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Producer Price Index Cools Down in March; Biden to Address Irish Parliament; Pearson to Be Sworn Back into State House; 911 Calls Released from Louisville Shooting; Petro Poroshenko is Interviewed about the War in Ukraine. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 13, 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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[09:30:02]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here's a look at some of the top stories coming in right now.

Protesters are in the streets in France setting dumpsters ablaze and breaking into the headquarters of LVMH. And they're really just getting started. It's all leading up to a final decision on whether French President Macron's pension plan gets the green light. That plan would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. And we expect that ruling tomorrow.

And in Florida, it's being described as a one in 1,000-year event. Right now, catastrophic flash flooding is hammering parts of the state. Some areas have recorded an estimated 20 plus inches of rain. The Fort Lauderdale Airport has been closed. The Broward County mayor says it's the most severe flooding he's ever seen. Much more on that throughout the show.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A key inflation measure cooled more than expected in March. The Producer Price Index tracks wholesale prices for goods and services.

CNN's Christine Romans is joining us now, the master of money.

What are the numbers?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I would call this dramatic. A dramatic cooling in inflation at the factory floor. This is, of course, where the nation's factories and warehouses are. So, it's not what you're paying at the grocery store, but just before that in the chain. And we saw that month over month prices fell 0.5. That is the biggest drop we've seen in a couple of years.

And when you look overall prices grew 2.7 percent year over year. What does that mean? Well, the Fed's trying to inch inflation closer to 2 percent. This is the closest we've seen in a couple of years. You compare that with last year -- last month when year over year was something like 4.6 percent. So, this is a dramatic one-month downgrade in the inflation situation.

SIDNER: Wow.

ROMANS: We also got the latest weekly jobless claims. We've been watching the jobs market. It's been incredibly tight. Adding 11,000 in first time unemployment benefits, this is now the highest in more than a year, but still historically low. So, this is kind of what the Fed wants to see perversely. The Fed wants to see the job market not be so strong so that it can try to get this inflation beast under control. But this is altogether good news this morning, Sara.

SIDNER: Those jobless numbers, you know, not great. But, wow, we're really close to that inflation number that the Fed's trying to get to.

Let's talk about what you heard from the Federal Reserve, their March meeting minutes.

ROMANS: Right.

SIDNER: That was hard to say. March meeting minutes came out yesterday. What does it tell you?

ROMANS: So, when we look into what they all talked about in their very important March meeting, when they raised interest rates, we know that the staff of the Fed made this presentation to the Fed policymakers saying, because of the bank volatility we've seen, the bank strain, there is a possibility of a mild recession later this year, mild recession later this year to be followed by two years of subsequent recovery. So, that got a lot of people's attention.

Yesterday, we had a consumer price number that showed grocery prices falling for the first time in two years. Again, good news on the inflation front. But then that was tempered by this worry that even though we have good news on cooling inflation, there still could be trouble -- a little bit of trouble for the economy later in the year. No one knows for sure. The crystal ball is incredibly murky. I'm just telling you what the latest little pieces of the puzzle are. Good news on inflation. Jobless claims rising a little bit. And the Fed staff worried about a slowdown in the U.S. economy later this year.

SIDNER: Christine Romans, thank you so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

SIDNER: John, I'm wearing the color of money, hoping to attract it.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's pretty good. That's pretty good.

SIDNER: You know, I'm trying.

BERMAN: By the way, the crystal ball thing, Romans does have one that works.

SIDNER: She does, actually.

BERMAN: She knows. She says no one knows. She knows, trust me. SIDNER: She knows.

ROMANS: Have you seen my island in Bermuda, right?

BERMAN: All right, at this hour, President Biden is in Dublin, where he has a packed agenda as he continues his three-day visit to Ireland, also green. So far today he met with the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, at his official residence. Afterwards, he met with the Irish prime minister at the Farmleigh House, which is where visiting dignitary stay. They also took in a youth Gaelic sports demonstration. Next hour, he'll speak to the Irish parliament. Finally, he will attend a banquet at Dublin Castle, where he will be the guest of honor. That's an honor previously given to Queen Elizabeth II and President John F. Kennedy.

And a side note here, but very important. This is the word for the Irish prime minister. It is pronounced Taoiseach. Almost all the letters are silent. It's pronounced Taoiseach. It means chief or leader, Kate. I guess I should call you, you know, Taoiseach. You know -

BOLDUAN: You should - well, thank you for finally referring to me to my formal title, but that is why I often avoid these very important titles of these very important people.

BERMAN: Irish prime minister is what I always go with instead of that.

BOLDUAN: I will follow your lead, as always.

So, as John just mentioned -- as John just mentioned, we are moments away from President Biden's big speech to the Irish parliament. The president is expected to use the speech to highlight the close ties between the United States and Ireland and both political and personal, let's be quite honest.

CNN's Phil Mattingly is following the president's travels. He's live in Dublin. He's joining us now, of course.

Phil, what are you hearing about this -- if we get -- you know, it's personal, and it's an official visit. We saw a lot of the personal side of the president's trip yesterday. This -- what we're about to hear from the president in this speech is some of the real official business that he wants to get to. What are we expecting to hear from him?

[09:35:02]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, first, I want to take a moment. I was about to blow up Berman for refusing to say the official name of the prime minister, the Taoiseach. Thought it was a lazy way to approach some uncertainty about pronunciation. So his willingness to really outline in detail, a lot of pride right now as a colleague for John Berman taking that head on. That took guts. And --

BOLDUAN: I knew we should never have done this and then come to you. I knew we should never have done this and come to you.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Yes, no, he set himself up. He set himself up for this. But it's only with love that I express that sentiment towards Berman.

Look, Kate, I think you hit on a critical point here, this is such a personal trip for the president, whether it's stopping in pubs, whether it's greeting thousands outside places where his ancestral homeland very much resonates deeply inside him, inside his family. But today is very much about the bilateral relationship that is to some degree equal in importance, particularly given some of the geopolitical strife that the Biden administration, the president, has been confronting over the course of the last year plus.

And you mentioned the president - or the meetings with President Michael Higgins this morning. The Taoiseach Le Varadkar earlier today. But this speech to parliament I think will be very much an effort to express, yes, the long existing ties and how critical those are both on a personal basis for the president but also to the U.S. But also spinning things forward a little bit.

You know, when you talk to U.S. officials they make clear, Ireland, particularly on the humanitarian side of things, has been a critical component of the western alliance that's been behind Ukraine since Russia's invasion last year. Ireland also, at the moment, trying to weigh whether or not their military neutrality is something they will maintain given what they've seen happened in Ukraine over the last year as well. So some complex issues that they're grappling with as well.

But I think the unity between the United States and Ireland is certainly something the president wanted to discuss, and also Northern Ireland. Obviously, that was the first part of the president's trip. He met with the five political leaders up in Northern Ireland, where they are still -- even though stability and peace are at a place that I think was unimaginable 25 years ago, 26, 27 years ago, before the Good Friday Agreement, they are still dealing with their own complex political issues and trying to convey what the president heard from those political leaders to the Irish officials here, to the Irish parliament here, and trying to find a pathway forward there politically.

So, a lot of very important, bilateral elements of this trip as well. Certainly the personal, probably the most important in the president's mind. But when you talk to U.S. officials, they want to make that very clear, this is a day not of just the ceremonial and the personal, this is a day of the substance, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

It's good to see you. Thank you, Phil.

John.

BERMAN: He knows I only do small syllables of phonetics.

BOLDUAN: I'm trying to move on. I'm trying to move on.

BERMAN: A second Tennessee state lawmaker is back in his seat for now. Why his reappointment may only be temporary after being ousted by Republican lawmakers last week.

Plus, a desperate plea for help amid the deadly shooting at the Louisville bank. Hear the 911 call from one witness as she hid from the shooter in a closet.

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[09:42:20]

BERMAN: All right, happening now, Tennessee state lawmaker Justin Pearson is about to be sworn in again. Pearson was reinstated to his position yesterday after being ousted by Republican lawmakers last week.

CNN's Ryan Young is there at the Tennessee state capitol where, Ryan, I understand you will be joined by one of the other representatives who face sanctions but wasn't ejected.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Absolutely, John. When you think about how this has played out, a week ago we were here talking again and there was - the capitol steps were full of people who are protesting, who wanted to go upstairs to figure out exactly what happened. And then you saw those expulsions that happened last week. Justin J. Pearson is about to be sworn in once again here on these steps, which is an amazing feat considering all that's happened.

But Gloria Johnson's with this. You're one of the Tennessee three. What has this week been like to see how it's all unfolded and the ground swelling of support from across the state?

GLORIA JOHNSON (D), TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: It's been wonderful to have all of this support. People here, you know, every single day, lifting us up and making their voices heard that gun violence is an issue that we deeply care about. And what we are going to do with -- with these two coming back to the body, as they should be, we are going to restore democracy in a state that is the least democratic state in the country. And that -- you know, there will be tough moments, but this is a movement.

YOUNG: My last question, though, I think people were shocked that you took race head on in this. What should that say about this coalition?

JOHNSON: That we are a multiracial, multigenerational group. And that's what our democracy should look like. That's what our legislature should look like. And we desperately need these brilliant young voices speaking up for the people that they care so much about.

YOUNG: Thank you so much for taking the time.

John, once again, that swearing in process should happen back here sometime we believe. The representative, who's going to get sworn in for the second time, should be here in the next four or five minutes. John.

BERMAN: Here we go again. Ryan Young, thanks so much for being with us. Keep us posted.

Sara.

SIDNER: A community unites in grief . Hundreds of people gathered together at a vigil in Louisville, Kentucky, to mourn the five people who were killed in that mass shooting at Old National Bank on Monday. Governor Andy Beshear became emotional as he spoke to the crowd.

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GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): I lost one of my best friends on Monday. But I've got two friends and more that survived because LNPD got there in about three minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The vigil came just hours after police released frantic 911 calls from the day of the shooting. Many were from people who were trapped inside that bank building as the shooting was going on.

[09:45:02]

We want to warn you now that the calls are disturbing.

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DISPATCHER: Has anybody been shot?

CALLER: Yes.

DISPATCHER: How many people?

CALLER: I don't know. Probably eight or nine.

DISPATCHER: Eight or nine people have been shot?

CALLER: Uh-huh.

DISPATCHER: Are you with any of them?

CALLER: Yes, but I'm in a closet hiding.

I hear - I hear - I hear gunshots.

DISPATCHER: Is that shots fired?

CALLER: Yes. Yes, it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Terrifying.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus joins us now live.

Adrienne, that was really difficult to listen to because you can very clearly here just how loud those gunshots were ringing out as she's trying to whisper and get help.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, not only can we hear the gunshots, but we can hear the desperation among the callers. Minutes after that first 911 call, there was another call from the shooter's mom. She called with a warning, but it was too late.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOTHER: Yes, ma'am. I - my son might be (REDACTED) because he has a gun and he's heading toward the Old National.

Well, I'm getting this information from his roommate. He apparently left a note.

I don't know what to do. I need your help. I think - he's never hurt anyone. He's a really good kid. Please don't punish him.

He's non-violent. He's never done anything. Please -

DISPATCHER: OK, and you don't believe he owns guns?

MOTHER: I know he doesn't own any guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: Every caller pleading. The folks inside of the bank pleading with the dispatchers to send help. The shooter's mother pleading for police officers to get there. Pleading with the dispatcher, trying to tell that dispatcher her son was non-violent. But she did not know what was happening inside.

Meanwhile, I was standing on this corner yesterday and I spoke with Juliana Farmer's daughter, Alia. Juliana was one of the five who was killed here. And Alia described the shooter as a monster who took her mother's life. But she says she has forgiven him and she also told us her mom moved here two weeks ago to start this job.

Sara.

SIDNER: Adrienne Broaddus, thank you. We can see all of the flowers there behind you that the community has brought.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: A new leak of more classified U.S. intelligence documents reportedly suggest broad infighting among Russian officials over the war in Ukraine. The former president of Ukraine joins us next with his reaction.

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[09:51:40] BERMAN: This morning, Russian prosecutors say they have opened an investigation into the disturbing video that appears to show the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier. The probe, they say, is aimed at looking into the authenticity of the video. It comes as the chief of the Wagner Group has denied his troops involvement in the beheading. This after some media outlets identified Wagner mercenaries in the video. Ukraine has launched its own war crimes investigation.

With us now from the front lines, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Mr. President, thank you for being with us.

I want to ask you about what you're doing in just a moment.

First, though, your reaction to this purported beheading video and the Russian claims that they're now investigating it.

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Oh, this is (INAUDIBLE). Absolutely bright evidence. But the fact that the Russia is a terroristic state. The same like it (INAUDIBLE).

I see it with my own eyes a lot of evidence. In Bucha, where our battalion was the first who come after the - we throw away Russian from Bucha. In Biadonka (ph), in Gastorman (ph), in Vorzen (ph), in Mariupol, in Severodonetsk (ph) and Lisicance (ph), this is the way how Russia want to see Ukraine.

We want to live. They want to kill us. And this is just an impossible -- the evidence that this is impossible to find out any compromise with Russia.

Point number two, we never forgive. We never forget. And this is even make it more decisive, our action, to make our land, our soil, free from Russia.

I'm here now on the south of Ukraine with a very near from Russian position. Behind me this is the Rom (ph) Catholic Church, which were destroyed by Russian multi rocket launches. In this village, lots of civilian were killed and wounded. And this is the way how Russia treated the Ukrainian. And with that situation, I think that the International Criminal Court should think and issue a (INAUDIBLE) arrest warrant against Putin, against his Prigozhin and are the team who provide the barbarian style of war against Ukraine.

Latest example is the wide list of other crimes, including all which I mentioned today. And I really ask the whole world to support (INAUDIBLE) in this investigation Ukrainian authorities, Ukrainian people.

BERMAN: Mr. President, you are there delivering weapons that you helped procure to troops on the front lines. This recent spate of leaks here in the United States reveal some concern over whether Ukraine has the ammunition, has the material it needs for an offensive this spring.

Do you think Ukraine has what it needs to launch an offensive?

POROSHENKO: Thank you very much indeed for this question. Differ -- my team and me deliver here whatever we can.

[09:55:06]

UAV, artillery truck (ph), the - (INAUDIBLE) - forces stronger. Behind me this is the real soldiers of Ukrainian armed forces who provide a unique, heroic operation against Russia to prepare our offensive operation.

By the way, this is not a counter offensive because Russian winter offensive operation was completely destroyed by our troops, by our people. This is the real offensive operation. But we have enough weapons to -- with stamped with Putin troops and we have definitely not enough weapons for Ukrainian offensive. We need to delay this offensive operation and I don't mention any place, any date, any direction where we have an offensive. But I just can confirm you the fact of delay because we need a little bit more time to receive the tanks.

By the way, we need tanks not (ph) dozens, by the hundreds. We need combat armed vehicle (ph) more because not everyone everywhere delivered to Ukraine. Urgent (INAUDIBLE) is the ammunition. And I am very happy to hear today that today European Union adopted the decision to issue one billion euro (ph) force artillery ammunition to Ukraine. This is exactly what we need.

BERMAN: Mr. Poroshenko -

POROSHENKO: But significant amount of (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Ukrainian -- former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, our connection is a little bit iffy right now, but thank you for being with us. We wish you and your colleagues there the best. Please stay safe.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: John, thank you so much. It was important to hear from him, and he's on the front lines, as you said.

Protesters storming the headquarters of Louis Vuitton in Paris. You see this. This is playing out earlier today and happening still. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be taking to the streets across France today. It's all happening right now ahead of a major decision on the French president's plan to increase the retirement age there. We're going to take you back live to Paris shortly.

And President Biden, he will soon be addressing the Irish parliament, a big piece of the substance of his trip to Ireland. We're going to bring you the president's remarks as they come in to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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