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Pilot, Family Of 5 Killed In NYC Tourist Helicopter Crash; Report: TV Star Eric Dane Says He Has Been Diagnosed With ALS; ALS ASSN: NIH Funding Cuts A "Devastating Blow" To Research; Higher Prices Brewing As Coffee Shops Prepare For U.S. Tariffs. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 11, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:38]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Federal officials are investigating that deadly helicopter crash that witnesses say appeared to just break apart before it crashed into the Hudson River. A family of five and the pilot were killed during a sightseeing tour yesterday.

And before we show you video of the crash, we do want to warn you that you may find it disturbing.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes. The video shows the helicopter falling upside down. You can see the chopper blades are gone.

CNN correspondent, Brynn Gingras, joins us now.

Brynn, what are you hearing about what happened?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, they have a go team, NTSB, on site right now. They have divers in the water. They're using sonar technology because the water is super murky right now in the Hudson River.

They're trying to find any other pieces of this plane that they can pull out and bring it with the big body part of the plane that they have already pulled out.

And the goal here, we're understanding, is trying to put the plane basically back together to figure out what happened here, what caused this crash.

We are expecting an NTSB update. I just want to let you know that should be coming up within the next few minutes or so. So hopefully we'll get a little bit more details of what they might have found.

But look, this investigation is also going to be looking at that video that you just showed your viewers. It's going to be talking to witnesses. It's going to look at the maintenance records of that plane, whether or not there was any work that was done on this chopper.

And also, you know, did it comply with FAA, you know, regulations that they may have made? For example, you know, they said it twice that there was different parts that need to be changed on this specific plane. Was that done by this charter company?

So these are all things that are, of course, part of this ongoing investigation -- guys?

KEILAR: And what more are we learning about this family that was on board, Brynn?

GINGRAS: Yes. I mean, it's heartbreaking. What we've learned from officials -- I just talked to the Jersey City mayor who's been in contact with a family liaison.

It seems that the father of this family of five that was on board that sightseeing helicopter, his name is Agustin Escobar. He's 49 years old. He was a Siemens Technology executive. He was over here in New York City from Spain on a business trip.

And the mayor telling me that he was telling his colleagues he was so excited because his family was going to come from Spain and join him, and they we're going to go on this sightseeing tour, and they we're doing that as part of a celebration of his wife's 40th birthday.

We've also learned guys that we know there were three kids, part of their family, that we're on board that helicopter. One of them was turning 9 today, would have been their ninth birthday. Another one of the kids was 11 years old.

I'm not sure about the youngest, but certainly just adds to the tragedy of this whole thing.

SANCHEZ: Yes, heart wrenching details.

Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for the update there.

Up next, a shocking diagnosis. "Euphoria" and "Gray's Anatomy" star, Eric Dane, reveals that he has ALS, a disease for which there is no known cause, proven treatment or cure. We're going to talk to a doctor about the diagnosis when we come back.

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[14:37:56]

KEILAR: TV star, Eric Dane, just revealed the hard road ahead of him off screen. He told "People" magazine that he has been diagnosed with ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and ultimately leads to paralysis and death. And there is no cure.

Dane, a 52 year old father, said to "People," quote, "I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter."

And Dane also told the magazine that he plans to return to shooting his series "Euphoria" next week. The series from HBO, which shares a parent company with CNN, by the way.

The actor also gained fame, of course, as Dr. McSteamy on "Gray's Anatomy."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC DANE, ACTOR: After -- after Addison, after Meredith, I have been patient. I have waited while you partnered up with these chicks, but now they're over and it's supposed to be just us. You and me, two guys on the prowl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now is CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of surgery and medicine at George Washington University.

Dr. Reiner, so much outpouring. You know, this is a star that I think has spent years with so many Americans, and so they're having very strong reactions to this diagnosis.

What is it kind of bringing up to you as people are focusing on ALS?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, you know, I've had this photograph in my office. Maybe you can see it over my shoulder. And it's Lou Gehrig.

On July 4th, 1939, the day that he retired from baseball, and the iconic moment when he said that he considers himself -- despite the fact that he -- he knew he was going to die from the illness that he was -- had just received a diagnosis, he said he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

And I have that photograph behind me because it reminds me of his courage and his strength and his grace. And that's what I wish, Mr. Dane.

[14:40:00]

It's a very difficult diagnosis. And we have a lot to go, you know, a long way to go in medicine in really understanding why this occurs and in developing an effective treatment.

KEILAR: Yes. Talk a little bit about that because some cases are familial. A lot of cases are not. There are some clusters which raise questions about environmental factors.

But in the end, as we don't have these answers, it's just very, as you said, a tough diagnosis.

REINER: Right. About 90 percent of the cases of ALS are just sporadic. About 10 percent seem to have a genetic or familial link. And as you said, there are these interesting cases that have been reported of unrelated people in clusters.

There was recently a very interesting report of many people in a small town in Switzerland who contracted ALS. And there was some thought that what they shared in common were certain kinds of environmental exposures.

The -- the disease in its -- in its essence, is a process that results in the death of motor neurons, the nerves that allow your muscles to function.

And it robs people, over a period of time, ranging from depending on the sort of the aggressiveness of the disease, between two and a half and five years, and it robs them of the ability to -- to walk and use their arms and speak, ultimately, eat, and then finally, to breathe.

And it's - it's relentless. There are a couple of drugs on the market that might, you know, in a small way, delay the progression of the disease. But there has not been -- there has not been a breakthrough yet.

There are support groups around the country. Folks with -- with ALS, require a lot of physical therapy. And as they lose the function to do normally -- normal sort of daily activities, you know, they require a lot of assistance from family and caregivers.

So, as you said at the outset, it's a -- it's a difficult road -- road ahead.

KEILAR: Yes. And I think that's one of the things that -- when Dane told "People" magazine he's returning to set next week, right, for "Euphoria," that's something that has a lot of people talking. Because this is going to be difficult for him.

But I also -- I wonder, Dr. Reiner, how important it is for people who are struggling with something like this to not shy away, you know, to -- to get out there, be visible so that ?can pay attention to a struggle like this.

REINER: You know, years ago, I was watching an Ironman, a Kona Ironman, and they we're highlighting an athlete who had recently been diagnosed with ALS. And one thing that has always stuck with me about what he said was that he preferred to focus on what he could still do, not on what he could no longer do.

And I think by returning to the set of "Euphoria," Mr. Dane is going to show the world what he can still do. And that's what life is, showing -- showing people what you can still do.

You know, it's -- it's his way, and I think a wonderful way, of showing people that you may have a disease, but you're determined not to let the disease have you. So I encourage I think that's fabulous.

KEILAR: Yes. It really is amazing that he's doing that.

But also, I want to ask you, because this is getting a lot of attention because it affects so many families. And the ALS Association says that it is deeply alarmed by the cuts to NIH funding that we've been covering as part of President Trump's government reduction.

How is that tying into a disease like ALS and finding treatments and hopefully eventually cures? REINER: So, you know, NIH is the world's premier research

organization. And that entity, which has been targeted with thousands of cuts, they've -- they've not just cut people and funds, they've cut 800 research grants recently.

That's the hope for -- for people who are dealing or who have family members who are dealing with diseases like ALS or cancer. This is where the breakthroughs come. You know, the basic science is done there. The translational research that leads to drug development and new therapeutics.

And this is what the U.S. has been amazing at investing in throughout, you know, the last century. And there's just been this aggressive hollowing out.

[14:45:02]

And when you -- when you fire entire labs and entire programs, you're firing the people with the special expertise in these devastating diseases that affect so many people in this country.

Everyone, everyone I think, knows somebody who has had to deal with a terrifying diagnosis like this. And what they need is hope.

And where does hope come from? It comes from their family and their friends. And it comes from an understanding that there are people working to help you.

And I think, you know, gutting NIH goes a long way to dash, some of those hopes.

KEILAR: Yes. And knowing that even if the help doesn't come in time for you, that your death isn't going to be in vain as people search for that hope.

Dr. Reiner, thank you so much.

REINER: Right.

KEILAR: We really appreciate it.

REINER: My pleasure.

KEILAR: We'll be right back.

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[14:50:23]

KEILAR: Trouble may be brewing for coffee shops around the country as President Trump's trade war threatens to increase prices across the board.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the U.S. No surprise there. A morning pick me up that millions of Americans depend on each day. But the U.S. produces only a tiny fraction of the coffee that it consumes.

SANCHEZ: Instead, it imports most of its beans from places like Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, Honduras. So how are coffee shops preparing their bottom lines as they face the brunt of Trump's tariffs?

Let's discuss with the Morris sisters. Katie, Maggie and Judy are joining us. They are identical triplets who are co-owners of Sister Sledge Coffee Cafe and Wine Bar in Minneapolis.

I love the combination of coffee and wine. It gives you a broad range of options

KATIE MORRIS-BUCH, CO-OWNER, SISTER SLEDGE COFFEE CAFE & WINE BAR: Right.

SANCHEZ: Especially in the early morning hours.

MORRIS-BUCH: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Ladies, thanks for being with us.

Talk to us about how tariffs might be impacting your business.

JUDY MORRIS-MEYER, CO-OWNER, SISTER SLEDGE COFFEE CAFE & WINE BAR: Well --

MORRIS-BUCH: Go ahead.

MORRIS-MEYER: -- right off the bat, I mean, our vendors -- our coffee vendors knew the tariffs were coming. And so they automatically did some increases in their coffees, about February is when those hit us.

And in the meantime, we've been talking to them and they probably will have to do another increase come June. So that means we have to adapt our prices, which is really a pain in the butt.

But so we're kind of feeling like we need a NASDAQ tape running across the top of the board to let us know what we need to increase, because it's not just the coffee that's going to increase, it's the --

MORRIS-BUCH: Our cups, our straws. If we need repairs on our equipment. I mean, we don't know where the parts come from. You know, our espresso machine is Italian.

MORRIS-MEYER: Yes.

MAGGIE MORRIS-GRONLUND, CO-OWNER, SISTER SLEDGE COFFEE CAFE & WINE BAR: You know, the paper goods are going to go up.

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KEILAR: So as your -- as you're going through that -- so it sounds like you guys have not actually increased the prices yet, but you are going to have to?

MORRIS-GRONLUND: Yes, we're holding off. MORRIS-MEYER: Well, we did increase --

(CROSSTALK)

MORRIS-GRONLUND: We did increase our prices about two months ago just because everything was so expensive. So about two months ago, we increased and we just -- to increase again on our customers.

We're in a very middle class to lower-middle class neighborhood, and we're just concerned about our customers. Are they going to be able to afford things as it goes up?

But we've talked about is perhaps going through our list of coffees and what -- what from what country is going to be a little bit less expensive. And that's a good plan, I think.

But at the same time, every other coffee house is going to be doing the same thing. So just like looking at supply and demand.

Just like our wine list, we're going to try to do more domestic wines, but then everyone's going to try to do domestic wine. So then you've got a supply and demand problem again.

So it's going to be an interesting ride.

MORRIS-MEYER: Yes.

MORRIS-GRONLUND: Yes, it'll be tight. It'll be tight.

SANCHEZ: It's also exceedingly difficult to import or rather to grow coffee domestically. Most of the U.S. just doesn't support that kind of climate. So inevitably

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- how are you going to be able to -- to confront that?

MORRIS-MEYER: Well, we mostly -- I mean, all we can really do is sort of pay attention to our costs increase if we need to try to keep it down. We can adjust how many people we have on staff.

I mean, we're not going to lay anybody off, but maybe we can't have two people working. We can only have one person working for a while. So service might slow down.

Yes, we're going to have to be really careful about controlling our payroll. And then it's what we put on the shelves. How much do we buy?

MORRIS-BUCH: Yes, it's - it's reducing the amount of product that we have on the shelves, reducing them.

And then and then the other piece is that we're already seeing problems with getting some product because people are already starting to -- I don't know if they can --

(CROSSTALK) MORRIS-BUCH: I don't know.

MORRIS-GRONLUND: Yes. Don't know if they're stocking up or it's already just harder to get.

MORRIS-BUCH: Yes. And the thing with small businesses is we -- we operate in a very, very small margin. We're lucky to make a 3 percent profit. And that usually goes into maintenance.

So small businesses don't have buffers like big corporations. And the big corporations are struggling.

(CROSSTALK)

MORRIS-BUCH: It's really a trickle-down effect.

KEILAR: What do you want? And we have to remember, I think a lot of people are focused on this, these huge tariffs between China and the U.S. But there's this across-the-board 10 percent. And you're talking about a 3 percent margin. So 10 percent is going to hit you guys hard.

What do you want lawmakers to know? What do they need to know in order to keep you guys solvent and running and employing people?

[14:55:05]

MORRIS-MEYER: The -- there's only so much people can afford to pay. I mean, in the end, coffee, like coming into a coffee shop and buying a latte or a mocha, that's a luxury item. Buying a glass of wine now is a luxury item. It's going to be $2 to $3 more for just a glass of wine.

We're not sure how much more the coffee is going to have to be. It depends. Around June, we'll find out from our vendors what they think.

There's a point at which people won't be buying coffee anymore. Or maybe they'll only buy a bag of bulk beans, which we don't make as much on, which is fine. It's great that they're buying something.

But then again, that is a little trickle down, reduced flow of our sales.

MORRIS-BUCH: So then we really need lawmakers to step up and stop the tariffs.

MORRIS-MEYER: Stop the tariffs.

MORRIS-BUCH: I mean, the tariffs are hurting everybody.

MORRIS-MEYER: Everyone.

MORRIS-BUCH: Small businesses are the backbone of the country. But we're not the only ones being hurt.

MORRIS-GRONLUND: Yes.

MORRIS-BUCH: You know it's hurting small businesses. It's hurting large businesses and it's hurting the consumer.

It's -- its -- its hard to figure out how to run your business when you don't really know what's going on and there's so much chaos.

MORRIS-MEYER: Yes.

MORRIS-BUCH: So --

(CROSSTALK)

MORRIS-BUCH: -- You're -- you're guessing.

KEILAR: Yes, you're guessing. And that's the story that we're hearing from so many small business owners.

Hey, Katie, Maggie and Judy, thank you guys so much for taking some time to talk to us and just pulling back the curtain on what small businesses are dealing with. We really appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Thanks for joining us.

MORRIS-MEYER: Thanks so much.

KEILAR: And still ahead, Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr says new research will find the cause of the, quote, "autism epidemic" in just a few months. We'll take a look at that promise that has a lot of people questioning.

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