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Plane Tangled In Maryland Power Lines; Beckham Jr. Removed From Plane; Record Spending Expected For Cyber Monday; Community Health Groups Left Out Of CDC Grant Program; Iran Calls For U.S. To Be Banned From World Cup. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 28, 2022 - 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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[09:31:59]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Just incredible, lifesaving rescue overnight. Some lucky people there. This after a pilot and passenger of a small plane crashed into high tension power wires, were trapped for seven hours up in the air. This in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Incredible work there by first responders.

Now, the crash knocked out power to 120,000 customers and forced schools to close as a result.

CNN's Pete Muntean is on the scene.

So, luckily, this ended well, Pete, but it was a complicated rescue. How are the passengers doing now?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Very tricky and very complicated, Bianna. You know, long, dark, cold hours of those two people on board that single-engine Mooney stuck up in that transmission pole of these high tension wires which are run by power company Pepco here.

Sixty-five-year-old man, 66-year-old woman. We are hearing that they are both OK, taken to a nearby hospital after they were rescued about 12:30 this morning. They were brought down from a cherry picker that firefighters used to take that man and woman out one by one.

The big issue is that they had to stay suspended in the airplane in those power lines as crews deenergized the line to make sure that they could make a safe rescue.

What's also so incredible here is that the two on board were able to communicate with firefighters, about 100 of them, on the ground here via cellphone. It was only after those two people on board that plane got on the ground, I want you to listen now to firefighters when they were able to realize the full extent of their injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHIEF SCOTT GOLDSTEIN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Both patients have been transported from the scene to local area trauma centers with serious injuries. There is a hypothermia issue as well, but there's also orthopedic and trauma injuries from the crash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Really outsized impact of this crash. These are run by Pepco, these power lines. Very critical high-tension wires through Montgomery County. And about 120,000 people at one point were without power here.

The power has now been restored according to Pepco and schools, though, will still remain closed. Some of the repair and reenergizing work will take place here as crews are finishing up. Still some work to be done, though. And we also know that the NTSB and the FAA are on the scene.

I have to tell you, as a pilot though, some big questions that the crews will look at as they investigate this about the weather at the time of the crash. It was very poor. The visibility was low. The clouds were very low. So, crews will want to know -- investigators will want to know why this pilot tried to make this landing here at the Montgomery County Airport.

We should have a map of that which shows we're only about a mile northwest of the airport. This spot lined up directly with the southeast-facing runway here, clearly trying to come into land, although not a successful landing on the runway, instead a landing in power lines here.

[09:35:11]

SCIUTTO: Pete, I have to ask you, they deenergized the line to make the rescue. Why weren't the pilot and crew electrocuted? I mean, they ran into high tension power lines in a metal object on impact.

MUNTEAN: It's a great question, Jim. You know, we don't fully know the answer yet. I can surmise just based on looking at where the accident took place. It looked like the plane was mostly hung up in the transmission tower itself rather than the wires. So, it seemed like it was in a very lucky place.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

MUNTEAN: You know, the saying in aviation, better lucky than good.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MUNTEAN: The pilot and the passenger here very lucky in this case.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Maybe in life as well.

Pete Muntean, thanks so much.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Incredible. Thanks, Pete. Well, new this morning, Miami police say NFL star Odell Beckham Jr.

was removed from an American Airlines flight Sunday morning after refuse to comply with safety protocol.

SCIUTTO: That is when the flight crew called authorities, they say because Beckham was believed to be having a medical emergency.

CNN's Leyla Santiago, she is live this morning at Miami International Airport, where this took place.

So, Leyla, attorneys for Beckham, they're disagreeing with how things transpired. They say that this was unnecessary. What do we know?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. A very different perspective we'll say from Beckham's side. His attorney saying, as you mentioned, that this was unnecessary, pointing out that he was not disruptive and was willing to comply. Also saying that at the root of this was an overzealous flight attendant.

Let me read with you the statement from Beckham's attorney saying, the overzealous flight attendant refused to simply allow Mr. Beckham to fasten his seat belt and proceed with the flight and instead immediately removed everyone from the plane. So, that is what we are hearing from the Beckham camp.

Now, on the other side of this, when you hear from the police statement, they describe this very differently, say that according to the flight crew, he was going in and out of consciousness. They tried to wake him up to fasten his seat belt. That didn't work.

They called police. When officers arrived, they say he refused to get off the plane. At that point they got everyone else off the plane, and then police escorted him out. So, two very different accounts of what led to Beckham being pulled off that plane.

But we should mention that at this point there's no indication of any sort of pending investigation or even charges here, Bianna and Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, a lot of other witnesses on the plane, I imagine, can give a sense of what really happened.

SANTIAGO: Sure.

SCIUTTO: Leyla Santiago, thanks so much.

Still ahead this hour, Cyber Monday is expected to set records. How buy now pay later deals are enticing customers, and what you can get the best deals on today. That's coming up.

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[09:42:31]

SCIUTTO: Despite the highest inflation in four decades, online shopping on Black Friday actually hit an all-time high. GOLODRYGA: Yes, people were out to buy. And according to an Adobe

Analytics report, it's expected to break records again today for Cyber Monday.

CNN's Christine Romans has more on this.

So, Christine, you had an analyst on saying that people were not only shopping but actually dipping into their savings just to spend money. What do you make of that and what can we expect from today's sales?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, as a test of the American consumer, the American consumer is still spending here, $9.12 billion on Black Friday. And they -- hat was just in online Black Friday sales. People actually went out to the stores, too. Foot traffic increased.

There are a lot of deals and these big companies, these big retailers have been really stretching the deals out for weeks now. It's been Black Friday for weeks for some of these retailers, really trying to entice people who are inflation conscious to get back out there. And what I see in these numbers is I see people still willing to spend and looking for the experience of spending around the holiday.

GOLODRYGA: Wow. And what do you expect from today then given what we've seen not only from Friday, as you mentioned, but the weeks of Black Friday?

ROMANS: Today could be another record. I mean they're forecasting more than $11 billion in online sales today. You have got deals just about everywhere. If you look at Apple products, gift cards in return for buying some Apple products, it's very rare to see sales on Apple products, but you're seeing some deals there. Target, they have a price match guarantee. Also, TVs, they've deeply discounted a bunch of televisions.

Amazon has a whole bunch of different discounts as well. And Walmart has - you know, I'm looking at some of these TVs. It's also unbelievable. An LG 65 inch Class IV K UHD C2 Series that usually is $3,700 will cost $1,600. So, they have a lot of very specific -- while supplies last, I should point out. But they have a lot of very specific deals out there.

SCIUTTO: Is there - I mean you mentioned people dipping into savings, but is there a difference with how people are actually paying for this stuff?

ROMANS: Yes.

SCIUTTO: I mean sort of pushing out those -- the pay days?

ROMANS: Yes, they're doing a lot more buy now, pay later, which can be great on zero percent interest but you must pay it off on time or you will really get hurt. They're also using more credit cards. And, again, credit card interest rates, especially store cards, you guys, store card APRs are a record high. I want to scream this from the rooftops. Some of those store cards are 29 percent. SCIUTTO: Wow.

ROMANS: So, if you go there and you check out a store card so you get 25 percent off and then you don't pay it off right away, you'll really get hurt.

[09:45:03]

It is a very - it's a financial tragedy. So, be very careful about charging it, folks.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

GOLODRYGA: And some of these supply chains -

SCIUTTO: Twenty-nine percent, is that legal? Is 29 percent -- is it legal to charge that much interest?

ROMANS: I know, right? Some of these store cards, you've got to look, they are so - some of these cards, record high for some of those store cards.

SCIUTTO: Lord.

ROMANS: You know, in many cases, if you're juggling three or four of those, that's a real sign of financial weakness.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

ROMANS: That's a real danger sign.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, always read the fine print. It's what we're always told, right?

ROMANS: Yes, exactly.

GOLODRYGA: I just wanted to note, supply chain issues seem to have resolved a bit and eased up a little bit here.

ROMANS: And some -- it's interesting. It's electronics. It is apparel, toys. Those are the best discounts. Those are the places where they've really stocked up and planned for this holiday season.

GOLODRYGA: Get them while you can.

Christine Romans, thank you.

ROMANS: Or just save for college.

GOLODRYGA: Or save. That's probably the better idea there.

Well, this week, the CDC will announce the recipients of a $4 billion landmark grant program that the agency says will address a, quote, historic underinvestment in marginalized minority groups.

SCIUTTO: Still, health groups in those very communities that played a crucial role during the coronavirus pandemic say they do not expect to see much of that money.

For more on how this is playing out, CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

So why do these groups feel they won't be able to take advantage of this?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, so these are grassroots groups in specific marginalized communities that have the most experience at giving life-saving health messages. They know these communities. They are parts of these communities. And they say that based on what these grants -- how the grants are being arranged and based on past history, they don't expect to see much of this money.

I want to introduce you to one of these groups. It's called Dia de la Mujer Latina. It's in Texas. They are a group of women in the Latin community. They set up a call center to help answer questions during Covid and encourage vaccination. They were praised by President Biden.

They got a letter from President Biden saying thank you, thank you for everything you did. But then, when they applied for a federal grant, it was part of a huge federal grant with dozens of recipients, they were told, oh, it was a good application, but, sorry, we're not going to give you the money.

So, I want to read you a quote from the president of that group, Venus Gines, and this is what she had to say. She said, we will always be in the kitchen. We'll never be invited to the dining room table. That's how we feel.

What she means is, they expect us to do the work, but they don't want to pay us. This is especially sensitive given that this is women from the Latino community.

Now, we asked the CDC about this. They weren't the ones who turned her down for the grant. That was a different government agency. But the CDC has also come under criticism here and a CDC spokeswoman said, we are confident that grant recipients will fund and work with community- based organizations in their communities.

In other words, she's saying the CDC is giving money to state and local health departments. We're confident that they, in turn, will subaward to these community groups.

Bianna. Jim.

GOLODRYGA: So, if I can just follow up, Elizabeth. Why do these community groups say they should receive the money directly?

COHEN: So, they say, again, they are uniquely positioned. They are the ones who understand the cultural sensitivities. They literally speak the language of the people in these communities. And they say, look, in the past, government agencies have said, well, we'll give the money to a state department of health or a local health department or to a university and we're sure that they will pass some of this along to you. But then they say, in the past, that sort of trickle-down theory has not always worked so well.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for bringing us this really important story. We appreciate it.

COHEN: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead, Jay Leno's back on stage just two weeks after significant burn injuries. Up next, how he's already handling it exactly how we would expect him to, with a laugh, of course.

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[09:53:11]

GOLODRYGA: Well, political drama is playing out ahead of tomorrow's World Cup match between the U.S. and Iran. Iran demanding that the U.S. be banned from playing after the U.S. Soccer Federation altered the Iranian flag in a social media post. The move was meant as a sign of support for human rights protesters in Iran who have been demonstrating now for months.

SCIUTTO: CNN sports anchor Amanda Davies is live from the World Cup in Doha.

And, Amanda, this is a pretty remarkable show of support from the U.S. for Iran. I mean this is a game, you know, the U.S. has to win, right? They have to beat the team, right, but they're trying here to show support for the people who have been protesting against their government.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely, Jim. And I think it's showing something of a theme of this World Cup, isn't it? It's not the first time that politics has come into play.

But this was a tie as soon as it was drawn here in Doha back in April where we knew it was going to be played against a political backdrop.

What we've seen, though, in the last 24 hours is U.S. Soccer very much bringing those politics into the forefront with that decision, as you mentioned, to change Iran's logo on social media, only displaying the red, white and green stripes. They said that they were doing it as a one-time move, just for 24 hours, and only on social media. Their other platforms remain the same.

But through Iran's state media, Iran have called for the USA to be thrown out of this World Cup, to be banned for ten games, as per FIFA world football's governing body statute Number 13. FIFA, for their part, as things stand, have yet to comment. But in the last hour or so, the coach of the Iranian national team, Carlos Queiroz, has addressed the media.

[09:55:01]

He says he and his team have support for all humanitarian issues and crises, but has very much tried to shift the focus back on to the football, talking about the benefits, the 90 minutes of footballers on the pitch can have in these times of issues.

The U.S. coach, Gregg Berhalter, is set to address the media as well shortly. But as you mentioned, this is a crucial, crucial moment for both of these teams on the pitch. They both need the win if they want to progress.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it was remarkable to see those Iranian players last week really speak out in support of people back at home and acknowledge the difficulties that they are facing there. A must-win for team USA. They have to score. They have to win. We'll be watching.

Amanda Davies, thank you.

Well, Jay Leno returns to standup this weekend, just two weeks after suffering significant burns in a gasoline fire. The former "Tonight Show" host performed in front of a sold out crowd in California. Earlier this month Leno was working under a car when he was burned.

SCIUTTO: The 72-year-old underwent two surgeries to repair damage to his face and hands. Ahead of the show, Leno made light of his injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, COMEDIAN, TV HOST: Well, we've got two shows tonight, regular and extra crispy. OK, thank you. Thank you. Good night, ladies and gentlemen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you be - bring it. Bring it.

LENO: I never thought of myself as a roast comic. Hey, thank you. Thank you. Good night.

Why, thank you very much, you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: We should note, he is expected to make a full recovery.

And still ahead, unprecedented, remarkable protests across China as residents erupt over the country's Covid protocols, but also take aim at their leader. Now we're seeing a show of solidarity in Hong Kong. We're going to be live on the ground, coming up.

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