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Bangkok Tower Collapses After Quake, One Dead, Dozens Hurt; Trump Says, We Need Greenland, We'll Go As Far As We Have to Go; Musk and DOGE Team Members Defend Federal Government Cuts. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 28, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking news, a devastating and deadly earthquake rocks Southeast Asia, entire buildings crashing down, first responders racing to rescue survive.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President J.D. Vance and second Lady Usha Vance on their way to Greenland. Right now, the White House abruptly changing their travel plans after outrage from Greenlanders over the visit. So what's on the itinerary now?

And a child in Kansas complained of monsters under his bed, but what his babysitter found was far more disturbing than that.

Sara Sidner is out. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: And the breaking news this morning, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked Southeast Asia. Information and video is still coming in. So far, the official count is that at least four people have been killed, but that number is almost certainly much lower than the reality on the ground and will almost definitely rise substantially.

The quake was centered in Myanmar. The quake also leveled buildings in next door, Thailand. We are beginning to see widespread destruction in Bangkok.

At least one person is dead from the collapse you're seeing right there. Dozens of people are believed to be trapped in the rubble.

Let's get right to CNN's Hanako Montgomery, who is in Osaka, Japan, this morning for the latest on what you are hearing.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. It's good to see you. So, as you just described there, a very powerful tremor was felt in Myanmar, an earthquake that measured about 7.7 in magnitude. And according to some of the social media videos that we're seeing emerge from the country, we're seeing entire temples, temples that have stood in the country for hundreds, if not thousands of years, completely flat and completely collapsed. Homes also entirely flattened. Now, some of the survivors that we've spoken to at CNN have told us that they were so fearful, they were scared to death that they would not be able to make it out of this earthquake. They didn't know how to get to safety.

Now, of course, John, it's important to note here that Myanmar has seen a civil war rage in its country for more than four years now. So, information that gets into the country and out of the country is quite limited. So, we're still getting a lot of information about the death toll, about the potential destruction across the country. But what we do know is that the epicenter was very close to the city of Mandalay, which is the historic and religious capital of the country, where many temples actually reside.

Now, according to the military junta, which have declared an emergency situation, there could potentially be a lot of extensive damage in Mandalay, as, of course, this potential earthquake devastated the whole entire country.

Now, also important to note here is that the fire brigade has been dispatched as they're trying to find any remaining survivors.

Now, also, John, important to note, is that Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world, not just in Southeast Asia, but in the world. So, they don't actually have the economic means or the building codes for each of their buildings to really withstand powerful tremors like this. So, again, there is a lot of concern and fear here that the damage could be very, very extensive.

Now, in neighboring Thailand, as you mentioned, their earthquake was also felt. The governor of Bangkok, the capital of the country, said that at least three people have died. Train lines have also been partially suspended in the capital, and residents and visitors have been warned to avoid high-rise buildings as debris could potentially fall from those buildings.

Now, we've seen some very, very strong and frightening images of some high-rise buildings completely collapsed. One that was under construction fell and dust was flowing out of it. You saw construction workers run in the opposite direction, running for their lives as the ground below them was indeed still shaking.

So, John, again, we're going to collect a lot more information in the coming hours just about how much damage was really wrecked and just wreaked on Southeast Asia. But hopefully there are some survivors and hopefully the authorities can get to them in time. John?

BERMAN: Yes, some of those images are astounding, most of them from Thailand, where we saw that building collapse, that rooftop pool overflowing.

[07:05:04]

And the fear is the damage is much more widespread in next door Myanmar, but information and video could be difficult to get from there. Hanako Montgomery, you're going to stay on this. Thank you so much for giving us up that update. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also breaking this morning, Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, the second lady, Usha Vance, leaving the United States for a one day -- well now one day, and now whirlwind trip to Greenland. So at first, this was a trip built as a cultural visit by the second lady alone to last three days during, which she was supposed to attend the island's famous dog sled race. And then you saw what happened, the fallout and outrage. Those plans now off after Greenland's prime minister slammed the trip as highly aggressive, so then the vice president decided to go along.

Now, the only stop on the itinerary to visit the U.S. Space Force base there, looming over all of this, of course, continues to be President Trump's re unrelenting focus on buying the island in statements like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We need Greenland for national security and international security. So, I think we'll go as far as we have to go. We need Greenland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now CNN's Mark Preston. Mark, the thing on this is, it was -- first, it was Usha Vance, and it had, it was billed as having nothing to do with what looms over all of this, which is President Trump's focus here, and now J.D. Vance is going. The question is like what is -- is there a game that they're playing here? Why are they going and why not be straightforward about it if you are?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: All right. So, a couple things here. We have J.D. Vance deciding to go with his wife, who was under a lot of criticism for going up for this cultural exchange. She was supposed to go up and see a dog sled race to show and understand the Greenland culture, which absolutely makes no sense, but yet she was going to do that. J.D. Vance decided to go, seeing that there was so much pressure being put on her. There were protests that were supposed to take place, not in just one city, but two cities. It would have been a very difficult situation for them.

Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, is also going and they're going out to this base. What's interesting is that this is the furthest a U.S. official has ever been, or I should say a high ranking U.S. official, has ever been in the history of the United States, going up to this base right here.

This base though, is operated by the United States, but it's under the guidelines of NATO. So, when President Trump talks about we need Greenland, you know, for our security, we do have Greenland for our security. because Greenland is part of NATO. The question is, do we stay in NATO? And if we don't stay in NATO, then can we stay in the base? And if we can't stay in the base, does Donald Trump then try to go up and take the base? BOLDUAN: And we'll continue the if and then that you're amazingly doing, which is the last time J.D. Vance really was abroad, he was criticizing, trashing European allies in front of them at the Munich Security Conference. And then we have now a new round of that criticism that we've seen of European allies that we've seen pop up in the Signal group chat, which leaves me to wonder, I'm quite interested to hear what J.D., what the vice president says while in Greenland then.

PRESTON: You know, if he says that about the allies, God knows what he would say about our enemies. You know, he's clearly not a big fan of Europe and he's going to have very tough rhetoric, we're told, when he heads up there. We're told from our White House team that J.D. Vance is going to go up there and he's going to, you know, tell the Greenlandic people that, you know, the Danish don't treat you very well. They treat you like secondhand citizens. You're not even part of their country, yet they still have control over you. They're not putting any money into infrastructure, which is kind of interesting because of all the infrastructure problems that we have here in the United States.

But know this, Kate, this is a stress test by Donald Trump. He has done this all across the government. He's pushing boundaries as far as he can go. In some cases, it will snap. And look at USAID as an example of something snapping, okay? In some cases they will bounce back some of the things he's trying to do. We see the courts that are pushing back against some of the things that he is doing right now.

And what he's doing right now with Greenland is that he's testing the American public to see if they support him. He's also sending a signal to NATO that he may do this. And the fact is we have always underestimated Donald Trump in that we think that he would just go out and say things, well, we have now learned that he will actually go out and do things, so we should take this seriously. Kate?

BOLDUAN: And the stress test moniker is also apt here and it's also stress testing the relationship between the United States and Greenland and European allies once again.

It's great to see you, Mark. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, the battle over grandma, what Elon Musk is now saying about 94-year-olds and the impact they're feeling over his government purge.

[07:10:02]

A federal judge has entered the group chat ordering Trump officials to save their messages on the Signal app. And, by the way, it might be the federal judge that the Trump administration hates the most.

And why accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione is now using a laptop behind bars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: All right. This morning, Elon Musk and his merry band of government cost cutters speaking out in a group interview, the billionaire calling his mission nothing short of a revolution, and claiming those who protest the loudest over, say, potential gaps in Social security texts are, quote, fraudsters. And it comes at a time that some are displaying their anger at Musk in the form of Molotov cocktails at Tesla dealerships.

[07:15:04]

Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak at the White House for the latest on this. Good morning, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this interview is so interesting. We have seen a lot of Elon Musk over the last several weeks, what we haven't seen as much of this DOGE team that he's been working with to cut down the size of the federal government, and that was what was so unique here, seeing these seven men, they're all men, try and explain what exactly they have been trying to do.

Absent, I would note it was Amy Gleason, who the White House says is the acting administrator of DOGE. In a lot of ways, this was something of a public relations exercise as Musk works to explain why he is cutting so many jobs within the federal government. Listen to what he said on that particular topic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And President Trump's been very clear. It's scalpel, not hatchet. And that's the way it's getting done.

You've heard a lot of news about rifts, about people getting fired. At this moment in time, less than 0.15, not 1.5, less than 0.15 of the federal workforce has actually been given a written notice.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So, they've selected if they're --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is --

ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: Basically, almost no one's gotten fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, Musk says in this interview, he wants to reduce the federal deficit by a trillion dollars. That's about $4 billion a day. He says, in the context of government work, he's working at lightning speed, but that he would like to be going much faster. And he says that he thinks that this will all take 130 days, which, by the way, is exactly the amount of time a special government employee is allowed to serve within the federal government. Elon Musk is a special government employee.

We also heard him defend these planned cuts to Social Security, which has been a big question that's been hanging over this DOGE effort. Remember, Musk called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme in the federal government. Now, he's saying that he thinks that these cuts will actually make things more efficient for Social Security recipients. Listen to what he said on that front.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: What we're doing will help their benefits. Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less. I want to emphasize that. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.

BAIER: All right.

MUSK: I want to emphasize that point and let the record show that I said this and the it'll be proven out to be true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, when it comes to these government payments, the message seems to be that they want to make this system work better. You heard from Joe Gebbia, who's the founder of Airbnb, saying that they want this system to be an Apple store-like experience. Of course, that sounds great in theory. It's all, of course, John, in the execution.

BERMAN: Yes. You have to go in and make an appointment for three days from now, like the Apple store.

All right, Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you very much this morning.

All right, water rips through the first floor of a hospital as flashfloods forced multiple water rescues.

And the breaking news this morning, a devastating earthquake rocks Southeast Asia. We are getting new video in as there is currently a search for survivors that may be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Stay with.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: So, it was an epic comeback for Texas Tech in their game against Arkansas last night. The team rallying in overtime to earn their spot in the Elite 8.

CNN's Patrick Snell has all the highlights for us this morning. Highlight us please.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, I will. Hi there. Good morning, Kate. Yes, there were four games in the tournaments on Thursday, and let's just say they saved the best for last. The late game between Arkansas and Texas Tech, an absolute thriller. The Razorbacks were in control for most of the contests, but the Red Raiders closing regulation on a 16-3 three run, including Darrion Williams' three- pointer, which extended into overtime. And in the extra period, the game tied, it was Williams again who nails the tough shot to put Texas Tech ahead for good. Red Raiders winning at 85-83 and advancing to their third Elite 8 since 2018.

Let's hear now from the hero, Williams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRION WILLIAM, TEXAS TECH FORWARD: Yes. I mean, we're going to fight to the end. It don't matter the score. We could be down 20, we going to keep fighting, man. You know, (BLEEP) that's a good dough. Excuse my language, my bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: One happy man. Duke had early trouble with Arizona in their match up, but then Cooper Flagg happened with the Blue Devils up just three at the end of the first half. Flagg getting the ball on a turnover, dribbles up the court and beating the buzzer with a long range three. Flagg would finish with 30 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, as Duke would pull away in the second half, winning a 100-93, advancing to their 25th Elite 8 in program history.

And Alabama also hitting the centry mark in a record-setting performance over BYU, the Crimson Tides scoring 113 points thanks to a tournament record 25three-pointers, beating the previous mark of 21, which was set back in 1990. Mark Sears leading the way with 34 points, hitting an incredible ten threes of his own. Alabama, advancing to its second straight Elite 8.

And March madness as well in the NBA between the Bulls and the Lakers. Chicago down five with just 12 seconds remaining, but a quick three, followed by a steal and another three by Coby White giving them the shot lead.

L.A. not done, though. Austin Reeves, as he picked up the action, getting the ball, flatting to the rim and scoring to put the Lakers back on top with just three seconds remaining.

Bulls with no time outs, what happened? Josh Giddey, the Aussie, getting the ball heaving it from half court and hitting the game winner sensationally.

[07:25:01]

Pandemonium ensues. The Bulls score nine points in the last 12 seconds and Giddey with a game he'll never forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GIDDEY, CHICAGO BULLS GUARD: I never made a game winner before. I made a couple layups to put us up with a couple seconds left, but I walk off like that from half court, I've never done before. So, I don't know if I'll ever do it again, but I'll take this one tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: And, John, Kate, I'm feeling pretty giddy after that. What a moment for the 22-year-old from Melbourne, Australia. Back to you.

BOLDUAN: I mean, that was like highlight after highlight after highlight. That was like amazing.

SNELL: Highlight reel.

BOLDUAN: Yes, highlight reels for like multiple players. They make it look so dang easy. That was my takeaway from watching all of it.

It's good to see you, Patrick.

SNELL: Yes. Really, I feel totally inadequate after seeing that.

BOLDUAN: Every time I watch these sports highlights. You are not inadequate. You are worthy. You are a great man. Just take that on a Friday.

Thank you so much, Patrick.

All right, coming up still for us this hour, where is Elon Musk? Tesla employees and investors asking that question now about the CEO turned special government employee, wondering if he has enough time to run his business.

Also, always check under the bed. What a woman actually found when the child she was babysitting complained of monsters under his bed coming face-to-face with a man hiding there.

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[07:30:00]