any of that. However there was an interview by Iran's ambassador to the U.N. which was on Iranian state media overnight where he said, look, the Iranians are not preparing to go into any conflict. But the Iranians want to be prepared in case a conflict starts, so the Iranians essentially saying any sort of movement that they're conducting right now are defensive in nature. One of the things that we have heard from the Iranians is that yes,
they have beefed up their naval presence in the Persian Gulf area so that certainly is something that is going off. But again the Iranians are saying all of that defensive in nature -- Dave.
[04:05:01] BRIGGS: OK. Fred Pleitgen live for us just past 1:00 p.m. in Tehran. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Attorney General Bill Barr says explanations he has been given for the origin of the Russia probe, quote, "don't hang together." Barr telling FOX News during a visit to El Salvador that he now has more questions today than when he first started investigating the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: People have to find out what the government was doing during that period. If we're -- if we're worried about foreign influence for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale. And so I'm not saying that happened but I'm saying that we have to look at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN reporting earlier this week that Barr has appointed a top federal prosecutor to look into the genesis of the Russia probe. Barr has also enlisted the help of the CIA and the director of National Intelligence.
BRIGGS: New details about Michael Flynn's cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Unsealed court records show the convicted former National Security adviser flagged multiple attempts to obstruct justice. Flynn told Mueller that people connected to the Trump administration or Congress called him potentially trying to obstruct. Flynn even gave Mueller a voicemail recording of one of their conversations.
A federal judge has ordered the public release by May 31st of portions of the Mueller report related to Flynn. Sections that may still be redacted. The judge also ordered the release of transcripts for Flynn's conversations with Russian officials during the transition and the transcript of the voicemail Flynn gave Mueller.
ROMANS: House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff says he's ready to take enforcement action against the Justice Department for not complying with his subpoena for counterintelligence information from the special counsel's probe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): They can't even give 450 pages to a Democratic Congress but they gave ultimately over a million pages of discovery to the Republican Congress. They have been able to provide no justification for that double standard and hypocrisy. They're going to have to defend that in court if they press this. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Schiff told reporters the committee will hold a meeting next week to take unspecified action against the Justice Department for not handing over the documents but a letter obtained by CNN reveals the Justice Department offered Wednesday to show all committee members a less redacted version of Robert Mueller's report.
Schiff did not say whether he would move to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt. The House Judiciary Committee already did that after the department declined to provide the panel with the unredacted Mueller report and supporting evidence.
BRIGGS: President Trump announcing his broad plan to reform border security and legal immigration, calling for changes that would favor young, educated immigrants instead of those with family ties to the U.S. The measure calls for a points based system that would favor highly skilled, financially self-sufficient immigrants who learned English and passed a civics exam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Random selection is contrary to American values. Under the senseless rules of the current system, we're not able to give preference to a doctor, a researcher, a student who graduated number one in his class from the finest colleges in the world.
We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won't anymore, once we get this passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Trump cast the measure as a consensus plan that would solve one of Washington's most stubborn challenges but the plan faces an uphill battle, even among Republicans. Democrats are all but certain to oppose it calling the changes drastic and inhumane. As expected it does not propose any legal status for so-called Dreamers, young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children leaving that key issue unresolved.
ROMANS: All right. Today lawmakers in the Missouri House are expected to pass a bill banning abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy. The state Senate approved the measure Thursday, 24-10. All of the yes votes came from Republicans, three of them women. Governor Mike Parson has already promised to sign that bill which has no exceptions for rape or incest.
The bill is among strict abortion laws passing recently in several states. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a flat-out ban Wednesday. All the measures aimed at giving the Supreme Court an opportunity to overturn "Roe versus Wade."
BRIGGS: President Trump reporting income of at least $434 million for 2018. That according to an annual financial disclosure just released by the White House. The figure includes $40.8 million in revenue from the Trump International Hotel located just blocks from the White House, and $22.7 million for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Down from $25.1 million he disclosed in 2017.
Overall the president's income appears to have decreased a bit from the $450 million plus he reported earnings in 2017.
[04:40:03] Mr. Trump also reports holding outstanding debt of at least $315 million.
Tonight at 9:00 Eastern, CNN's Erin Burnett investigates how President Trump and his family do business. A CNN report, "THE TRUMP FAMILY BUSINESS." That's again tonight at 9:00 here on CNN.
ROMANS: All right. This is what a trade war looks like. America's largest retailer Walmart says it will raise prices on some products because of President Trump's tariffs on China. Its CFO Brett Biggs said Thursday, "We're going to continue to do everything we can to keep prices low. That's who we are. However, increased tariffs will lead to increased prices we believe for our consumers." He did not say which items will become more expensive but noted Walmart is working with its suppliers to manage prices.
But here's what Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for the president, said last night about Walmart's announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Wouldn't the CFO of Walmart know what he's talking about? I mean, I don't think the CFO of Walmart would go out and say prices are going up unless he looked at it and knew they were going to go up.
KEVIN HASSETT, CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: You go up and down the aisle, there's a million things and of course there are going to be some products that don't have close substitutes but a lot of them do. And then in the end, it's an empirical question which is dominating, and if you look at inflation in the U.S. it's been decelerating. And so I don't think that you could say that the tariffs have caused this but --
BURNETT: But you think he's got it wrong. OK. So the president --
HASSETT: Yes. It's not in the data what he's saying. Not in the aggregate data for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Clearly the White House wants to downplay this notion that consumers are going to pay the price for the president's trade war.
Now Walmart isn't the only retailer warning that tariffs will hurt consumers. Macy's announced Wednesday it will raise prices on some merchandise because of the trade war. On the other side, though, of Trump's tariffs, Stanley Black & Decker announced it plans to move production of its craftsman wrenches out of China and to the U.S. building a new plant in Fort Worth that will open in late 2020. The tariffs make it profitable for them -- more profitable for them to
make them here in the United States. Stanley said the Fort Worth plant would employ 500 full-time employees. Another part of that story, some of the manufacturing moving is also technology, right. Some of these plants in China have been there 20, 30 years now, so they've got old equipment and they have the same labor force they've always had, so if you have artificial intelligence, if you have robotics, if you have high-tech new equipment, and fewer workers in the U.S., Cambodia or Vietnam, then it makes sense with the tariffs structure --
BRIGGS: To bring it back.
ROMANS: It makes sense to move those plants.
BRIGGS: It's good news amidst the trade war.
Coming up, new SAT scores that have more to do with where you live instead of what you study.
ROMANS: Plus, the fighter jet that plunged through the roof of a California warehouse.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:46:49] BRIGGS: An F-16 fighter jet crashing on takeoff from March Air Reserve base near Riverside, California. Well, the plane slammed through the roof of a nearby warehouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) airplane. That's a military airplane in our building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Imagine that. Air Force officials say a hydraulic failure led to the jet's crash. The pilot ejected before impact and had no major injuries. The CEO of the company and the warehouse says his employees are all safe but air base officials say five people were injured on the ground. We have reached out for details on their condition.
ROMANS: A brutal rush hour in Orlando after a single engine plane ran out of fuel and landed on Interstate 4 at 5:25 in the evening. The aircraft struck a car on the Maitland Boulevard onramp. No one was hurt. This is nothing new for the Maitland Fire Department. Do you know that in 2017 a small plane ran out of fuel and made an emergency landing on I-4 in the same general area.
BRIGGS: Boeing says it has completed a software fix for the troubled 737 MAX jet liner. The aircraft maker says in a statement it has flown the updated software on 207 flights for more than 360 hours. The company officials are confident with the new software, the 737 MAX will be, quote, "one of the safest airplanes ever to fly." The FAA and global regulators now have to review the software before
the plane can be recertified. The 737 MAX fleet was grounded worldwide following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes that killed 346 people.
ROMANS: A Tesla Model 3 sedan was on autopilot when it crashed into a semi-truck killing the car's driver. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the driver engaged the autopilot just seconds before the fatal accident on a Florida highway back in March. And the driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel.
This is not the first fatal crash while Tesla's autopilot function was engaged. It raises questions about Tesla's marketing of its semiautonomous driving software. Critics says slapping the autopilot name on to a driver assistance feature can lull people into a false sense of security making them less likely to stay fully alert and more vulnerable to a crash.
BRIGGS: Big changes coming to the SAT exam. An adversity score being added to the test. It will take into account a student's social and economic background. The college board that administers the SATs says it will be implementing an environmental context dash board which measures factors like the crime rate and poverty levels of a student's neighborhood.
The score will be rolled out to 150 schools this year and more widely in 2020. The idea is to better capture an applicant's resourcefulness to overcome challenges and achieve more with less. The change comes as colleges face heightened scrutiny over the admissions process and the diversity of their student bodies.
ROMANS: It will take 10 seconds for rich parent to figure out how to game the system for them. You know, I mean, look at the --
BRIGGS: Perhaps.
ROMANS: The Operation Varsity Blues. People paid to have their scores changed for their kids.
BRIGGS: That needs to be addressed, but are high income towns going to be discriminated against? Is it going to hurt their students?
[04:50:03] ROMANS: We'll see. 49 minutes past the hour.
A new FOX poll has Joe Biden widening his lead over the Democratic field and President Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Take a look at these numbers. Biden has more than double the support of runner-up Bernie Sanders. Elizabeth Warren is a distant third with 9 percent and in a one-on-one contest, Biden beats President Trump by 11 points, 49 to 38 percent. Sanders has a five-point margin over the president and Warren has a two-point edge.
BRIGGS: South Bend mayor and Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg talking to CNN about his military service. He frequently makes reference to it on the campaign trail.
Jeff Zeleny asked him about coming out as gay after serving in Afghanistan and while still in uniform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was the reflecting I did while I was overseas. Talking to so many people who have made it clear that their purpose in life, their motivation for making sure they came home safe. The reason I needed to make sure they came home safe if they were in my vehicle was that they wanted to get home to the people they loved and realizing that I'm a grown man, I'm an officer, I'm a mayor, and I have no idea what it's like to be in love.
That situation became more and more untenable in my mind while I was serving and so I think it did kind of push me over the edge when I could have found more excuses to just take my time on coming out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Buttigieg one of three Democrats running for president who served in America's longest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ROMANS: All right. This week marks the end of a television era on two fronts. More on the finales for two favorites, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:56:09] BRIGGS: There was laughter and tears during the series finale of the "Big Bang Theory."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM PARSON, ACTOR: I want you to know, in my way, I love you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The CBS sitcom ended its 12th season run Thursday with a one- hour finale that wrapped up several long running story lines. At 279 episodes, the "Big Bang Theory" is the longest running multi-camera series in television history. Fans took to social media to praise the ending that wrapped things up nicely and didn't kill anyone off.
ROMANS: All right. The same probably cannot be said for another highly anticipated series finale.
Yes. The final episode of "Game of Thrones" airs Sunday night on HBO. The eighth and final season of the mega-hit series has been a ratings bonanza, though fans have been mixed on this season. Last week's penultimate episode set yet another record. More than 18 million viewers tuning in for the final battle. So who will end up on the Iron Throne?
Dave, I can't believe you have not seen a single episode of the series.
BRIGGS: I have a question. A lot of people saw "End Game" who had never seen a single "Avengers," though.
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: If I watch this final episode, will I still find some enjoyment from it or just be lost the whole time?
ROMANS: No, you're going to be lost. I think you're going to be lost.
BRIGGS: All right. Well, thanks for trying.
The Rolling Stones are ready to get back on the road.
"Start me up." The band announcing the rescheduled dates for its "No Filter" tour, will kick off June 21st at Soldier Field in Chicago and end in Miami on August 31st. The news comes a day after Mick Jagger posted a video of himself rehearsing his trademark dance moves a little over a month after he had heart surgery. The procedure forced the Stones to postpone the North American leg of their tour.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Global markets mostly lower. Trade tensions lingering here at the end of the week.
On Wall Street futures pointing down a little bit here. Stocks rose Thursday. The president sending a delegation to China to resume trade talks and he punted on global car tariffs. The Dow closed up 215 points, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both ended higher.
Honestly a day of no negative trade news is a small win for investors and they took that win yesterday. You know, and take a look. Some perspective here. All three major averages are above where they were when this trade war started almost a year ago. It's been a tortured move in between, but you're just a little bit above where you were a year ago, investors.
One to watch today, chip makers in video stock rose after posting strong first quarter earnings. Stocks of other chip makers, though, fell after the U.S. banned Huawei from selling telecom gear. Huawei buys those chips from -- for its gear.
Samsung's 5G phone is officially on the market. The Galaxy X 10 starts at $1300 and is the first smartphone that could access 5G in the U.S. without an attachment. Right now the device is only available for Verizon customers in Chicago and Minneapolis. Samsung plans to launch the phone in more cities on Verizon and work with other carriers. Samsung is now ahead of Apple which is not expected to debut a 5G iPhone until the fourth quarter of 2020.
SpaceX wants to bring cheap broadband internet across the world and it's planning the first step to make that happen. Elon Musk's rocket company will try to deliver 60 satellites, it's calling it Starlink, into a low orbit -- low earth orbit next week. The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday but delayed because of rough winds. Then SpaceX said Thursday it would wait another week so it can update satellite software and triple check everything again. Elon Musk said SpaceX will need another six missions before Starlink
can provide consistent internet coverage for small parts of the world.
BRIGGS: All right. EARLY START continues right now with the latest out of the Middle East.
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