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Air Show Disaster in Dallas; Man Boards Flight With Box Cutters; Three Killed in University of Virginia Shooting; House Control Still Uncalled; President Biden Meets With Xi Jinping. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 14, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. Thanks for joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

And we are following to showdowns with high stakes. Here in the U.S., the fight for control of the House of Representatives, 19 races still not call nearly one week after the midterm elections. We're following the latest vote counts.

And on the world stage, a critical face-to-face meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping lasting more than three hours, both leaders laying out their positions as tensions flare over trade, Taiwan and Russia.

We begin in Washington this hour. Serious political jockeying is under way to determine who will lead the parties in both the House and the Senate. But before all that, Democrats have a big to-do list for these final weeks of the current lame-duck Congress.

And CNN's Jessica Dean joins us from Capitol Hill.

Jessica, what are Democrats hoping to accomplish before the new Congress is sworn in?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.

So, Ana, they have got this tight little time frame in between now and when that new Congress is sworn in, in January. They're hoping to make the most of it. They have got a pretty packed to-do list. The first thing at the top of the list is funding the government. The current government funding runs out on December 16.

So they have got to figure out how they want to do that. There's also questions within there. Will that include funding for Ukraine? Will that include COVID-19 money? The Democrats certainly want to get, but maybe a harder thing to get put into this. And do they just want to do what's known as a continuing resolution, which would just kind of kick the can down the road until January or when the new Congress is in? Or do they actually want to pass a full new government funding bill?

And that is kind of the question that we are watching. Also, what about the debt limit? Will they try to raise it? There have been some questions about that. But it appears, at this moment in time, there probably isn't the support or even the appetite to do that, unless it's absolutely necessary.

So that's something to certainly keep our eyes on. There's also the National Defense Authorization Act. That is the bill that really sets the agenda and funds the Department of Defense. So that's very important. They want to get that done. And then there's codifying same-sex marriage.

You will remember, this came up back in September before the midterms. They tried to get a vote then. The support just wasn't quite there. They're confident that they have it now. I will let you listen to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He was on CNN this morning, earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We didn't have it. We need 60. So you need 10 Republicans. We didn't have it. And so instead of just having a show vote, where we would lose, because I believe in getting things done is the most important thing, I said, I will wait.

And now we will go back to our caucuses and see where we're at. But it's one of the things. It's along with debt ceiling, and we have to fund the government. That's probably the most important thing.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Semi-important.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: That would be nice.

SCHUMER: Yes. It's one of the most important things I'd like to get done this lame-duck session.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: It is a big one.

And also, Ana, one more thing to keep your eye on, the Electoral Count Act. That is some bipartisan legislation that senators have been working on that they would like to get passed in this lame-duck session. It is really focused on making sure -- making it harder to overturn a certified presidential election, really trying to prevent what almost happened in 2020 from happening again.

And that is something that we are keeping our eyes on as we go through this kind of packed several weeks, because, remember, they're going to take time off for Thanksgiving and the holidays as well.

CABRERA: So, just a few more weeks to go. And then, when we look ahead to the next Congress, we know Kevin McCarthy is facing some opposition from Trump allies specifically in his bid to become the next speaker. But we have some new reporting on Trump wading into this power struggle?

DEAN: Right. It certainly is a power struggle. And it is something all eyes are over there on the House to see if Kevin McCarthy can pull this out, what kind of negotiating he's going to have to do, because, remember, in their minds, they really thought they were going to have a much wider margin, that he was going to be able to more comfortably become a speaker of the House, should they take the majority.

And that is just not bearing out in what we have seen from the results we already have and then the ones that we're still waiting to come in. And we know that former President Trump has been trying to gather support for him. The question is, will that matter? How will that work, Ana?

That's going to unfold in the next 24 to 48 hours in earnest.

CABRERA: Interesting. Trump wants McCarthy as the next speaker, even though people like Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, are signaling otherwise.

Jessica Dean, thank you very much for your reporting. Let's

get to those remaining races in the House now. They will determine which party gets 218 seats in the majority.

CNN's John Berman joins us from the Magic Wall now.

John, I don't think anybody thought that House control would still be up in the air six days after the election.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: I don't think anyone's are people calling the Senate for the Democrats before we called the House for the Republicans.

[13:05:02]

They're not there yet, though they might be headed in that direction. This is where things stand right now. The Republicans -- we have currently called 212 seats for the Republicans, 204 seats for the Democrats. You need 218 to control the Congress. So the Republicans need six more if they want to take control. The Democrats would need to somehow win 14 seats if they want to keep control.

There are 19, 19 seats right now where we have not called a winner. And of those 19 races, Republicans are leading in 10 -- remember, they only need six -- Democrats are leading in nine. Remember, they need 14 to maintain control. So look at the map here.

The races that are colored in here show where each candidate is leading. What Democrats would need to do. If they want to maintain control, it's a narrow path. They would need to hold every one of these blue seats they're leading in right now. And they need to win five of these red seats for Republicans are currently leading. Could they do that?

It's tough. It's tough at this point. Let's look. A lot going on in California right now. Now, first, there are a couple seats where they might have a chance. In California, you can see California's 13th Congressional District, just 84 votes separate John Duarte and Adam Gray, only 46 percent in. This could be a pickup for the Democrats. We will just have to wait and see.

To the south of that, this is the 22nd District. David Valadao, the Republican incumbent, he's up by almost 3,000 votes. But this has been trending a little bit in the Democratic direction, and only 39 percent in. This could potentially, potentially be a Democratic pickup.

That only gets you to two out of the five that the Democrats need, and then it gets hard. You come down here to Southern California. Another seat that the Democrats had their eye on is the 41st. Ken Calvert is ahead by 4,000 votes, 59 percent in. You think that's a lot of vote left, but he's actually expanded his lead. This lead has gone up over the weekend as they kind of more votes there. So that seems to be trending Republican.

And then Arizona, a lot of activity in Arizona. First, the district right here, Arizona's Sixth Congressional District, also very close, just 1,700 votes, but also here, the Republican has grown his lead a little bit, 93 percent in. And then there's this district.

Remember how I said that Democrats would need to hold everything that's blue and then flip some red seats? Well, the thing here is, David Schweikert, the Republican, is now 894 votes ahead. But, on Saturday, the Democrat was ahead by 4,000 votes, Saturday at noon, more votes counted over the weekend. So now you're in this situation where the Republicans lead by 894.

So, Ana, you can see how it is hard to find those five seats that the Democrats would need to maintain control at this point.

CABRERA: OK, we will be watching each and every one of those seats and bring our viewers the updates as we are able to call those races.

John Berman, thank you so much.

Let's go overseas to Bali now, where President Biden is attending the G20 summit. And he just delivered a direct message after a long meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He was clear and I was clear that we'll defend American interests and values, promote universal human rights, and stand up for the international order, and work in lockstep with our allies and partners.

We're going to compete vigorously. But I'm not looking for conflict. I'm looking to manage this competition responsibly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's M.J. Lee is traveling with the president.

M.J., this meeting between Biden and Xi lasted three-and-a-half-hours. Tell us about what was discussed. M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, open and candid

is how President Biden describe this conversation that, as you said, lasted more than three hours.

And the two leaders had a big list of issues to discuss, particularly, given that this was their first in person meeting since President Biden took office, and given also that this comes at a real low point in U.S. Chinese relations.

Among the issues that they discussed include, of course, Taiwan, human rights, the ongoing war in Ukraine, North Korea's ongoing provocations, and the issue of climate change as well. And Taiwan, of course, was one of the most highly anticipated topics. And what President Biden said on this issue is that he said he emphasized to Xi that the U.S.' policy on this issue hasn't changed, that they continue to support the One China policy.

He also told reporters afterwards that he doesn't think there is a need for a new cold war and that he also doesn't see any imminent threat of an attack from China on Taiwan. So, clearly, this was an effort by the president to try to take the temperature down on an issue that has been so contentious for these two countries.

CABRERA: And, M.J., Biden began his remarks with reporters at least first and foremost touting America's democracy. What all did he say?

LEE: Yes, that's right.

The president, of course, has had a number of meetings with various foreign leaders over the course of the last few days. And senior administration officials had told reporters earlier today that, in many of these meetings, these foreign leaders have been congratulating President Biden on the results of the midterm elections.

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President Biden, there's no question, entered the summit with Xi Jinping with a real pep in his step, because, obviously, there was not a Republican wave, as you guys were talking about earlier, in the House. Democrats managed to keep the Senate.

And the president said in his remarks that these political developments at home really have sent a significant message to the world watching what's been going on in the United States. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The American people proved once again that democracy is who we are. And there was a strong rejection of election deniers at every level, from those seeking to lead our states and those seeking to serve in Congress and also those seeking to oversee the elections.

That the United States is ready to play. The United States is -- the Republicans who survived, and along with the Democrats, are of the view that we're going to stay fully engaged in the world. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And just an interesting dynamic to quickly point out is that Xi Jinping was recently elected to a third term, so he had reached a new height in political power.

So both of these men and leaders really had some wind at their backs as they went into this important summit -- Ana.

CABRERA: M.J. Lee, thank you.

Let's continue the discussion about this important meeting with Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and author of "The Great U.S.-China Tech War."

Gordon, thanks for being here.

President Biden, we heard, say he's not looking for conflict, and that he will manage competition with China responsibly. Can we trust China to do the same?

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "THE GREAT U.S.-CHINA TECH WAR": Yes, that's really the big issue.

And President Biden's comments were sort of neutral. But we have seen some very provocative behavior on the part of the Chinese military. And it's not just Taiwan, of course. It's India, Japan, the Philippines, and also these very dangerous intercepts in international airspace.

On May 26, the Chinese almost brought down an Australian patrol aircraft in international airspace. That could have created the dangerous spiral leading to a conflict.

CABRERA: We do know the two talked about Taiwan and being able to maneuver through the Taiwan Strait, both sides basically affirming the status quo in that region.

Do you think this face-to-face meeting makes a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan less likely to happen?

CHANG: President Biden was firm on his points.

The point that was the most important was that the United States would oppose any unilateral move on the part of either side to change the status quo. And, in practical terms, that means opposing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. So that was good.

The issue here with regard to Taiwan is more Ukraine, Ana. And the reason is, if the Chinese don't believe President Biden's warnings on Ukraine, then they very well may not believe his warnings on Taiwan. That, I think, is what the Chinese are looking at.

CABRERA: Before these two leaders met, there was a handshake. And I think we have video to show that. You noted that President Biden goes over to Xi during this initial greeting. And there we have it there. We know these two men have a relationship that goes way back. They have met face to face multiple times in their previous roles. Does Xi see Biden as his equal, as someone who could influence him on key matters?

CHANG: Clearly not.

First of all, Chinese leaders have thought the United States to be in terminal decline. And they thought that for more than a half-decade. But from what you saw this morning, and that first contact, remember Xi Jinping is in the middle of the room, and Biden goes to -- walks to him.

Now, over 2,000 years of Chinese statecraft, that means that Biden is very much subservient. It's like the vassals going to the great Celestial Court in China. And so the Chinese view that basically as a show of strength on the part of Xi Jinping and a sign of weakness on the part of the United States.

I'm not saying that that's right. But that's the way the Chinese view it.

CABRERA: Now, President Biden also said he's not certain whether China has the ability to influence North Korea's decision-making when it comes to nuclear or missile tests. How do you see it?

CHANG: Well, I think that China certainly can get North Korea to do what it wants when China wants something.

And we saw this, for instance, in the Trump administration era, where you had the North Koreans trying to move closer to the U.S., China stopping it. Kim Jong-un went to China four straight times, including Kim's first foreign trip, before Xi Jinping returned to visit to Pyongyang. That really is a sign that China calls the tune.

We have seen this from a number of other things. I think President Biden should sort of stop beating around the bush and say, look, yes, you can control North Korea, you have been violating sanctions, I'm not going to put up with this anymore.

[13:15:05]

CABRERA: Gordon Chang, I always appreciate your analysis and insight. Thank you very much for joining us.

CHANG: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: To Ukraine now.

There was this touching moment today, as President Zelenskyy visited the newly liberated city of Kherson and then sang with troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING) (END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The song? Ukraine's national anthem.

Back in February, Kherson was one of the first major cities to fall when Russia invaded,meaning this moment, this hug, has been months in the making, a grandmother falling to her knees overcome with joy as her soldier grandson reunites with her, and their embraced captured just minutes after Russia announced its retreat from this city on Friday.

Since then, Ukraine says investigators have now reportedly uncovered more than 400 alleged war crimes. Roughly 70,000 to 80,000 people are living in the city of Kherson now with extremely limited power and water.

Three members of the University of Virginia football team shot and killed, the suspect now in custody, but we're learning campus police knew about him before this deadly rampage. We have the latest out of Charlottesville.

Plus, a man with a box cutter allegedly threatens passengers mid- flight, forcing pilots to divert the plane. But how did he get that box cutter on the plane to begin with?

And are you about to splurge on a big-ticket item for the holidays, perhaps? You might want to hear what Jeff Bezos has to say first.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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CABRERA: Police say they have captured the suspect in a shooting at the University of Virginia that left three football players dead and two others injured.

The suspect is a student, 22-year-old Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., and he's someone previously known to campus authorities.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us live from Charlottesville.

Miguel, what more do you know about Jones and a possible motive?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, motive is tough.

I mean, it's hard to imagine any motive decent enough for such a hideous act. But we do know that they were all football players, at least at one point. Jones was on the football team in 2018. It doesn't appear he played any games. The three who were shots in killed were all on the football team.

The two others, one in good condition, the other one in critical condition, it's not quite clear they were on the football team. But everybody we have talked to here says they too were on the football team here.

We know that Jones came to the attention of the authorities here at UVA in the last several months. They were doing a threat assessment of him. During that threat assessment, they discovered that, in 2021, there was a concealed weapons charge against him. And then also during that threat assessment, somebody had complained or told police that Jones had said that he had a gun.

It is not -- it is forbidden for students to have guns here on the UVA campus. Also, during that threat assessment, they discovered that there was a hazing incident that Jones was involved in. In all three of these incidents, though, the gun, for instance, there was never a threat involved. The hazing incident, it was never really defined.

And then the 2021 charge of a concealed weapon, it's not clear that they found anything other than that there was a charge and that he never disclosed it. That alone would have probably gotten him kicked out of school for not reporting that charge. But it will cause people here to wonder why more wasn't done because of these various threats that they had, none of them specific, but certainly, in this situation. very, very concerning -- Ana.

CABRERA: I understand that they -- the people who were shot were on a bus returning from a field trip? How did this go down?

MARQUEZ: Yes.

So, just behind me here, that bus is just behind me next to a parking garage here. You can actually see a little bit of it. There's a state police van that is starting to pull out now. It was on that bus. Students that we spoke to said they heard gunshots around 10:15 last night, bang, bang, a couple of gunshots, and then a couple of more -- a couple more unmistakably gunshots.

They were apparently on a field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C. They were coming back. Three juniors are now dead here, all on the football team, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D'Sean Perry -- Ana.

CABRERA: Miguel Marquez, thank you so much for your reporting.

An investigation under way into a major airport security lapse right before one of the busiest travel times of the year. A man with two box cutters managed to pass through TSA at the Cincinnati Airport and board a flight to Tampa. And he allegedly threatened passengers mid- flight, forcing pilots to divert to Atlanta.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has the latest on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Ana, this incident happened on a Frontier Airlines flight on Friday.

But the big question now is, how did these box cutters make it through TSA screening in the first place? The TSA tells me it's reviewing this at the highest levels of the agency. And it even admits to some pretty major failures when it comes to its own procedures.

The TSA says it's reviewed the security footage at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where a man who has not yet been identified showed up with two bookbags, put them through the screening equipment. Then TSA workers even physically inspected the bags.

[13:25:01]

This is where it gets really interesting on it, because that is when TSA says one of the workers found one of the box cutters, and instead of throwing it away, gave it back to the man, against their own procedures. The TSA also admits that the second box cutter was not discovered.

I want you to listen now to passengers who were on board this Frontier Airlines flight who describe a terrifying scene when this man started making threats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he went to go to the bathroom, the passenger in the window seat looked at me and said: "Hey, like he has a knife, and he told me that he was threatening to stab people. We need to go say something."

MUNTEAN: The TSA says it is retraining the specific officers involved with this incident. Also, regionally, they are retraining employees who need more training, they say, on the specific security screening equipment.

Nationwide, TSA workers will get a bulletin from the agency about stepping up their vigilance, especially ahead of the Thanksgiving rush, only a few days away now -- Ana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: I have had TSA agents take away a container of peanut butter that was unopened because it didn't pass the rules. And yet they're handing back box cutters.

Pete Muntean, thank you.

Now let's go to Dallas, a deadly air show disaster there. Federal investigators are trying to figure out why two vintage military planes collided midair on Saturday, killing everyone on board.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us from the Dallas airfield where this happened.

Ed, the crash was caught on tape. What are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in the parking lot where we're standing, Ana, is where many people were standing Saturday afternoon watching the vintage aircraft buzz around the skies here on the southern edge of Dallas when they saw this tragedy unfold before them. And the -- all the names of the victims have now been released. I can

give you a quick rundown of those names, Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin Michels, Dan Ragan, Leonard Len Root, and Curt Rowe.

They were all members of the Commemorative Air Force, part of this air show here at this weekend in Dallas. And the B-17 bomber that was flying this way, you can see the wreckage side just over my shoulder there in the distance. In fact, just a short while ago, investigators and teams have of -- were removing the final bits of debris from the wreckage site there this afternoon and this morning here in Dallas, this as NTSB investigators are trying to figure out what caused this and what caused the smaller P-63 Kingcobra aircraft to fly into the tail of that B-17. Bomber.

There are no black boxes, recording devices inside these aircraft, according to NTSB investigators, and they say they will be relying on recordings from the air traffic control system, as well as other pilots that were in the air listening to radio transmission.

And they're also relying on all of the people who are out here to give them the videos and anything that they might have seen that might help them unfold and figure out exactly what went wrong here on Saturday -- Ana.

CABRERA: Ed Lavandera, thank you.

A fierce leadership battle crashing the Grand Old Party, from the House, to the Senate, right up to the front-runner for 2024. Who will be the last Republican standing?

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