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Pre-Market Futures Down After Weekly Jobless Claims Report; China Vows to Retaliate after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Met with Taiwan's President; Former Vice President Pence to Testify Before Grand Jury. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 06, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a little later this morning, the Tennessee House of Representatives will vote on whether to expel three Democratic state lawmakers, Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were criticized by Republicans for leading a gun safety protests at the state capitol last week. They joined hundreds of protesters demanding change after the mass shooting at a Nashville school. We're going to bring you this vote live when it happens.

So, this just in Lebanon says that Israel has responded to rockets fired into Northern Israel with artillery fire into Southern Lebanon. This after Israeli defense sources say that dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Israel says some of those were intercepted. And we are just now hearing Israel's northern airspace has been closed. Much more on this as it develops throughout the morning. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. So, imagine this. Imagine you're asleep in a hotel room when suddenly FBI agents are banging on your door, and it is all a big mistake. That is exactly what happened late Tuesday night in a botched FBI training exercise in Boston.

The agency later apologized, saying that, the training was meant to enhance soldiers' skills to operate and realistic and unfamiliar environments. The training team, unfortunately, entered the wrong room. CNN's Natasha Bertrand has much more for us. She's joining us now.

Natasha, this is all because they had the wrong room number?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That appears to be the case, Kate. And just to reiterate here, just go over what happened. Apparently, FBI and U.S. Army Special Operations Command were conducting a training exercise in Downtown Boston at around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday after Revere Hotel, and they actually raided the wrong hotel room and they ended up detaining the people inside that hotel room for about an hour until they realized their mistake.

Now, we did get a statement from the FBI and they told CNN that, "It was meant, the training exercise, to stimulate -- or simulate," I should say, "a situation that their personnel might encounter in a deployed environment." Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual rather than the intended role player here.

Now, they do say, thankfully, no one was injured. But obviously going to raise a lot of questions about these training exercises moving forward. And we actually have the police call that was made at around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday about this incident. Here's what they said.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swing by the Revere Hotel. Two Delta Pilots had people claiming to the FBI agents barged into their room and handcuffed them to the bathroom.

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[09:35:00]

BERTRAND: So, as you heard there, the people in this room that were mistakenly targeted by this FBI and Special Operations raid, they were apparently Delta pilots. Now, we have reached out to Delta to try to get a response from them, and they said that they are investigating this. But look, the army is apologizing this morning, saying that they extend their deepest apologies to the individual who was affected by this training exercise. Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Natasha, thank you so much for bringing it to us. I mean, the details are --

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bananas.

BOLDUAN: That's a good word. That's a good word.

SIDNER: All right. Speaking of something else that really freaks folks out who like to fly or have to for work, close calls on America's runways.

This morning, there are demands for the Federal Aviation Administration, that's the FAA, to take action. There have been multiple runway close calls this year. Here's just a quick recap of just a few of those. In January at JFK, a Delta flight aborted its takeoff when an American Airlines -- you see the animation there -- crossed into its path. The two came within 1,000 feet of each other about the length of a cruise ship. Recording showed the American Airlines person or pilot misconstrued directions from air traffic controllers.

Then, in February in Austin, a FedEx cargo plane was trying to land and nearly ended up -- and look at this, how close that came on top of a Southwest flight that was taking off from the same runway. Take a look at what it looked like from inside the cockpit. It was terrifying. And again, these are animations that you're looking at.

And then, just a few weeks later in Boston, a Learjet took off without clearance and missed a JetBlue flight that was trying to land by less than 600 feet. That is dangerously close. Thankfully nobody was hurt in any of those incidents.

So, how is the FAA planning to fix this? Well, staffing might be one of the big issues. Our Pete Muntean is here with us. You are also a pilot. Tell us what is the first order of business for the FAA at this point?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, the FAA is simply trying to remind pilots and air traffic controllers to be more vigilant, and they are trying to hire more air traffic controllers. This is big admission by the FAA where it says, it simply does not have enough air traffic controllers in the New York area, And now, it is giving airlines an opportunity to scale back on the number of flights. They operate to Newark, JFK and LaGuardia this summer to try and avoid and stem off even worse, cancelations and delays.

We're hearing from American Airlines, it says it's going to scale back the number of flights. Delta and JetBlue, they say they are considering it. But this problem is so acute in New York at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, that's a facility that operates the airspace going into New York planes, descending and taking off, after they leave the area of the control tower.

The staffing there is only about half staffing, 54 percent of what it should be, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Nationwide, this issue is getting really a big problem as well. We're talking about two in every 10 air traffic controller jobs nationwide are empty. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union of air traffic controllers says this is a huge problem. It's also contributing to the safety issues. We've seen the number of controllers dropped by 10 percent over the last decade, Sara.

SIDNER: I know that you have seen things from inside the cockpit. You have seen things, of course, as a passenger, but you also know kind of what is going on inside those control towers. It is one of the most stressful jobs there is out there. Can you explain all of the things that are happening with these controllers?

MUNTEAN: There's so many layers to air traffic control. It's hard to sum up pretty quickly, although the rules are really written in blood. And now, the FAA says they want to staff up at some air traffic control facilities by having some extra vigilance in towers, meaning supervisors looking over the shoulder of air traffic controllers, trying to alleviate some of that pressure. It is a really stressful job, like you mentioned, and it can be incredibly busy.

The big thing here that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says is that there's a bit of a rust that is happening at multiple different levels of the aviation system. That means pilots and air traffic controllers, remember, with both pilots and air traffic controllers' retirements went up over the pandemic, new people are coming up and through much more quickly. So, there is a bit of a brain drain, and that's something that the FAA is trying to deal with, something that airlines are trying to deal with as well, Sara. SIDNER: Pete Muntean, our aviation correspondent and also a pilot, thank you so much for those details. Kate.

BOLDUAN: China is vowing to retaliate after the meeting between Taiwan's president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on U.S. soil. So, how U.S. officials are responding to this latest threat from Beijing.

And the Chicago doctor went the extra mile to prove how safe organ donation is, donating her own kidney to a woman several states away. That doctor is our guest in the next hour.

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BERMAN: China is lashing out this morning after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwan's president in California. A top Chinese official vowing that Beijing will take "resolute and strong measures to firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Also new this morning, Taiwan's defense ministry says it detected Chinese warships around the island after the meeting. Taiwan also reported that a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered Taiwan's southeastern waters. CNN's Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill with much more information about this, including, Lauren, details from Kevin McCarthy about his meeting with Taiwan's president.

[09:45:00]

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yesterday, Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house, defiant, John, saying that he's going to meet with whoever he wants whenever he wants, and that neither friend nor foe is going to tell him or dictate the terms of his meetings.

He met yesterday with Taiwan's president, and they shored up the U.S. relationship with Taiwan, discussing issues that were pertinent, including ensuring that Taiwan's economic growth with the United States continues on trade agreements, as well as discussing trade deals with transferring weapons to Taiwan and ensuring that that might happen in a speedier and quicker way. That is something that President Tsai made clear she wanted to see happen from the United States.

I think the important thing to underscore here is the fact that this is a bipartisan position, that it wasn't just House Speaker Kevin McCarthy going out on a limb and having this meeting, but he was flanked at his press conference with Republican and Democratic lawmakers. You saw Peter Aguilar, who's a Democratic leader, also speaking yesterday, talking about the importance of making it clear that the U.S. China relationship is one that is important but that it is also important to continue the relationship with Taiwan.

Here's what House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said about that relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America as a matter of profound importance to the free world. And it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And one of the most interesting questions that McCarthy got at his press conference was if he had any plans to go to Taiwan, he said there were no immediate plans. But again, if he went, it would be on a bipartisan basis. Again, highlighting the fact that this is something that the United States government is united on, despite the fact there's a lot of domestic issues that lawmakers on Capitol Hill fight about all the time. John.

BERMAN: They fight about it all the time, but not now. Nancy Pelosi put out a statement with the nicest words I think I've ever heard her say about Kevin McCarthy after this meeting. So, there is really bipartisan support for this. Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill, as always, thanks so much for your reporting. Sara.

SIDNER: Former Vice President Mike Pence will share details of his direct conversations with former President Trump leading up to the January 6th insurrection. What insight his testimony will bring to the Special Counsel's investigation.

Also, the incredible story of one woman sacrifice to save the young climber when a column of ice plunge from a frozen waterfall.

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BERMAN: All right. Welcome back to "CNN News Central." You're looking at live pictures from the streets of Paris. We came back to this because the situation has intensified and intensified very quickly there.

[09:50:00]

We just saw flares. We heard a bang. We saw police on the streets clashing with protesters. These protests are over pension reform in Paris, trying to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. But there have been millions of people on the streets now for about 11 straight days. This is the hottest we have seen the exchange between the protesters and police. Again, you're seeing projectiles thrown there. You're seeing this law enforcement with their shields being pushed back into defensive positions there.

And again, a whole lot of activity, including flares. I don't know if they were deployed by law enforcement or by the protesters, and we did hear a bang as well. I think we have CNN's Melissa Bell on the streets there.

Melissa, if you're with us, how close are you to what is clearly a confrontation now?

BELL: Well, what's happening is that confrontation beginning at the front of the march, and that's what we've tended to see these last couple of weeks, a lot more violence, a lot more direct confrontation between the police and the protesters. This is what it looks like further back.

Back here, John, they are still protesting relatively peacefully. But you can see how many people are out here. You can hear their anger, their determination, but it is hardcore of far more extremist elements that we've seen for the last couple of weeks really taking on the police at the front of the marches week after week. We've also been seeing examples of allegations of police brutality and exchange.

There are some 45 internal police investigations underway just from the last few weeks accused -- looking into these allegations of some pretty heavy-handed tactics. And this is what we expected further up. They've deployed 11,500 policemen across streets of France to try and keep this protest come again. But it is a growingly noisy and violent black bloc group, as they call it here, that takes on the police at the front of his marches that's proven remarkably difficult to keep under control.

Bear in mind, John, that the streets of Paris are still pretty littered, not as bad as they were, but there are still a lot of uncollected trash out there, that tends to get lit. And you get a lot of tear gas and a lot of anger expressed very physically between police forces and the most radical members of this march, John.

BERMAN: Melissa, I have to say, as we were seeing you in that amazing shot with thousands of people streaming by you peacefully, we are also watching this exchange between the police and the protesters, as you were describing, at the front of the march, throwing and kicking back and forth, either smoke bombs or tear gas containers. Unclear exactly what they are, but they're just going back and forth, they were a moment ago, between the protesters and law enforcement. So, that situation extraordinarily tense.

Melissa, 11 days of this. There we go again. You just saw things being thrown there. 11 days of this, any sign it's abating?

BELL: None at all, John. What we saw yesterday were talks between the trade unions over this raising of the age from 62 to 64 and the French government breakdown. The French government saying it's standing firm, is going to push this law through. And the union saying this lunchtime, well, this is going to continue. So, by the end of today, we'll hear about what the next day of strike action and protest will be.

But on those images you're seeing of the very violent front, and those violent confrontations, to give you an idea, it's some 770 police officers that have been wounded over the course of the last few weeks. More than 400 of those, just in the last couple, that's how much more intensely violent these protests have become. The violence tended to be on the periphery. It's become over the last couple of weeks much more central because the government is insisting on pushing the (INAUDIBLE) through and is, in fact, pushing some (INAUDIBLE). That is what (INAUDIBLE) making these people who came out today angry and determined more than ever to get the government to back out, John. BERMAN: And, Melissa, what we're looking at now is pretty extraordinary footage of law enforcement behind their plexiglass shields. You can see those shields smeared with paint there. Photographers or protesters taking pictures of them. They were just being -- had things being thrown at them. There we go. You can see it's small there on the screen there, but there were things being thrown at those protesters -- sorry, of those police with their shields. OK. Hang on.

All right. I believe we just heard a tear gas canister being fired off there, may be to try to get control of this situation there at the front of this. Melissa, is there any business being conducted on the streets of Paris?

[09:55:00]

All right. Melissa can't hear me because it's just so loud there. Again, you saw the streams of people walking past Melissa, where she is, it's peaceful. But just a little up from her, at the front of this, you can see these clashes between protesters and law enforcement, things being thrown at the law enforcement as they are protecting themselves behind those plexiglass shields.

We hear the rattling. You clearly see the debris. All right. Hang on one second. You just saw things with flames being thrown and we did hear some bangs. All right. I'm told we are going to keep monitoring this situation. Obviously, it is quite vulnerable right now. OK. Hang on. We're going to stick around for a second.

All right. That small group of law enforcement there protecting themselves again, in that almost corner behind the newsstand and windows of that building, just taking it as stuff is being thrown at them. And you can see the flare burning on the street. All right. We are going to take a very short break. But know this, there is breaking news here on the streets of Paris, which we're watching very closely.

Also, we're getting new information from Israel where rockets have been fired from Lebanon. The Lebanese, say the Israelis now responding with artillery. A lot of breaking news coming into "CNN News Central." Stay with us.

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