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Central U.S. Slammed By Tornadoes And Torrential Rain; Carson Confuses Real Estate Term With Oreo Cookies; U.S. Deterrence Or Dangerous Game? Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 22, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: -- erosion on the Cimarron River from heavy rains in Kingfisher County. Eleven injuries were reported in Oklahoma.
There were at least 30 reports of tornadoes in the central U.S., most of the twisters touching down in Kansas and Missouri.
And look at this image out of Nebraska. A state trooper tweeted this photo and says the tornado stayed in the field and likely didn't cause much damage.
The central U.S. not out the woods yet. Two systems are converging, expected to deliver a dangerous end of the week.
CNN's Pedram Javaheri has your latest forecast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Dave and Christine, another day of severe weather in almost the identical spots right across the central portion of the U.S., the Central Plains. And, of course, in the past 24 hours, you see the numbers come in. Over 30 reports of tornadoes and about 50 or so reports of wind and hail damage.
So a shrunken-down version of what we've seen in the past couple of days but the threat exists, though, going in towards the next 24 or so hours. And by this afternoon, notice right around Joplin into Tulsa, that's a three on a scale of one to five.
The threat, though, as far as rotation within these storms, very much limited today. So we'll look for damaging winds and large hail as the predominant risk across these regions when it comes to severe weather. And that southerly flow not helping out here to destabilize the atmosphere.
Also a possibility for some storms across the mid-Atlantic over the next 24 or so hours.
But notice this, high pressure begins to build. You get a tremendous ridge forming across this region. With that, temperatures rise well above the average for this time of year, especially across parts of the mid-Atlantic and the south. Into the 90s in Washington, D.C. -- approaching 90 degrees. These temps are in line with among the hottest temps we've ever seen
in the month of May as we approach the holiday weekend. All these records could be set across these cities by Saturday or Sunday -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much for that.
All right, to politics now.
Beto O'Rourke trying to jumpstart his presidential campaign at a CNN town hall last night. He says he's seeking a national audience for his ideas even though the early stages of his campaign featured a more personal touch with O'Rourke holding up to six town halls a day in those early voting states.
The former Texas congressman lives near the U.S.-Mexico border and he does not approve of President Trump's immigration policies, including the move to cut $500 million in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras where many asylum seekers are fleeing violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He wants to cut that. I would double it and I would focus in on violence prevention so that no mother has to make the God-awful decision of sending her child on that 2,000-mile trek because it is the only choice that she has now.
Let's invest in those solutions there so the families can stay there, they can be prosperous there. They can help those countries come together, and make sure that we have partners in the western hemisphere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: According to a new Quinnipiac poll, O'Rourke has a lot of ground to make up.
Joe Biden is the leading choice of Democratic voters by a more than two-to-one margin over Bernie Sanders. And, Elizabeth Warren is certainly trending up. Pete Buttigieg is leveling off, and O'Rourke actually trending down.
And look at this. The majority of voters who are not paying a lot of attention to the presidential campaign -- they back Bernie Sanders, while voters who are paying a lot of attention favor Biden.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi huddling with fellow Democrats this morning. A growing number of her members clamoring to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president. The number of Democrats calling for impeachment or at least an inquiry growing significantly. CNN's count now shows 29.
Pelosi holding her ground for now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Madam Speaker, are you under increased pressure to impeach the president --
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): No.
REPORTER: -- from your caucus?
PELOSI: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Pelosi insists she wants to pursue a more methodical approach. She wants to allow the committees and the courts to do their work.
But in a sign Speaker Pelosi senses her members growing restless, "The New York Times" reports she has approved an escalation of tactics -- still short of impeachment.
Some members are growing antsy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think it's time to move forward with an impeachment inquiry?
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I do -- I personally do. And we can't be scared of elections. We need to uphold the rule of law.
RAJU: Are you there yet?
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD): I'm getting there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Even if Democrats do pass an impeachment resolution, the Republican-led Senate is all but guaranteed to reject it.
OK, let's go live to Washington and bring in "CNN POLITICS" digital director Zach Wolf. Nice to see you this morning.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
ZACHARY WOLF, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, CNN POLITICS: Good morning.
ROMANS: So we've been busy putting all the pictures together of the House Dems who favor an inquiry or the impeachment process and it's up to 29 now.
Beto O'Rourke, who is running for president, was in Des Moines -- said he favors impeachment.
But, Nancy Pelosi is -- I won't say pumping the brakes but she's driving the car exactly where she wants to go, which is committees and the courts. How much pressure is she under?
WOLF: You can feel the ground sort of shifting underneath her a little bit. They came into power in January and they were all -- not all of them --
Most Democrats seem pretty committed to sort of staying the course and doing things in the committee process with the courts, sort of not trying to distract themselves with this bauble of impeachment that so many of them clearly want to do, but would just suck up all the oxygen for everything else in the -- in the political world, and I think that argument doesn't go away.
[05:35:16] It's just the stonewalling from the White House and from the administration on every little thing has made it so difficult to do any of that oversight that they're almost left with no other choice at this point.
BRIGGS: It certainly makes for an interesting backdrop to infrastructure talks today at the White House between Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and President Trump. That could be an interesting dynamic.
But let's turn to 2020. Some new polling out shows Joe Biden blowing away the field, as we mentioned.
But the economy -- really interesting numbers out on this. Seventy- one percent approve of the economy. That is a record high for Quinnipiac.
But when you break down these numbers only 48 percent approve of Trump's handling of the economy versus 45 percent who disapprove. That is within the margin of error.
How do you explain the American public, who loves the state of the economy but doesn't give President Trump, necessarily, overwhelming credit for it?
WOLF: Well, I'm not sure he necessarily needs overwhelming credit for the economy. This is a president who is so divisive on everything else that having a good economy -- it's almost like he would -- if he -- if he cruises to -- or if he is reelected he will do it in spite of himself and in large part because of this economy.
If people aren't hurting out there they may not feel impelled to go oppose him even though they clearly dislike him -- many of them -- for so many other reasons.
ROMANS: One wonders what the risk is for him heading into 2020 if you start to see higher prices at the -- at the -- you know, at the mall --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- because of the tariffs, and you still see the pain. I mean, I think there's going to be really just intractable pain in the Midwest, in particular, among farmers. But he is sort of gambling that the American people understand that the China situation is short-term pain for long-term gain. And they're going to look at jobs and the stock market, and that's where the focus will be.
WOLF: Well, is the stock market going to continue to look at the short-term pain for long-term gain element as well?
I mean, have they sort of been going -- have investors sort of been going along with him expecting a China deal to happen? If that truly implodes, I think that could really change the narrative about the economy. You can see those economic numbers really start to fall.
BRIGGS: Interesting -- it is an opening for Democrats on the economy when you wouldn't think it'd be there.
Yesterday -- an interesting moment on Capitol Hill yesterday -- Ben Carson, the surgeon, now Housing and Urban Development, in charge of that entire department. But you wouldn't know it from some of the answers he gave to Congress yesterday, including this interaction with Congresswoman Ayanna Presley from Massachusetts. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. AYANNA PRESLEY (D-MA): Do you believe the substandard public housing conditions pose a risk to tenants' physical, mental, and emotional health?
BEN CARSON, SECRETARY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: You already know the answer to that.
PRESLEY: Yes or no?
CARSON: You know the answer.
PRESLEY: Yes or no? I know the answer. Do you know the answer? Yes or no?
CARSON: Reclaiming my time.
PRESLEY: You don't get to do that.
CARSON: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The time belongs to the gentlelady.
PRESLEY: Would you like your grandmother to live in public housing?
CARSON: You know very well how I feel on this.
PRESLEY: Would you let your grandmother live in public housing? Yes or no?
CARSON: You know very well --
PRESLEY: Under your watch and at your helm, would you allow your grandmother to live in public housing under these conditions?
CARSON: It would be very nice if you would stop asking --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gentleman from Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: If that wasn't troubling enough, Sec. Carson did not know the difference between an REO, real estate-owned foreclosure that represents a third of all assets at HUD, and an Oreo cookie. And he even made fun of his own ignorance on the subject, tweeting this photo of sending some Oreo cookies over --
ROMANS: And maybe most people don't -- maybe --
BRIGGS: -- to Katie Porter.
ROMANS: -- the layman doesn't know what an REO is.
BRIGGS: You shouldn't have to, but --
ROMANS: But he runs HUD.
BRIGGS: If you're in charge of HUD, you should.
WOLF: Right, HUD secretary.
BRIGGS: What does all this reveal, Zach?
WOLF: Well, first, I just want to say everyone out there -- there's a time and a place to do a funny Oreo meme joke --
BRIGGS: Sure.
WOLF: -- on Twitter. This was not that time.
This was a horrible look for Ben Carson to not know the general terms associated with his department. To generally just show disdain, and frustration, and dismissiveness towards Congress -- towards lawmakers who were asking pretty legitimate questions. I mean, it's not like they were just throwing things out there that he shouldn't be able to or shouldn't have to ask as the HUD secretary.
This was a very -- you know, and if you apply this across the administration, this sort of disdain for Congress is a theme that we've been seeing. But this was a remarkable moment, I thought.
ROMANS: And this --
BRIGGS: And they weren't gotcha questions.
ROMANS: No, and --
BRIGGS: They were questions that any HUD secretary should know.
Katie Porter spent much of her career -- the congresswoman -- at HUD. ROMANS: A disdain for Congress but also -- I mean, at the core of this we're talking about people -- families who lost their homes. Low- income families who now are not living in their home anymore. It's owned by the bank again. It didn't sell at auction.
[05:40:07] I mean, that -- at the core of it, there's a tragedy -- a human tragedy of these stories, too, so it's just awful.
All right, thank you so much for that. Zach, nice to see you.
BRIGGS: Thank you, sir.
WOLF: Thanks.
ROMANS: President Trump's tax returns must be turned over to Congress unless he invokes executive privilege. That's at least according to a draft of a confidential IRS memo from last fall obtained by "The Washington Post."
Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin defied a subpoena for the returns last Friday, claiming he is not authorized to fulfill a request that, quote, "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." But according to the IRS memo he has to, regardless of the reason for the request.
President Trump is still refusing to release his returns, claiming he is under audit. That has not stopped past presidents from releasing their taxes.
BRIGGS: A surprise visitor on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meeting with the top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
A source tells CNN the interview focused on the Trump administration's dealings with Russia and Jared Kushner's role in foreign policy. Tension between Tillerson and Kushner, who effectively ran a shadow State Department on Middle East issues, was well-documented.
Tillerson was fired via tweet in March of 2018.
ROMANS: Robert Mueller is reluctant to testify in public. His team says he does not want to appear political after staying out of the spotlight for two years.
One option is to have him testify behind closed doors but that notion has become a major sticking points. Democrats believe the public needs to hear directly from him.
Sources say numerous options are being considered in the negotiation process.
BRIGGS: A wild ride through the streets of Los Angeles. A woman driving a stolen R.V. leading police on a dangerous high-speed chase last night. It began in Santa Clarita and continued for a half hour with the R.V. hitting speeds of up to 60 miles an hour through the San Fernando Valley. At one point, a dog who was on the driver's lap could be seen halfway out of the shattered windshield and appeared to tumble out of the speeding vehicle.
ROMANS: Oh.
BRIGGS: The dog was unharmed.
A second dog was dangling from the window until the R.V. slammed into another car and plowed into trees there. The driver got out and tried to flee on foot, with the dog following behind. She was quickly tackled by police and taken into custody.
ROMANS: I just can't even believe that video. I want to know so much more about that story.
BRIGGS: We've had a lot of questions arise.
ROMANS: All right. Here, a serious reminder. Do not cross the tracks when the crossing gate is down. A Texas state trooper nearly paid the ultimate price.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:46:54] BRIGGS: Five forty-six Eastern time.
And lawmakers sharply divided along party lines over the threat posed by Iran after Trump administration officials briefed the House and Senate in two closed-door sessions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defense Sec. Patrick Shanahan pushing the message of deterrence. They say changes in the U.S. Defense posture in the Persian Gulf has prevented potential attacks on Americans. But, in an exclusive interview with CNN, Iran's top diplomat does not agree, as you might imagine.
Nic Robertson live in Abu Dhabi with the latest. Nic, what are we hearing?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Dave, perhaps no surprise that Iran's foreign minister is pushing back on what he's hearing from the White House. And he is saying it's the U.S. naval military presence in the Persian Gulf that is the real problem here, saying that that escalation of military forces, it's dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, IRAN: Having all these military assets in a small waterway is in and of itself prone to accidents, particularly when you have people who are interested in accidents. So extreme prudence is required and we believe that the United States is playing a very, very dangerous game.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTSON: Patrick Shanahan is saying not so fast, not so much. It is Iran that's the threat and it's the United States that's managing the threat.
Now, while Zarif is speaking to an international audience, part of his message is for the domestic audience in Iran. They are hurting under increased sanctions at the moment. Iran wants to change that.
We heard from their president yesterday, claiming that when President Trump threatened the Iranians with war, that President Trump's military aides came to him and told him to tone it down. And according to the Iranian president, Rouhani, this shows just how strong Iran is in the region at the moment.
The reality of what's happening on the ground -- the United States, along with its Gulf allies, are engaged in what's called enhanced military naval security operations in the Persian Gulf -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Both sides pretty entrenched.
Nic Robertson live for us this morning in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
A trade war not good for business or consumers and economists now warning that protracted trade war could have a meaningful impact on consumer spending.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch reports that shoppers do not like the escalating trade war with China. They have pulled back on spending since the beginning of the year.
According to the firm, its consumer confidence indicator started to decline on May 11th. That's the very day the U.S. said it would raise tariffs on imports from China to 25 percent from 10 percent.
Morgan Stanley also weighed in, noting trade tensions could affect the entire global economy.
Economists there write this. "If talks stall, no deal is agreed upon, and the U.S. imposes 25 percent tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of imports from China, we see the global economy heading towards recession."
Now, we are nearing the 1-year anniversary of the start of the trade war with no sign of talks resuming. Investors will be looking next now to the G20 summit next month for any hints of progress between President Trump and President Xi of China.
[05:50:04] Global stock markets are mixed, really, as these trade tensions linger. On Wall Street, futures are, right now, leaning down. I would call this pretty directionless here after a rebound yesterday.
The Dow finished up 197 points. The S&P gained about one percent, almost. The Nasdaq gained more than one percent. Now, tech stocks rebounded after the Trump administration loosened some restrictions placed on Huawei. Apple, Invidia, and Advanced Micro Devices closed up two percent each.
The Federal Reserve will release minutes from its meeting last month at 2:00 p.m. today. Central bankers stuck with that "wait and see" approach to interest rates amid uncertainty about the economy. The meeting took place before the new round for tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China threatening the global economic outlook.
All right.
Reusable packing is heading to Walgreens and Kroger. This is part of a new partnership with Loop.
Loop is like a delivery service, offering about 300 items in reusable packaging. Customers use the products and then put the empty containers in a tote on their doorstep or they drop them off at Walgreens or Kroger in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania -- Maryland and D.C.
Now, for now, customers have to sign up for the pilot program to use the service. Eventually, the program will be open to regular shoppers.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:55:42] ROMANS: A migrant processing center in McAllen, Texas has been temporarily shut down after a large number of immigrants were found to have high fevers. Medical staff are currently working to provide all those affected with proper medical treatment.
The closure comes after a 16-year-old migrant from Guatemala died six days into his stay at the facility. He was the fifth young migrant to die in government custody since December.
BRIGGS: A baby cut from his mother's womb after she was killed has opened his eyes. The infant, attached to tubes as he fights for his life, is being held by his father, Yovany Lopez.
Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was killed in April after she was lured into a Chicago woman's home with an offer of free baby clothes. Police arrested and charged three people in the murder.
Now, the hospital that received the baby, Advocate Christ Medical Center, is under investigation because the Department of Child and Family Services was not contacted until May 9th. Illinois law requires immediate reporting. The hospital has not commented.
ROMANS: Lyft is rolling out several new initiatives designed to enhance passenger safety. The company is adding a panic button so riders can call 911 from the app. It's also making the driver's license plate numbers bigger in the app to reduce incidents of mistaken identity. The changes come a month after a University of South Carolina student was killed, allegedly by a man posing as her Uber driver.
BRIGGS: A Texas sheriff's deputy lucky to be alive this morning after doing something we all know we shouldn't do -- cross the tracks when a crossing gate is down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Train hitting deputy's vehicle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Midland County officer drove around the lowered railroad crossing gate and was struck by an oncoming train. The police cruiser flipped over on impact and rolled off the tracks.
According to local T.V. affiliates, the sheriff's deputy only suffered minor injuries and is recovering.
ROMANS: All right, cue the "Jaws" music. With just a few days to go until a major holiday beach weekend, a 10-foot great white shark has been spotted in the Long Island Sound. It was detected off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut Monday.
A nonprofit group tracking the shark says it's unusual for the species to be in the area. The shark was first tagged off the Nova Scotia coast last October. It traveled south to the Gulf of Mexico in January before returning north along the East Coast of the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": His wager, a big one -- $31,010 -- yes, indeed. A payoff today of $86,905 and now, a 24-day total of $1,867,142 -- wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The $1.8 million awkward toothy grin.
The streak goes on. James Holzhauer wins his 24th consecutive "JEOPARDY!" game, starting to close in on Ken Jenning's all-time record of more than $2.5 million. It took Jennings 74 games.
Holzhauer plays game 25 tonight.
ROMANS: Good for him.
BRIGGS: He's going to get it at this point.
ROMANS: All right. I hope you have a really great rest of your day. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RAJU: Nancy Pelosi will meet with her members about opening up formal impeachment proceedings.
PELOSI: We have to exhaust every other remedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The impeachment process is just a question of when, not if.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are going after former White House officials in their sweeping investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've worked very closely with Trump. We just want to dig deeper into things that they are aware of.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They know they're going to get turned down but they are going to hope that something finally gives.
(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 Wednesday, May 22nd, 6:00 here in New York.
Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me this morning.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: It's nice to be with you in your fancy new studio.
BERMAN: Yes, welcome to the new digs. It's not bad, right?
HILL: Very nice.
BERMAN: All right.
So is it an impeachment wave and is Nancy Pelosi about to get soaked? In just a few hours, a critical meeting of House Democrats with more and more calling for official impeachment proceedings to begin, including some committee chairs. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is against the move, so how will she convince her members to slow down?
We will speak to the House majority whip later in the broadcast.
The speaker will also have a chance to confront the president face-to- face. She heads to the White House for a meeting on infrastructure because it's.
END
